Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Badulla

For one person, living is cheaper in Badulla: $547 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
26

Cost of Living Index in Badulla
Learn more

Badulla Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Badulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$547

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $547 in Badulla.

Mexico City $1,674
Badulla $547

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $883 in Badulla.

Mexico City $2,606
Badulla $883

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,219 in Badulla.

Mexico City $3,537
Badulla $1,219

Living in Mexico City is roughly 206% more expensive than in Badulla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Badulla is 60% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$3.84 LKR 1,276

175.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$24.93 LKR 8,291

108.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$7.54 LKR 2,507

42.31%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$2.47 LKR 823

53.85%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$0.68 LKR 227

136.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.27 LKR 90.6

348.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$2.26 LKR 752

40.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$3.02 LKR 1,006

80.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$1.62 LKR 539

6.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$0.57 LKR 190

421.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$0.61 LKR 203

216.39%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$1.65 LKR 548

67.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$15.15 LKR 5,038

-22.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$3.70 LKR 1,230

156.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$7.60 LKR 2,528

102.24%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$6.61 LKR 2,198

-53.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$0.89 LKR 296

120.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$4.27 LKR 1,421

-53.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$1.26 LKR 420

85.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$1.09 LKR 362

85.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$0.79 LKR 261

130.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$1.22 LKR 405

26.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$0.46 LKR 152

184.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$10.15 LKR 3,375

-47.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$13.31 LKR 4,428

21.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.91 LKR 634

2.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$2.85 LKR 947

52.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$0.41 LKR 136

368.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$0.33 LKR 111

42.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$0.87 LKR 288

521.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.37 LKR 454

8.03%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$42.8K LKR 14.2M

-50.08%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$46.1K LKR 15.3M

-48.47%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$56.2 LKR 18.7K

10.22%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$4.32 LKR 1,437

559.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$20.66 LKR 6,873

65.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$4.39 LKR 1,461

50.11%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$40.51 LKR 13.5K

971.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$17.5K LKR 5.8M

-19.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$18.24 LKR 6,068

274.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$17.37 LKR 5,779

215.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$77.6 LKR 25.8K

42.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$41.18 LKR 13.7K

181.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$76.3 LKR 25.4K

1444.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$44.38 LKR 14.8K

1636.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$89.8 LKR 29.9K

1480.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$4,570 LKR 1.5M

-21.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$747 LKR 248.4K

176.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

$222 LKR 73.7K

352.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

12.5

-9.20%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Badulla: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Badulla

$44 8.1% 94.2% $726

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Badulla

$237 43.3% 26.9% $87

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Badulla

$104 19.1% 48.1% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Badulla

$69 12.7% 55.9% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Badulla

$81 14.9% 34.8% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Badulla

$8.8 * 1.6% 87.7% $63

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Badulla

$2.1 * 0.4% 91.7% $23

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 $1,179 in Mexico City and $76 in Badulla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $25 in Badulla for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $237 per month, with Badulla cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇱🇰 Badulla

🕒 Local time

01:40 1:40 AM

13:10 1:10 PM

11 h 30 min ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

110,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 374 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Badulla 17,080 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Badulla

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 Badulla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Badulla is about 67% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 4.5 times higher, 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: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $76 in Badulla. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $41 in Badulla. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Badulla – a meal for two runs $25 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $547 in Badulla versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Badulla but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Badulla 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 – Badulla wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.