Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Bålsta

For one person, living is cheaper in Bålsta: $1,563 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $540 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Bålsta
Learn more

Bålsta Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Bålsta

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,563

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,563 in Bålsta.

Mexico City $1,608
Bålsta $1,563

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $2,445 in Bålsta.

Mexico City $2,549
Bålsta $2,445

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $3,328 in Bålsta.

Mexico City $3,490
Bålsta $3,328

Living in Mexico City is roughly 3% more expensive than in Bålsta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, Bålsta 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$13.67 SEK 135

-22.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$66.8 SEK 661

-27.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$8.80 SEK 87.2

17.61%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$3.95 SEK 39.14

-6.58%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$2.68 SEK 26.55

-37.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$2.24 SEK 22.19

-43.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$7.16 SEK 70.9

-55.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$6.96 SEK 68.9

-23.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$1.49 SEK 14.75

15.44%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$2.00 SEK 19.84

52.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$3.51 SEK 34.73

-44.73%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$3.71 SEK 36.78

-22.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$11.01 SEK 109

-0.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$12.21 SEK 121

-24.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$11.02 SEK 109

37.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.50 SEK 24.74

22.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$2.60 SEK 25.77

-25.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$2.07 SEK 20.50

-1.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$2.90 SEK 28.67

-20.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$1.50 SEK 14.88

36.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$1.18 SEK 11.69

52.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$1.55 SEK 15.33

-4.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$0.99 SEK 9.81

28.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$7.26 SEK 71.9

-27.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$10.20 SEK 101

57.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$1.54 SEK 15.20

28.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$1.96 SEK 19.43

116.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

$3.28 SEK 32.46

-90.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$79.1 SEK 783

-75.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$6.03 SEK 59.7

-69.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$1.54 SEK 15.29

-65.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$77.4 SEK 767

-93.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.76 SEK 17.43

-14.20%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$33.2K SEK 328.5K

-34.43%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$33.8K SEK 334.6K

-29.02%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$50.1 SEK 496

25.81%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$20.16 SEK 200

35.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$39.59 SEK 392

-9.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$37.16 SEK 368

58.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$26.37 SEK 261

-10.35%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$12.93 SEK 128

-50.50%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$121 SEK 1,200

256.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$5,046 SEK 50.0K

126.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$69.2 SEK 686

-1.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$9.93 SEK 98.3

435.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$81.0 SEK 802

33.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$113 SEK 1,117

3.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$801 SEK 7,931

39.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$610 SEK 6,036

16.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$1,368 SEK 13.5K

89.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$1,030 SEK 10.2K

36.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

$4,003 SEK 39.6K

-9.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$2,823 SEK 27.9K

-24.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$3,868 SEK 38.3K

-75.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

2.8

305.36%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bålsta: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Bålsta

$610 39% 14.2% $101

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Bålsta

$299 19.1% 6.5% $21

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Bålsta

$253 16.2% 27.2% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Bålsta

$123 7.9% 21.2% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Bålsta

$110 7% 12.9% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Bålsta

$63 4% 12.1% $8.7

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Bålsta

$106 6.8% 316% $80

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $801 in Bålsta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bålsta pays about 4.1 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $67 in Bålsta. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $299, with Bålsta cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇸🇪 Bålsta

🕒 Local time

22:02 10:02 PM

05:02 5:02 AM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

13,138

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 SEK = 10.1 USD

100 SEK = 9.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 9.9 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.02 SEK (100 SEK = 9.07 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Bålsta 9,550 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Bålsta

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 Bålsta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bålsta wins on cost – living expenses run 3% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bålsta the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 76% 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $801 in Bålsta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $1,563 in Bålsta – Bålsta is about 3% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 75% less than in Bålsta. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Bålsta is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.