Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Harlow and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,548 a month against $2,330 in Harlow, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Harlow outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

113

Cost of Living Index in Harlow
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Harlow Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Harlow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,330

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Harlow and in Mexico City

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Harlow and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,330 in Harlow versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Harlow $2,330
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,407 in Harlow versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Harlow $3,407
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,483 in Harlow versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Harlow $4,483
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Harlow is roughly 51% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Harlow 72% above, Mexico City 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.01 £15.76

$11.02 MX$204

90.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.7 £68.8

$48.68 MX$900

88.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 £7.86

$10.90 MX$201

-3.94%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$3.68 MX$68.1

48.64%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 £1.97

$1.63 MX$30.18

61.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 £1.39

$1.25 MX$23.07

48.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.81 £5.11

$3.25 MX$60.1

109.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.87 £5.15

$5.53 MX$102

24.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.70 MX$31.50

-23.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 £1.06

$3.02 MX$55.8

-53.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.11 £0.84

$1.92 MX$35.53

-42.19%

Eggs

$2.38 £1.79

$2.73 MX$50.5

-12.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.83 £5.12

$11.77 MX$218

-41.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.05 £4.54

$9.53 MX$176

-36.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.45 £4.84

$14.41 MX$266

-55.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 £1.54

$3.02 MX$55.8

-32.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 £0.92

$1.89 MX$35.01

-34.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.15 £0.87

$1.99 MX$36.70

-42.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.02 £1.52

$2.19 MX$40.38

-7.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 £1.22

$1.92 MX$35.43

-15.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.87 MX$34.49

-28.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.44 MX$26.62

-6.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.27 MX$23.39

12.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.29 £15.97

$5.22 MX$96.4

307.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.33 £7.00

$16.17 MX$299

-42.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.70 £2.02

$1.90 MX$35.03

42.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 £1.53

$4.22 MX$78.0

-51.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.73 £2.04

$0.34 MX$6.30

702.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.84 £4.38

$2.00 MX$36.90

192.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.68 £1.26

$0.52 MX$9.67

223.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.15 £15.87

$5.34 MX$98.7

296.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 £1.44

$1.52 MX$28.13

26.32%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$39.0K £29.2K

$22.1K MX$408.0K

76.57%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$40.1K £30.1K

$24.5K MX$452.9K

63.77%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$226 £169

$61.1 MX$1,129

269.92%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$11.95 £8.97

$28.58 MX$528

-58.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.54 £21.41

$34.47 MX$637

-17.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.10 £35.34

$56.4 MX$1,042

-16.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.06 £6.05

$24.88 MX$460

-67.60%

Cinema Ticket

$12.56 £9.42

$6.66 MX$123

88.59%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,061 £796

$427 MX$7,891

148.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.7K £14.8K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

69.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.8 £51.6

$67.8 MX$1,253

1.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.19 £24.15

$52.0 MX$960

-38.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 £57.8

$106 MX$1,959

-27.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$39.33 £29.51

$113 MX$2,080

-65.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,403 £1,053

$1,025 MX$18.9K

36.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,328 £996

$654 MX$12.1K

102.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,276 £1,708

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-1.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,182 £1,637

$1,242 MX$22.9K

75.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,013 £2,260

$964 MX$17.8K

212.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.91

11.3

-56.55%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Harlow: October 18, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Harlow

$1.3K 57%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 50.7% $673

Eating Out

Harlow

$331 14.2%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 38.4% $127

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Harlow

$266 11.4%

Mexico City

$124 8% 53.4% $142

Groceries & Markets

Harlow

$210 9%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 51.6% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Harlow

$98 4.2%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 55.7% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Harlow

$72 3.1%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 3.5% $2.5

Getting Around

Harlow

$25 * 1.1%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 1.9% $0.5

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,403 in Harlow and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harlow pays 213% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $92.0 in Harlow vs $49.00 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $318, with Harlow cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Harlow

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

20:52 8:52 PM

13:52 1:52 PM

7 h behind Harlow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

86,191

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Harlow Mexico City 8,930 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Harlow
Mexico City

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Harlow vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Harlow and Mexico City differ by about 51% in total monthly costs ($2,330 vs $1,548 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 213% higher in Harlow, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,403 in Harlow versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Harlow pay roughly 52% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,330 per month in Harlow versus $1,548 in Mexico City – a 51% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,548 in Mexico City versus $2,330 in Harlow, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Harlow. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Harlow and Mexico City are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Harlow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.