Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Machakos and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $520 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $13,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
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Machakos Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$520

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $520 in Machakos versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Machakos $520
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $802 in Machakos versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Machakos $802
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,084 in Machakos versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Machakos $1,084
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Machakos costs roughly 68% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Machakos is 62% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.99 KES 389

$10.62 MX$199

-71.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.26 KES 2,500

$48.35 MX$906

-60.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.26 KES 812

$10.35 MX$194

-39.52%

Cappuccino

$1.97 KES 255

$3.69 MX$69.2

-46.61%

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

$0.66 KES 85.4

$1.67 MX$31.23

-60.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 KES 69.6

$1.27 MX$23.71

-57.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 KES 281

$3.19 MX$59.8

-32.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 KES 346

$5.31 MX$99.5

-49.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.39 KES 50.9

$1.72 MX$32.32

-77.33%

White Bread (500g)

$0.48 KES 62.7

$3.04 MX$57.0

-84.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 KES 104

$1.94 MX$36.38

-58.76%

Eggs

$1.36 KES 177

$2.89 MX$54.1

-52.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.89 KES 1,413

$10.97 MX$206

-0.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.36 KES 826

$9.25 MX$173

-31.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.71 KES 612

$15.13 MX$283

-68.87%

Apples (1kg)

$1.50 KES 195

$3.05 MX$57.1

-50.82%

Banana (1kg)

$0.81 KES 105

$1.94 MX$36.38

-58.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.37 KES 47.49

$2.03 MX$37.95

-81.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.40 KES 51.6

$2.31 MX$43.38

-82.68%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 KES 102

$2.04 MX$38.14

-61.27%

Onion (1kg)

$0.76 KES 98.6

$1.80 MX$33.73

-57.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 KES 97.6

$1.48 MX$27.72

-49.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 KES 51.1

$1.27 MX$23.75

-69.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.51 KES 455

$5.30 MX$99.4

-33.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.31 KES 1,468

$16.10 MX$302

-29.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 KES 248

$1.98 MX$37.16

-3.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 KES 351

$4.25 MX$79.7

-36.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 KES 96.4

$1.84 MX$34.44

-59.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 KES 97.8

$0.53 MX$10.00

41.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 KES 371

$5.30 MX$99.2

-46.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 KES 195

$1.51 MX$28.31

-0.66%

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

$19.1K KES 2.5M

$21.8K MX$407.7K

-12.10%

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

$21.7K KES 2.8M

$24.0K MX$449.5K

-9.42%

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

$57.0 KES 7,396

$63.0 MX$1,180

-9.53%

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

$7.83 KES 1,017

$27.39 MX$513

-71.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.58 KES 1,503

$35.67 MX$668

-67.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.98 KES 5,060

$58.9 MX$1,105

-33.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

Cinema Ticket

$7.66 KES 994

$6.40 MX$120

19.69%

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

$45.51 KES 5,907

$432 MX$8,088

-89.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K KES 1.6M

$11.4K MX$214.1K

7.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$11.62 KES 1,509

$68.2 MX$1,278

-82.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.49 KES 3,698

$53.1 MX$996

-46.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.8 KES 8,923

$108 MX$2,020

-36.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$38.19 KES 4,956

$117 MX$2,198

-67.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$94.2 KES 12.2K

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-91.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$70.4 KES 9,132

$710 MX$13.3K

-90.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$155 KES 20.1K

$2,588 MX$48.5K

-94.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$116 KES 15.1K

$1,406 MX$26.3K

-91.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$385 KES 50.0K

$946 MX$17.7K

-59.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

11.35

29.60%

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

Last update for Machakos: October 24, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Machakos

$161 31%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 98.5% $159

Eating Out

Machakos

$87 16.8%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 128% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Machakos

$76 14.7%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 65% $50

Accommodation & Living

Machakos

$70 13.5%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 910% $640

Clothing & Footwear

Machakos

$66 12.7%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 136% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Machakos

$54 10.4%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 32.1% $17

Getting Around

Machakos

$4.5 * 0.9%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 465% $21

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 $94 in Machakos and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.5 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $19 in Machakos vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $161 vs $320 per month, with Machakos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Machakos

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

21:22 9:22 PM

12:22 12:22 PM

9 h behind Machakos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,109

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.9 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.9 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

USD to KES in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Machakos Mexico City 14,870 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Machakos
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

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

Machakos wins on cost – living expenses run 68% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Machakos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 59% lower in Machakos. 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: $94 in Machakos 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 98% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $520 per month in Machakos versus $1,608 in Mexico City – Machakos is about 68% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $520 in Machakos versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $800 budget is realistic in Machakos but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Machakos 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.

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