Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Iowa City, IA and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,674 a month against $2,239 in Iowa City, IA, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Iowa City, IA
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Iowa City, IA Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Iowa City, IA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,239

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,239 in Iowa City, IA versus $1,674 in Mexico City.

Iowa City, IA $2,239
Mexico City $1,674

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,243 in Iowa City, IA versus $2,606 in Mexico City.

Iowa City, IA $3,243
Mexico City $2,606

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,246 in Iowa City, IA versus $3,537 in Mexico City.

Iowa City, IA $4,246
Mexico City $3,537

Living in Iowa City, IA is roughly 34% 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: Iowa City, IA 66% above, Mexico City 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.86 $14.86

$10.59 MX$198

40.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.9 $64.9

$52.0 MX$972

24.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.02 $9.02

$10.73 MX$201

-15.94%

Cappuccino

$5.72 $5.72

$3.80 MX$71.0

50.53%

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

$2.78 $2.78

$1.61 MX$30.16

72.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 $2.22

$1.21 MX$22.67

83.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.04 $5.04

$3.18 MX$59.4

58.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.97 $6.97

$5.44 MX$102

28.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.96 $0.96

$1.72 MX$32.13

-44.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.75 $2.75

$2.97 MX$55.5

-7.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.02 $2.02

$1.93 MX$36.02

4.66%

Eggs

$3.68 $3.68

$2.77 MX$51.9

32.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.22 $9.22

$11.67 MX$218

-20.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.48 $10.48

$9.48 MX$177

10.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.19 $20.19

$15.37 MX$288

31.36%

Apples (1kg)

$3.40 $3.40

$3.10 MX$58.1

9.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.15 $1.15

$1.96 MX$36.67

-41.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.66 $2.66

$1.98 MX$37.07

34.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.68 $4.68

$2.34 MX$43.68

100.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.98 $1.98

$2.02 MX$37.85

-1.98%

Onion (1kg)

$2.35 $2.35

$1.82 MX$34.13

29.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 $1.70

$1.54 MX$28.89

10.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.34 $2.34

$1.31 MX$24.54

78.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.65 $9.65

$5.35 MX$100

80.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 $13.30

$16.19 MX$303

-17.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 $1.75

$1.96 MX$36.64

-10.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.28 $4.28

$4.35 MX$81.4

-1.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.70

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$365

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.91 $3.91

$1.92 MX$35.86

103.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 $2.05

$0.47 MX$8.84

336.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$43.91 $43.91

$5.41 MX$101

711.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 $1.01

$1.48 MX$27.75

-31.76%

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

$27.2K $27.2K

$21.4K MX$399.7K

27.33%

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

$26.2K $26.2K

$23.8K MX$444.3K

10.22%

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

$271 $271

$62.0 MX$1,160

336.49%

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

$46.61 $46.61

$28.47 MX$533

63.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$80.8 $80.8

$34.11 MX$638

136.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.52 $29.52

$58.4 MX$1,092

-49.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.31 $20.31

$24.50 MX$458

-17.10%

Cinema Ticket

$13.83 $13.83

$6.59 MX$123

109.86%

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

$1,287 $1,287

$434 MX$8,122

196.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K $14.7K

$14.0K MX$262.5K

4.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.9 $63.9

$68.4 MX$1,278

-6.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.41 $47.41

$54.8 MX$1,025

-13.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.3 $98.3

$111 MX$2,073

-11.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 $116

$116 MX$2,169

0.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 $1,302

$1,179 MX$22.1K

10.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,002 $1,002

$771 MX$14.4K

29.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,906 $1,906

$2,570 MX$48.1K

-25.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,638 $1,638

$1,420 MX$26.6K

15.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,489 $3,489

$3,586 MX$67.1K

-2.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,843 $1,843

$2,064 MX$38.6K

-10.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,887 $3,887

$1,003 MX$18.8K

287.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

11.35

-43.17%

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

Last update for Iowa City, IA: November 1, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Iowa City, IA

$1K 44.7%

Mexico City

$771 46.1% 23% $231

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Iowa City, IA

$398 17.8%

Mexico City

$125 7.4% 68.7% $273

Groceries & Markets

Iowa City, IA

$348 15.5%

Mexico City

$324 19.3% 7% $24

Eating Out

Iowa City, IA

$274 12.2%

Mexico City

$201 12% 26.7% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Iowa City, IA

$147 6.6%

Mexico City

$158 9.4% 7.4% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Iowa City, IA

$57 2.6%

Mexico City

$72 4.3% 25.2% $14

Getting Around

Iowa City, IA

$14 * 0.6%

Mexico City

$25 1.5% 76.5% $11

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 $1,302 in Iowa City, IA and $1,179 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Iowa City, IA pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $65 in Iowa City, IA vs $52 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $348 vs $324 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Iowa City, IA

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

12:38 12:38 PM

Same time as Iowa City, IA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,828

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 21.01 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

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Iowa City, IA Mexico City 2,570 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Iowa City, IA
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

Iowa City, IA vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City is about 25% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Iowa City, IA is about 3.9 times higher, 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: $1,302 in Iowa City, IA versus $1,179 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,287 in Iowa City, IA versus $434 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $52 versus $65 in Iowa City, IA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Mexico City gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Mexico City wins on affordability, Iowa City, IA on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.