Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karaj and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Karaj: $823 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Karaj
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Karaj Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Karaj

🇮🇷 Iran

$823

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $823 in Karaj versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Karaj $823
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,058 in Karaj versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Karaj $1,058
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,293 in Karaj versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Karaj $1,293
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Karaj costs roughly 49% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Karaj is 40% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.54 $3.54

$10.62 MX$199

-66.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.19 $16.19

$48.35 MX$908

-66.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.97 $3.97

$10.35 MX$194

-61.64%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.48 $0.48

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.06 $1.06

Cappuccino

$1.06 $1.06

$3.69 MX$69.3

-71.27%

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

$0.43 $0.43

$1.67 MX$31.29

-74.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 $1.65

$1.27 MX$23.76

29.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

Milk (1 liter)

$0.70 $0.70

$1.72 MX$32.38

-59.30%

White Bread (500g)

$0.52 $0.52

$3.04 MX$57.1

-82.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.07 $2.07

$1.94 MX$36.44

6.70%

Eggs

$1.03 $1.03

$2.89 MX$54.2

-64.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.48 $4.48

$10.97 MX$206

-59.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 $3.33

$9.25 MX$174

-64.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.43 $10.43

$15.13 MX$284

-31.06%

Apples (1kg)

$0.89 $0.89

$3.05 MX$57.2

-70.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 $1.70

$1.94 MX$36.45

-12.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.80 $0.80

$2.03 MX$38.02

-60.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.49 $0.49

$2.31 MX$43.46

-78.79%

Potato (1kg)

$0.46 $0.46

$2.04 MX$38.21

-77.45%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 $0.47

$1.80 MX$33.79

-73.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.54 $0.54

$1.48 MX$27.77

-63.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 $0.21

$1.27 MX$23.80

-83.46%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.83 $0.83

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 $0.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 $1.34

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.48 $2.48

$5.30 MX$99.6

-53.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 $0.20

$0.31 MX$5.73

-35.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.11 $13.11

$19.73 MX$371

-33.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 $0.29

$1.84 MX$34.50

-84.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 $0.31

$0.53 MX$10.02

-41.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.64 $2.64

$5.30 MX$99.4

-50.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.08 $0.08

$1.51 MX$28.36

-94.70%

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

$49.5K $49.5K

$21.8K MX$408.4K

127.32%

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

$45.6K $45.6K

$24.0K MX$450.3K

90.18%

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

$13.24 $13.24

$63.0 MX$1,182

-78.98%

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

$1.54 $1.54

$27.39 MX$514

-94.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$3.81 $3.81

$35.67 MX$670

-89.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.04 $23.04

$58.9 MX$1,107

-60.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.08 $10.08

$23.64 MX$444

-57.36%

Cinema Ticket

$1.06 $1.06

$6.40 MX$120

-83.44%

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

$108 $108

$432 MX$8,103

-75.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$839 $839

$11.4K MX$214.5K

-92.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.32 $25.32

$68.2 MX$1,281

-62.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.83 $27.83

$53.1 MX$997

-47.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.8 $97.8

$108 MX$2,023

-9.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.3 $73.3

$117 MX$2,202

-37.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$298 $298

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-73.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$488 $488

$710 MX$13.3K

-31.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$798 $798

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-69.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$476 $476

$1,406 MX$26.4K

-66.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,274 $1,274

$3,631 MX$68.2K

-64.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$527 $527

$2,135 MX$40.1K

-75.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$239 $239

$946 MX$17.8K

-74.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

102.64%

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

Last update for Karaj: 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

Karaj

$488 59.3%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 45.7% $223

Groceries & Markets

Karaj

$113 13.8%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 182% $206

Clothing & Footwear

Karaj

$101 12.3%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 54.4% $55

Eating Out

Karaj

$61 7.5%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 224% $137

Sport & Entertainment

Karaj

$25 3.1%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 185% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karaj

$19 2.3%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 578% $107

Getting Around

Karaj

$16 1.9%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 61.3% $9.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $298 in Karaj and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $16 in Karaj vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $113 vs $320 per month, with Karaj cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇷 Karaj

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

05:17 5:17 AM

19:47 7:47 PM

9 h 30 min behind Karaj

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,712,000

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

USD USD

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 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).

MXN to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Karaj Mexico City 13,110 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Karaj
Mexico City

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

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $823 in Karaj and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Karaj is about 49% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 75% lower in Karaj. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $298 in Karaj versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 182% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Karaj – a meal for two runs $16 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $823 in Karaj versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Karaj but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Karaj 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.

Expats usually find Karaj gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.