Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medan and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Medan: $613 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Medan
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Medan Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Medan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$613

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $613 in Medan versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Medan $613
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $940 in Medan versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Medan $940
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,266 in Medan versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Medan $1,266
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Medan costs roughly 61% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medan is 55% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.71 Rp 30.8K

$10.75 MX$199

-84.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.30 Rp 149.4K

$50.3 MX$929

-83.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.95 Rp 53.0K

$11.10 MX$205

-73.42%

Cappuccino

$1.53 Rp 27.5K

$3.68 MX$68.1

-58.42%

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

$0.35 Rp 6,215

$1.65 MX$30.42

-78.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 Rp 4,534

$1.30 MX$24.08

-80.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.66 Rp 29.9K

$3.32 MX$61.3

-50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

$5.54 MX$102

-35.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

$1.77 MX$32.68

-37.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$3.05 MX$56.4

-61.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

$2.01 MX$37.20

-59.70%

Eggs

$1.32 Rp 23.8K

$2.77 MX$51.1

-52.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.12 Rp 146.2K

$11.91 MX$220

-31.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

$9.33 MX$172

-61.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.36 Rp 114.5K

$15.02 MX$278

-57.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 Rp 43.1K

$3.08 MX$56.8

-22.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 Rp 18.9K

$1.95 MX$35.97

-46.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.42 Rp 25.5K

$2.03 MX$37.54

-30.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.93 Rp 16.7K

$2.21 MX$40.92

-57.92%

Potato (1kg)

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

$2.02 MX$37.41

-58.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 Rp 32.3K

$1.82 MX$33.67

-1.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.38 Rp 6,905

$1.52 MX$28.07

-75.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 Rp 7,872

$1.28 MX$23.65

-65.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.87 Rp 51.7K

$5.27 MX$97.4

-45.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.72 Rp 282.9K

$16.12 MX$298

-2.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 Rp 32.9K

$1.95 MX$36.05

-6.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 Rp 54.1K

$4.25 MX$78.6

-29.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 Rp 4,816

$0.31 MX$5.82

-12.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.93 Rp 106.7K

$19.85 MX$367

-70.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.51 Rp 9,186

$2.00 MX$36.93

-74.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 Rp 3,465

$0.53 MX$9.86

-64.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 Rp 14.4K

$1.52 MX$28.07

-47.37%

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

$24.7K Rp 444.1M

$21.0K MX$388.7K

17.30%

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

$32.2K Rp 579.9M

$25.2K MX$465.3K

27.94%

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

$84.8 Rp 1.5M

$62.5 MX$1,155

35.77%

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

$3.17 Rp 57.0K

$28.77 MX$532

-88.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.57 Rp 424.3K

$34.45 MX$637

-31.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.95 Rp 305.0K

$57.1 MX$1,055

-70.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.41 Rp 151.5K

$24.81 MX$458

-66.10%

Cinema Ticket

$3.29 Rp 59.3K

$6.67 MX$123

-50.67%

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

$112 Rp 2.0M

$431 MX$7,964

-74.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,692 Rp 30.5M

$11.7K MX$216.9K

-85.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 Rp 975.9K

$70.8 MX$1,308

-23.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.53 Rp 693.6K

$51.8 MX$958

-25.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 Rp 1.9M

$109 MX$2,011

-0.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 Rp 2.0M

$112 MX$2,076

-1.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$233 Rp 4.2M

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-77.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.8 Rp 1.6M

$665 MX$12.3K

-86.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 Rp 8.9M

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-78.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$212 Rp 3.8M

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-82.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,158 Rp 20.8M

$3,554 MX$65.7K

-67.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$560 Rp 10.1M

$1,977 MX$36.5K

-71.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$215 Rp 3.9M

$975 MX$18.0K

-77.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.25

11.3

-18.14%

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

Last update for Medan: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Medan

$181 29.5%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 78.4% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Medan

$140 22.9%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 10.3% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medan

$112 18.2%

Mexico City

$126 8% 12.7% $14

Accommodation & Living

Medan

$90 14.6%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 641% $575

Eating Out

Medan

$59 9.6%

Mexico City

$203 13% 246% $144

Sport & Entertainment

Medan

$24 3.8%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 199% $47

Getting Around

Medan

$8.5 1.4%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 204% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $233 in Medan and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 353% 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: $8.00 in Medan vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $181 vs $323 per month, with Medan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Medan

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

15:49 3:49 PM

02:49 2:49 AM

13 h behind Medan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,097,610

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medan Mexico City 16,800 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Medan
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

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

Medan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 156% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 353% lower in Mexico City. 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: $233 in Medan versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Medan runs roughly 235% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $112 in Medan versus $431 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $613 in Medan versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Medan but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Medan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Medan is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Mexico City, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Medan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 156% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.