Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Buzau

For one person, living is cheaper in Buzau: $979 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Buzau
Learn more

Buzau Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Buzau

🇷🇴 Romania

$979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $979 in Buzau.

Mexico City $1,608
Buzau $979

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,447 in Buzau.

Mexico City $2,549
Buzau $1,447

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,916 in Buzau.

Mexico City $3,490
Buzau $1,916

Living in Mexico City is roughly 64% more expensive than in Buzau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Buzau is 28% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$10.50 RON 50.5

1.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$24.73 RON 119

95.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$6.34 RON 30.47

63.25%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$1.95 RON 9.37

89.23%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$1.92 RON 9.23

-13.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$1.45 RON 6.96

-12.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.71 RON 8.22

86.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$1.70 RON 8.19

212.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.66 RON 8.00

3.61%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.28 RON 6.14

137.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.43 RON 6.88

35.66%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$3.03 RON 14.57

-4.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$7.26 RON 34.87

51.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$6.39 RON 30.71

44.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$10.93 RON 52.5

38.43%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$0.96 RON 4.59

217.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.70 RON 8.16

14.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$1.10 RON 5.26

84.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.21 RON 5.82

90.91%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$0.64 RON 3.08

218.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$0.78 RON 3.76

130.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$0.49 RON 2.37

202.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.67 RON 3.21

89.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$6.29 RON 30.21

-15.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$6.34 RON 30.47

153.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$0.79 RON 3.81

150.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$1.45 RON 6.98

193.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$0.60 RON 2.90

-48.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$21.71 RON 104

-9.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$0.53 RON 2.56

247.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.52 RON 2.52

1.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$6.19 RON 29.75

-14.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$1.65 RON 7.91

-8.48%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$18.9K RON 91.0K

14.84%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$21.1K RON 101.4K

13.68%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$121 RON 580

-47.80%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$7.70 RON 37.00

255.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$7.63 RON 36.67

367.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$32.68 RON 157

80.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$17.61 RON 84.7

34.24%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$6.94 RON 33.35

-7.78%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$293 RON 1,409

47.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$6,804 RON 32.7K

67.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$55.3 RON 266

23.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$59.4 RON 285

-10.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$97.8 RON 470

10.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$82.8 RON 398

41.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$353 RON 1,695

215.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$292 RON 1,403

143.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$605 RON 2,908

327.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$425 RON 2,045

230.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$1,478 RON 7,103

145.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,166 RON 5,602

83.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$854 RON 4,106

10.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

6.97

62.84%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Buzau: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Buzau

$292 29.8% 58.9% $419

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Buzau

$192 19.6% 39.8% $127

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Buzau

$152 15.5% 23.5% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Buzau

$133 13.6% 14.8% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Buzau

$136 13.9% 7.9% $9.9

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Buzau

$47 4.8% 35.1% $25

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Buzau

$27 2.8% 7.1% $1.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $353 in Buzau. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 11% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $25 in Buzau for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $192 per month, with Buzau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇷🇴 Buzau

🕒 Local time

17:47 5:47 PM

01:47 1:47 AM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

115,494

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.81 RON (1 RON = 0.208 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Buzau 11,000 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Buzau

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 Buzau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $979 in Buzau, so Buzau is about 39% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 11% 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $353 in Buzau. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 66% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Buzau – a meal for two runs $25 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $979 in Buzau versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Buzau but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Buzau 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 – Buzau wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.