Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexicali and Roodepoort

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexicali: $927 a month against $1,172 in Roodepoort, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Mexicali
Learn more

Mexicali Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Roodepoort
Learn more

Roodepoort Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexicali

🇲🇽 Mexico

$927

/mo nomad

Roodepoort

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,172

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexicali and in Roodepoort

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Mexicali and in Roodepoort actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $927 per month in Mexicali vs $1,172 in Roodepoort, rent included.

Mexicali $927
Roodepoort $1,172

A couple spends around $1,485 per month in Mexicali vs $1,767 in Roodepoort, rent included.

Mexicali $1,485
Roodepoort $1,767

A family of three spends $2,042 per month in Mexicali vs $2,362 in Roodepoort, rent included.

Mexicali $2,042
Roodepoort $2,362

Mexicali is about 21% cheaper than Roodepoort, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Mexicali and Roodepoort are more affordable than the global median – Mexicali 32% lower, Roodepoort 14% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.33 MX$232

$12.00 R 200

2.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.01 MX$620

$44.96 R 751

-26.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.49 MX$122

$7.11 R 119

-8.72%

Cappuccino

$3.33 MX$62.5

$2.43 R 40.61

37.04%

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

$1.37 MX$25.82

$1.13 R 18.93

21.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$20.03

$0.98 R 16.34

9.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 MX$60.4

$2.44 R 40.66

31.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.03 MX$75.7

$2.78 R 46.41

44.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 MX$22.48

$1.21 R 20.23

-0.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.32 MX$43.54

$1.15 R 19.19

101.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MX$27.00

$1.78 R 29.78

-19.10%

Eggs

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.51 R 41.91

6.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.40 MX$45.05

$8.79 R 147

-72.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.04 MX$114

$5.38 R 89.8

12.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.60 MX$124

$8.88 R 148

-25.68%

Apples (1kg)

$1.61 MX$30.20

$1.86 R 31.05

-13.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.31 MX$24.66

$1.79 R 29.87

-26.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.70

$1.73 R 28.87

-20.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.45

$2.13 R 35.55

-26.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.78

$1.72 R 28.67

-20.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.95

$1.77 R 29.50

-22.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 MX$25.16

$1.21 R 20.24

10.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 MX$14.51

$1.26 R 20.98

-38.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.01 MX$75.4

$3.50 R 58.4

14.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.99 MX$150

$5.85 R 97.6

36.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.88

$1.52 R 25.43

28.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.99 MX$75.0

$1.91 R 31.85

108.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.02 MX$19.21

$0.81 R 13.48

25.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.66 MX$651

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.80 MX$52.6

$0.81 R 13.44

245.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.19 MX$41.23

$0.88 R 14.76

148.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.17 MX$360

$14.69 R 245

30.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 MX$25.79

$1.56 R 25.99

-12.18%

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

$24.5K MX$461.3K

$34.7K R 579.6K

-29.31%

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

$23.1K MX$434.2K

$35.1K R 585.8K

-34.16%

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

$47.16 MX$886

$226 R 3,774

-79.14%

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

$21.80 MX$410

$39.16 R 654

-44.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.74 MX$540

$37.33 R 623

-23.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.07 MX$734

$47.68 R 796

-18.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.32 MX$307

Cinema Ticket

$3.99 MX$74.9

$7.35 R 123

-45.71%

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

$198 MX$3,726

$238 R 3,980

-16.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,438 MX$83.4K

$5,476 R 91.4K

-18.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.30 MX$626

$52.1 R 869

-36.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.11 MX$603

$32.49 R 542

-1.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 MX$1,419

$110 R 1,829

-31.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.44 MX$704

$88.4 R 1,476

-57.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$967 MX$18.2K

$598 R 9,991

61.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$265 MX$4,975

$289 R 4,816

-8.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,370 MX$25.8K

$1,530 R 25.5K

-10.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$534 MX$10.0K

$531 R 8,858

0.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,628 MX$49.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,427 MX$26.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$837 MX$15.7K

$1,519 R 25.4K

-44.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.07

11.25

7.29%

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

Last update for Mexicali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Roodepoort: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexicali

$265 28.5%

Roodepoort

$289 24.6% 9% $24

Groceries & Markets

Mexicali

$193 20.8%

Roodepoort

$210 17.9% 8.7% $17

Eating Out

Mexicali

$192 20.7%

Roodepoort

$173 14.7% 10% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexicali

$98 10.5%

Roodepoort

$303 25.8% 210% $205

Clothing & Footwear

Mexicali

$80 8.7%

Roodepoort

$127 10.9% 58.4% $47

Getting Around

Mexicali

$53 5.7%

Roodepoort

$8.5 * 0.7% 83.9% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Mexicali

$47 5.1%

Roodepoort

$62 5.3% 32.6% $15

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $967 in Mexicali versus $598 in Roodepoort. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 81% higher in Roodepoort. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $33 in Mexicali versus $45 in Roodepoort. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $193 vs $210 – making Mexicali the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexicali

🇿🇦 Roodepoort

🕒 Local time

02:04 2:04 AM

12:04 12:04 PM

10 h ahead of Mexicali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

854,186

325,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.63 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexicali Roodepoort 16,410 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexicali
Roodepoort

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

Mexicali vs Roodepoort: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $927 in Mexicali, $1,172 in Roodepoort – Mexicali comes out roughly 21% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,391 per month in Mexicali and $1,758 in Roodepoort. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Roodepoort, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $598 there versus $967 in Mexicali.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $927 in Mexicali and $1,172 in Roodepoort. That makes Mexicali about 21% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $198 per month in Mexicali and $238 in Roodepoort. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Mexicali has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $927 in Mexicali to $1,172 in Roodepoort. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Mexicali. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Roodepoort makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.