Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Johor Bahru and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Johor Bahru: $1,080 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Johor Bahru
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Johor Bahru Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Johor Bahru

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,080

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,080 in Johor Bahru versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Johor Bahru $1,080
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,611 in Johor Bahru versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Johor Bahru $1,611
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,141 in Johor Bahru versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Johor Bahru $2,141
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Johor Bahru costs roughly 33% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Johor Bahru is 21% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.57 MYR 14.53

$10.62 MX$198

-66.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.54 MYR 75.5

$48.35 MX$901

-61.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.03 MYR 20.49

$10.35 MX$193

-51.40%

Cappuccino

$3.00 MYR 12.21

$3.69 MX$68.7

-18.70%

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

$0.85 MYR 3.45

$1.67 MX$31.05

-49.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 MYR 2.30

$1.27 MX$23.58

-55.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.54 MYR 18.50

$3.19 MX$59.5

42.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.27 MYR 25.53

$5.31 MX$98.9

18.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MYR 6.92

$1.72 MX$32.13

-1.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 MYR 4.28

$3.04 MX$56.6

-65.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MYR 5.77

$1.94 MX$36.17

-26.80%

Eggs

$1.73 MYR 7.04

$2.89 MX$53.8

-40.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.23 MYR 74.3

$10.97 MX$204

66.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.57 MYR 18.62

$9.25 MX$172

-50.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.51 MYR 42.80

$15.13 MX$282

-30.54%

Apples (1kg)

$3.28 MYR 13.38

$3.05 MX$56.8

7.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 MYR 7.09

$1.94 MX$36.17

-10.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.91 MYR 15.94

$2.03 MX$37.73

92.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.64 MYR 6.68

$2.31 MX$43.12

-29.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 MYR 5.73

$2.04 MX$37.91

-30.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.65 MYR 6.71

$1.80 MX$33.53

-8.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 MYR 5.56

$1.48 MX$27.56

-7.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 MYR 2.26

$1.27 MX$23.62

-55.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.19 MYR 17.06

$5.30 MX$98.8

-20.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.20 MYR 57.9

$16.10 MX$300

-11.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.92 MYR 11.91

$1.98 MX$36.95

47.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 MYR 12.33

$4.25 MX$79.2

-28.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 MYR 2.83

$0.31 MX$5.68

125.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.36 MYR 50.4

$19.73 MX$368

-37.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 MYR 3.84

$1.84 MX$34.23

-48.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 MYR 3.07

$0.53 MX$9.94

41.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.95 MYR 40.54

$5.30 MX$98.7

87.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 MYR 3.37

$1.51 MX$28.14

-45.03%

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

$43.9K MYR 178.7K

$21.8K MX$405.3K

101.68%

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

$35.7K MYR 145.6K

$24.0K MX$446.9K

48.96%

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

$52.7 MYR 215

$63.0 MX$1,173

-16.37%

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

$11.01 MYR 44.86

$27.39 MX$510

-59.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.28 MYR 115

$35.67 MX$664

-20.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.28 MYR 168

$58.9 MX$1,098

-29.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.80 MYR 23.61

$23.64 MX$441

-75.47%

Cinema Ticket

$4.81 MYR 19.61

$6.40 MX$119

-24.84%

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

$239 MYR 975

$432 MX$8,041

-44.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,518 MYR 18.4K

$11.4K MX$212.8K

-60.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 MYR 222

$68.2 MX$1,271

-20.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.53 MYR 67.3

$53.1 MX$990

-68.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.3 MYR 331

$108 MX$2,008

-24.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.3 MYR 400

$117 MX$2,185

-16.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$523 MYR 2,132

$1,113 MX$20.7K

-53.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$416 MYR 1,693

$710 MX$13.2K

-41.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 MYR 4,004

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-62.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$707 MYR 2,881

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-49.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,002 MYR 8,154

$3,631 MX$67.6K

-44.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,214 MYR 4,944

$2,135 MX$39.8K

-43.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,076 MYR 4,382

$946 MX$17.6K

13.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

11.35

-64.23%

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

Last update for Johor Bahru: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Johor Bahru

$416 38.5%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 71% $295

Groceries & Markets

Johor Bahru

$269 24.9%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 19% $51

Eating Out

Johor Bahru

$120 11.2%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 64.9% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Johor Bahru

$113 10.4%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 38.2% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Johor Bahru

$92 8.5%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 37.1% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Johor Bahru

$51 4.7%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 40.9% $21

Getting Around

Johor Bahru

$20 1.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 28.2% $5.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $523 in Johor Bahru and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Johor Bahru pays 14% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $19 in Johor Bahru vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $320 per month, with Johor Bahru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Johor Bahru

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

16:01 4:01 PM

02:01 2:01 AM

14 h behind Johor Bahru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

858,118

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.55 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Johor Bahru Mexico City 16,600 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Johor Bahru
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

Johor Bahru vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,080 in Johor Bahru and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Johor Bahru is about 33% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 14% higher in Johor Bahru, 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: $523 in Johor Bahru versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Johor Bahru – a meal for two runs $19 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,080 per month in Johor Bahru versus $1,608 in Mexico City – Johor Bahru is about 33% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Johor Bahru 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.

Expats usually find Johor Bahru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.