Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Ashgabat

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,561 a month against $3,331 in Ashgabat, rent and utilities included – about $21,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
164

Cost of Living Index in Ashgabat
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Ashgabat Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,561

/mo nomad

Ashgabat

🇹🇲 Turkmenistan

$3,331

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Ashgabat

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,561 in Mexico City versus $3,331 in Ashgabat.

Mexico City $1,561
Ashgabat $3,331

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,440 in Mexico City versus $5,094 in Ashgabat.

Mexico City $2,440
Ashgabat $5,094

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,319 in Mexico City versus $6,857 in Ashgabat.

Mexico City $3,319
Ashgabat $6,857

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 53% less than in Ashgabat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 16% above, Ashgabat 149% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.12 MX$202

$31.23 TMT 105

-64.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.99 MX$891

$85.1 TMT 285

-42.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.23 MX$204

$12.65 TMT 42.39

-11.23%

Cappuccino

$3.76 MX$68.4

$6.59 TMT 22.07

-42.94%

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

$1.65 MX$30.05

$1.53 TMT 5.14

7.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.27

$0.82 TMT 2.74

56.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.26 MX$59.2

$5.67 TMT 18.98

-42.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.66 MX$103

$13.74 TMT 46.04

-58.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 MX$32.92

$4.48 TMT 15.00

-59.60%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$53.5

$2.05 TMT 6.88

43.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 MX$37.27

$5.82 TMT 19.48

-64.78%

Eggs

$2.93 MX$53.2

$5.93 TMT 19.87

-50.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.95 MX$217

$37.90 TMT 127

-68.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.51 MX$173

$20.09 TMT 67.3

-52.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.84 MX$270

$23.50 TMT 78.7

-36.85%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 MX$57.2

$4.98 TMT 16.70

-36.95%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 MX$36.65

$8.53 TMT 28.58

-76.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.08 MX$37.75

$7.32 TMT 24.52

-71.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.22 MX$40.35

$3.61 TMT 12.09

-38.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$37.47

$2.33 TMT 7.80

-11.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.14

$1.46 TMT 4.90

28.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$26.93

$2.69 TMT 9.00

-44.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 MX$24.47

$1.12 TMT 3.74

20.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.41 MX$98.4

$25.56 TMT 85.6

-78.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.86 MX$307

$42.09 TMT 141

-59.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.09

$5.26 TMT 17.62

-62.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.32 MX$78.7

$2.89 TMT 9.67

49.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.27

$0.15 TMT 0.49

126.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.23 MX$368

$9.89 TMT 33.13

104.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.10 MX$38.11

$2.90 TMT 9.73

-27.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.65

$0.88 TMT 2.96

-39.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$98.3

$8.41 TMT 28.17

-35.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$27.65

$0.44 TMT 1.48

245.45%

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

$21.7K MX$395.3K

$44.6K TMT 149.3K

-51.23%

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

$24.8K MX$451.4K

$57.2K TMT 191.5K

-56.59%

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

$63.0 MX$1,145

$580 TMT 1,944

-89.15%

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

$28.88 MX$525

$56.8 TMT 190

-49.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.93 MX$617

$103 TMT 347

-67.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.8 MX$1,015

$191 TMT 640

-70.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.90 MX$453

$45.50 TMT 152

-45.27%

Cinema Ticket

$6.77 MX$123

$8.53 TMT 28.58

-20.63%

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

$428 MX$7,781

$23.05 TMT 77.2

1755.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K MX$216.0K

$24.8K TMT 83.0K

-52.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.0 MX$1,274

$54.8 TMT 184

27.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.7 MX$977

$115 TMT 385

-53.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$1,997

$365 TMT 1,224

-69.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 MX$2,096

$189 TMT 632

-38.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,062 MX$19.3K

$1,402 TMT 4,695

-24.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 MX$12.2K

$1,000 TMT 3,351

-32.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,379 MX$43.3K

$2,288 TMT 7,663

4.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,260 MX$22.9K

$1,920 TMT 6,433

-34.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,716 MX$67.6K

$3,527 TMT 11.8K

5.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,976 MX$35.9K

$2,813 TMT 9,422

-29.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$997 MX$18.1K

$736 TMT 2,467

35.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

9.5

18.95%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 6, 2026

Last update for Ashgabat: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$671 42.4%

Ashgabat

$1K 29.5% 49.1% $330

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$327 20.7%

Ashgabat

$671 19.8% 105% $344

Eating Out

Mexico City

$207 13.1%

Ashgabat

$432 12.7% 109% $225

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$157 9.9%

Ashgabat

$326 9.6% 107% $169

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Ashgabat

$741 21.8% 489% $615

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$69 4.4%

Ashgabat

$208 6.1% 200% $139

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Ashgabat

$18 0.5% 32.5% $8.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,062 in Mexico City and $1,402 in Ashgabat. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 35% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $85.0 in Ashgabat for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $327 vs $671 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇹🇲 Ashgabat

🕒 Local time

04:33 4:33 AM

15:33 3:33 PM

11 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

909,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Turkmenistani Manat TMT m

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.91 EUR

1 TMT = 0.299 USD

1 TMT = 0.266 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TMT, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.38 MXN (100 MXN = 4.91 EUR).

Turkmenistani Manat exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.35 TMT (1 TMT = 0.299 USD). 1 EUR = 3.75 TMT (1 TMT = 0.266 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Ashgabat 13,220 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Ashgabat

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

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

Mexico City and Ashgabat differ by about 113% in total monthly costs ($1,561 vs $3,331 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 35% higher in Mexico City, 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: $1,062 in Mexico City versus $1,402 in Ashgabat. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $428 in Mexico City versus $23.05 in Ashgabat. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 105% higher in Ashgabat. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,561 in Mexico City versus $3,331 in Ashgabat, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Ashgabat. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City 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.

Safety-wise, Mexico City and Ashgabat are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 113% less than in Ashgabat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.