Cost of Living Comparison Between Lae and Mexico City Cost of Living Comparison Between Lae and Mexico City

🙂 Solo nomad: Lae is 46% cheaper than Mexico City without rent, and 14% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Lae is 29.3% cheaper than Mexico City without rent, and 57.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.68 PGK 46.47

$13.12 MX$227

-18.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 PGK 239

$53.8 MX$932

1.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.40 MX$163

Cappuccino

$2.80 PGK 12.19

$3.56 MX$61.7

-21.35%

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

$0.81 PGK 3.50

$1.60 MX$27.76

-49.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.58 PGK 2.52

$1.15 MX$20.00

-49.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.56 PGK 15.47

$3.16 MX$54.7

12.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.79 PGK 25.19

$4.85 MX$83.9

19.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.10 PGK 9.15

$1.63 MX$28.30

28.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 PGK 6.64

$2.73 MX$47.36

-43.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 PGK 6.17

$1.88 MX$32.54

-24.47%

Eggs

$4.19 PGK 18.24

$2.63 MX$45.58

59.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.23 PGK 44.51

$9.89 MX$171

3.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.92 PGK 43.17

$8.40 MX$146

18.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.34 PGK 49.35

$11.63 MX$201

-2.49%

Apples (1kg)

$4.84 PGK 21.05

$2.97 MX$51.5

62.96%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 PGK 13.12

$1.78 MX$30.91

69.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.74 PGK 29.34

$2.06 MX$35.60

227.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 PGK 7.22

$1.97 MX$34.21

-15.74%

Potato (1kg)

$3.70 PGK 16.10

$2.09 MX$36.13

77.03%

Onion (1kg)

$2.46 PGK 10.69

$2.26 MX$39.13

8.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 PGK 3.18

$1.46 MX$25.26

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 PGK 4.11

$1.09 MX$18.88

-13.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.17 PGK 31.18

$4.34 MX$75.2

65.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.71 PGK 55.3

$13.62 MX$236

-6.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.68 PGK 11.67

$1.67 MX$28.99

60.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.70 PGK 20.46

$3.54 MX$61.3

32.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 PGK 1.50

$0.36 MX$6.23

-5.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.96 MX$328

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 MX$22.92

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.30 MX$5.22

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.49 MX$95.1

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 PGK 4.91

$1.34 MX$23.15

-15.67%

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

$19.1K MX$331.1K

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

$23.8K MX$411.6K

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

$41.11 MX$712

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

$27.78 MX$481

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.00 MX$520

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.5 MX$927

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.13 MX$453

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 MX$109

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

$439 MX$7,610

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K MX$186.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.1 MX$989

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.30 MX$785

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 MX$1,805

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 MX$1,875

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$7,964 PGK 34.6K

$996 MX$17.3K

699.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$763 PGK 3,318

$624 MX$10.8K

22.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,456 PGK 6,334

$2,106 MX$36.5K

-30.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,218 MX$21.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,799 MX$65.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,230 MX$38.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$161 PGK 700

$1,096 MX$19.0K

-85.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.34

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

Last update for Lae: March 1, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: March 1, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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