Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ilford and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,419 in Ilford, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Ilford
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Ilford Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Ilford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,419

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ilford 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 Ilford and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,419 per month in Ilford vs $1,608 in Mexico City, rent included.

Ilford $2,419
Mexico City $1,608

A couple spends around $3,776 per month in Ilford vs $2,549 in Mexico City, rent included.

Ilford $3,776
Mexico City $2,549

A family of three spends $5,132 per month in Ilford vs $3,490 in Mexico City, rent included.

Ilford $5,132
Mexico City $3,490

Ilford costs about 50% more than Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Ilford and Mexico City sit above the global median – Ilford by 78%, Mexico City by 18%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.10 £15.75

$10.62 MX$199

98.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.6 £68.4

$48.35 MX$908

89.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.77 £8.04

$10.35 MX$194

4.06%

Cappuccino

$4.78 £3.57

$3.69 MX$69.3

29.54%

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

$2.83 £2.11

$1.67 MX$31.29

69.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.27 MX$23.76

52.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.88 £5.88

$3.19 MX$59.9

147.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.47 £4.83

$5.31 MX$99.6

21.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.72 MX$32.38

-4.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 £1.29

$3.04 MX$57.1

-43.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 £1.88

$1.94 MX$36.44

29.38%

Eggs

$4.38 £3.27

$2.89 MX$54.2

51.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.83 £7.34

$10.97 MX$206

-10.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 £7.28

$9.25 MX$174

5.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.91 £11.88

$15.13 MX$284

5.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 £2.22

$3.05 MX$57.2

-2.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 £1.02

$1.94 MX$36.45

-29.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.02 £2.25

$2.03 MX$38.02

48.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.41 £2.54

$2.31 MX$43.46

47.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 £1.23

$2.04 MX$38.21

-19.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 £1.28

$1.80 MX$33.79

-4.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 £0.98

$1.48 MX$27.77

-11.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 £1.40

$1.27 MX$23.80

48.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.93 £17.12

$5.30 MX$99.6

332.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.99 £8.21

$16.10 MX$302

-31.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.21 £2.40

$1.98 MX$37.23

62.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 £2.96

$4.25 MX$79.8

-6.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.50 £2.61

$0.31 MX$5.73

1029.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.7 £73.7

$19.73 MX$371

400.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 £4.07

$1.84 MX$34.50

196.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.71 £2.02

$0.53 MX$10.02

411.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.28 £19.62

$5.30 MX$99.4

395.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.51 MX$28.36

37.09%

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

$39.0K £29.1K

$21.8K MX$408.4K

79.36%

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

$41.0K £30.6K

$24.0K MX$450.3K

71.11%

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

$336 £251

$63.0 MX$1,182

433.95%

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

$18.24 £13.62

$27.39 MX$514

-33.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.16 £29.98

$35.67 MX$670

12.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.30 £34.57

$58.9 MX$1,107

-21.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

Cinema Ticket

$17.57 £13.12

$6.40 MX$120

174.53%

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

$2,605 £1,945

$432 MX$8,103

503.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.3K £27.1K

$11.4K MX$214.5K

218.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 £65.8

$68.2 MX$1,281

29.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.90 £35.02

$53.1 MX$997

-11.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.6 £67.7

$108 MX$2,023

-15.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 £96.7

$117 MX$2,202

10.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,377 £1,028

$1,113 MX$20.9K

23.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,000 £747

$710 MX$13.3K

40.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,974 £2,220

$2,588 MX$48.6K

14.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,071 £1,546

$1,406 MX$26.4K

47.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,069 £3,785

$3,631 MX$68.2K

39.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,917 £2,925

$2,135 MX$40.1K

83.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,524 £2,632

$946 MX$17.8K

272.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

11.35

-55.59%

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

Last update for Ilford: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ilford

$1K 41.3%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 29% $290

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ilford

$395 16.3%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 68.1% $269

Eating Out

Ilford

$330 13.6%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 39.8% $131

Groceries & Markets

Ilford

$322 13.3%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 0.6% $2

Clothing & Footwear

Ilford

$160 6.6%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 2.5% $4

Getting Around

Ilford

$132 5.4%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 80.7% $106

Sport & Entertainment

Ilford

$81 3.4%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 11.9% $9.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,377 in Ilford versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Ilford are about 3.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $92 in Ilford versus $48 in Mexico City. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $322 vs $320 – making Mexico City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Ilford

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

02:36 2:36 AM

20:36 8:36 PM

6 h behind Ilford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

168,168

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ilford Mexico City 8,940 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ilford
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

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

Ilford costs about 50% more than Mexico City, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,629 per month in Ilford and $2,412 in Mexico City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mexico City, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,113 there versus $1,377 in Ilford.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $92 in Ilford and $48 in Mexico City. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Public transport costs about 80% less in Mexico City. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$3,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $2,419 in Ilford and $1,608 in Mexico City, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Mexico City – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Mexico City. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Ilford makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.