Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Leon, Spain and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Leon: $1,489 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

72

Cost of Living Index in Leon
Learn more

Leon Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Leon

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,489

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,489 in Leon versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Leon $1,489
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,087 in Leon versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Leon $2,087
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,686 in Leon versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Leon $2,686
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Leon costs roughly 7% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Leon 9% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.90 €15.14

$10.62 MX$199

59.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.23 €36.93

$48.35 MX$908

-14.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.67 €7.77

$10.35 MX$194

-16.23%

Cappuccino

$2.87 €2.57

$3.69 MX$69.3

-22.22%

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

$2.52 €2.25

$1.67 MX$31.29

50.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.23

$1.27 MX$23.76

7.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.86 €2.57

$3.19 MX$59.9

-10.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 €2.97

$5.31 MX$99.6

-37.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 €0.92

$1.72 MX$32.38

-40.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.33 €1.19

$3.04 MX$57.1

-56.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 €1.20

$1.94 MX$36.44

-30.93%

Eggs

$3.34 €2.99

$2.89 MX$54.2

15.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.24 €9.17

$10.97 MX$206

-6.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.29 €5.63

$9.25 MX$174

-32.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.51 €13.89

$15.13 MX$284

2.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.38 €2.13

$3.05 MX$57.2

-21.97%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.94 MX$36.45

13.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.35 €2.11

$2.03 MX$38.02

15.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.37 €2.12

$2.31 MX$43.46

2.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$2.04 MX$38.21

-13.73%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 €1.82

$1.80 MX$33.79

12.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.99

$1.48 MX$27.77

-25.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$1.27 MX$23.80

-40.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.58 €5.00

$5.30 MX$99.6

5.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.93 €4.41

$16.10 MX$302

-69.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 €1.46

$1.98 MX$37.23

-17.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 €1.69

$4.25 MX$79.8

-55.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.31 €1.18

$0.31 MX$5.73

322.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.33 €29.85

$19.73 MX$371

68.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.25 €2.02

$1.84 MX$34.50

22.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.20 €1.08

$0.53 MX$10.02

126.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.58 €31.86

$5.30 MX$99.4

571.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.64 €1.47

$1.51 MX$28.36

8.61%

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

$37.3K €33.4K

$21.8K MX$408.4K

71.54%

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

$31.4K €28.1K

$24.0K MX$450.3K

30.95%

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

$170 €152

$63.0 MX$1,182

169.66%

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

$16.29 €14.59

$27.39 MX$514

-40.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.33 €26.27

$35.67 MX$670

-17.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.87 €30.33

$58.9 MX$1,107

-42.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.09 €5.46

$23.64 MX$444

-74.24%

Cinema Ticket

$8.75 €7.84

$6.40 MX$120

36.72%

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

$210 €188

$432 MX$8,103

-51.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.0 €86.0

$68.2 MX$1,281

40.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.67 €14.04

$53.1 MX$997

-70.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.1 €73.5

$108 MX$2,023

-23.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.8 €50.9

$117 MX$2,202

-51.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 €756

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-24.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$588 €527

$710 MX$13.3K

-17.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$924 €828

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-64.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$739 €662

$1,406 MX$26.4K

-47.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,007 €1,797

$3,631 MX$68.2K

-44.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,573 €1,409

$2,135 MX$40.1K

-26.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,764 €1,580

$946 MX$17.8K

86.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.6

11.35

-68.28%

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

Last update for Leon: 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

Leon

$588 39.5%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 20.8% $122

Groceries & Markets

Leon

$242 16.3%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 32.1% $78

Eating Out

Leon

$232 15.6%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 14.5% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Leon

$215 14.5%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 41.5% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Leon

$113 7.6%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 38.2% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Leon

$51 3.5%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 39.7% $20

Getting Around

Leon

$47 3.2%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 45.7% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $845 in Leon and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Leon pays 86% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $41 in Leon vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $242 vs $320 per month, with Leon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Leon

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

00:38 12:38 AM

17:38 5:38 PM

7 h behind Leon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

121,281

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

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

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Leon Mexico City 8,840 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Leon
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,489 in Leon and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Leon is about 7% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 86% higher in Leon, 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: $845 in Leon 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 Leon – a meal for two runs $41 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,489 per month in Leon versus $1,608 in Mexico City – Leon is about 7% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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