Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Az Zubayr

For one person, living is cheaper in Az Zubayr: $656 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Az Zubayr
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Az Zubayr Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Az Zubayr

🇮🇶 Iraq

$656

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Az Zubayr

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 Az Zubayr actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $656 in Az Zubayr.

Mexico City $1,608
Az Zubayr $656

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,021 in Az Zubayr.

Mexico City $2,549
Az Zubayr $1,021

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,387 in Az Zubayr.

Mexico City $3,490
Az Zubayr $1,387

Living in Mexico City is roughly 145% more expensive than in Az Zubayr, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Az Zubayr is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$4.37 IQD 6,602

143.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$19.52 IQD 29.5K

147.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$5.58 IQD 8,436

85.48%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$2.65 IQD 4,001

39.25%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$0.33 IQD 497

406.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.20 IQD 297

535.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$3.38 IQD 5,107

-5.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$2.28 IQD 3,447

132.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$1.00 IQD 1,513

72.00%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$0.76 IQD 1,152

300.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$1.59 IQD 2,399

22.01%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$1.46 IQD 2,203

97.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$4.38 IQD 6,621

150.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$3.43 IQD 5,189

169.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$12.09 IQD 18.3K

25.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$1.07 IQD 1,623

185.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$0.99 IQD 1,502

95.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$1.03 IQD 1,561

97.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$0.66 IQD 994

250.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$0.57 IQD 855

257.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$0.67 IQD 1,012

168.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$0.56 IQD 852

164.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$0.44 IQD 671

188.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$1.47 IQD 2,225

260.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$11.27 IQD 17.0K

42.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$1.42 IQD 2,149

39.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$1.62 IQD 2,450

162.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.32 IQD 479

-3.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$1.68 IQD 2,543

9.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$1.12 IQD 1,698

-52.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$5.39 IQD 8,146

-1.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$0.53 IQD 803

184.91%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$15.9K IQD 24.0M

37.09%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$16.5K IQD 24.9M

45.64%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$94.9 IQD 143.4K

-33.62%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$11.70 IQD 17.7K

134.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$27.28 IQD 41.2K

30.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$39.31 IQD 59.4K

49.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$7.83 IQD 11.8K

-18.26%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$137 IQD 206.7K

215.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$2,772 IQD 4.2M

312.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$18.27 IQD 27.6K

273.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$21.75 IQD 32.9K

144.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$53.7 IQD 81.2K

100.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$39.29 IQD 59.4K

198.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$200 IQD 302.7K

455.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$133 IQD 200.3K

436.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$418 IQD 631.5K

519.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$315 IQD 476.0K

346.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$833 IQD 1.3M

336.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$479 IQD 723.6K

345.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.12

175.49%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Az Zubayr: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Az Zubayr

$133 20.2% 81.3% $578

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Az Zubayr

$159 24.2% 50.3% $161

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Az Zubayr

$107 16.3% 46.1% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Az Zubayr

$60 9.1% 61.6% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Az Zubayr

$134 20.4% 6.2% $7.8

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Az Zubayr

$55 8.4% 23.4% $17

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Az Zubayr

$8.6 * 1.3% 66.3% $17

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 $1,113 in Mexico City and $200 in Az Zubayr. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $20 in Az Zubayr for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $159 per month, with Az Zubayr cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇮🇶 Az Zubayr

🕒 Local time

20:07 8:07 PM

05:07 5:07 AM

9 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

370,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.93 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,687 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.93 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Az Zubayr 13,440 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Az Zubayr

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 Az Zubayr: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $656 in Az Zubayr, so Az Zubayr is about 59% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $983 in Az Zubayr to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $200 in Az Zubayr. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 101% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $656 in Az Zubayr – Az Zubayr is about 59% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $656 in Az Zubayr versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Az Zubayr but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Az Zubayr 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.