Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Buea

For one person, living is cheaper in Buea: $739 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Buea
Learn more

Buea Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Buea

🇨🇲 Cameroon

$739

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $739 in Buea.

Mexico City $1,608
Buea $739

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,340 in Buea.

Mexico City $2,549
Buea $1,340

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,941 in Buea.

Mexico City $3,490
Buea $1,941

Living in Mexico City is roughly 118% more expensive than in Buea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Buea is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$1.69 FCFA 986

528.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$906

$117 FCFA 68.5K

-58.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$6.06 FCFA 3,545

70.79%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$2.04 FCFA 1,194

80.88%

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

$1.67 MX$31.23

$1.25 FCFA 732

33.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.71

$0.46 FCFA 269

176.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.8

$0.99 FCFA 579

222.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$1.50 FCFA 875

254.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$2.78 FCFA 1,628

-38.13%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$0.40 FCFA 232

660.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.53 FCFA 897

26.80%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$1.87 FCFA 1,093

54.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$21.74 FCFA 12.7K

-49.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$7.58 FCFA 4,431

22.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$4.36 FCFA 2,550

247.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.1

$3.43 FCFA 2,006

-11.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.38 FCFA 804

40.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.95

$0.88 FCFA 514

130.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.38

$1.31 FCFA 769

76.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.14

$1.72 FCFA 1,008

18.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.73

$1.39 FCFA 812

29.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.72

$0.73 FCFA 425

102.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.75

$0.61 FCFA 359

108.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$2.64 FCFA 1,542

100.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$8.70 FCFA 5,086

85.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.16

$1.16 FCFA 676

70.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$1.73 FCFA 1,013

145.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.44

$0.27 FCFA 158

581.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$0.53 FCFA 308

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.2

$4.99 FCFA 2,919

6.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.31

$1.20 FCFA 699

25.83%

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

$21.8K MX$407.7K

$18.7K FCFA 10.9M

16.38%

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

$24.0K MX$449.5K

$15.6K FCFA 9.1M

54.15%

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

$63.0 MX$1,180

$59.1 FCFA 34.6K

6.53%

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

$27.39 MX$513

$16.88 FCFA 9,875

62.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$668

$167 FCFA 97.8K

-78.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$25.69 FCFA 15.0K

129.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

$4.25 FCFA 2,484

456.24%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$8.54 FCFA 4,993

-25.06%

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

$432 MX$8,088

$506 FCFA 296.0K

-14.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.1K

$3,349 FCFA 2.0M

241.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,278

$34.09 FCFA 19.9K

100.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$65.7 FCFA 38.4K

-19.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,020

$137 FCFA 80.0K

-21.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,198

$67.9 FCFA 39.7K

72.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

$130 FCFA 76.2K

626.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

19.04

-40.39%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Buea: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Buea

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Buea

$242 32.8% 24.3% $78

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Buea

$71 9.6% 64.3% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Buea

$137 18.5% 12.1% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Buea

$243 32.9% 93% $117

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Buea

$43 5.8% 40.4% $29

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Buea

$2.9 * 0.4% 88.6% $23

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

Cost Breakdown

Mexico City pays about 7.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $117 in Buea. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $242, with Buea cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇲 Buea

🕒 Local time

06:21 6:21 AM

13:21 1:21 PM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,325,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Central African CFA Franc XAF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1,000 XAF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XAF = 1.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XAF, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Central African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 585 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 653 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.53 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Buea 11,760 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Buea

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 Buea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $739 in Buea, so Buea is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 7.3 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $506 in Buea. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $117 in Buea. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $739 in Buea versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Buea but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Buea 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 – Buea wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.