Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Carlisle

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $1,964 in Carlisle, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 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
94

Cost of Living Index in Carlisle
Learn more

Carlisle Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Carlisle

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,964

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,964 in Carlisle.

Mexico City $1,608
Carlisle $1,964

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $2,880 in Carlisle.

Mexico City $2,549
Carlisle $2,880

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $3,796 in Carlisle.

Mexico City $3,490
Carlisle $3,796

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 18% less than in Carlisle, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, Carlisle 44% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$19.03 £14.22

-44.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$68.7 £51.3

-29.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$10.13 £7.57

2.17%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$3.43 £2.56

7.58%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$2.41 £1.80

-30.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$2.03 £1.52

-37.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$4.78 £3.57

-33.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$4.36 £3.26

21.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.30 £0.97

32.31%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.41 £1.06

115.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$3.35 £2.50

-42.09%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$3.72 £2.78

-22.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$7.94 £5.93

38.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$7.25 £5.42

27.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$16.21 £12.11

-6.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$3.21 £2.40

-4.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$2.93 £2.19

-33.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$2.58 £1.93

-21.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$2.76 £2.06

-16.30%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$1.76 £1.32

15.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$1.82 £1.36

-1.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$1.15 £0.86

28.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$1.36 £1.01

-6.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$22.55 £16.85

-76.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$8.08 £6.03

99.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$2.81 £2.10

-29.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$3.62 £2.71

17.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$3.30 £2.46

-90.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$75.6 £56.5

-73.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$4.39 £3.28

-58.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$33.57 £25.08

-84.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.99 £1.49

-24.12%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$38.4K £28.7K

-43.39%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$40.7K £30.4K

-41.01%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$357 £267

-82.38%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$17.29 £12.92

58.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$35.44 £26.47

0.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$16.07 £12.01

47.11%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$10.67 £7.97

-40.02%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$1,629 £1,217

-73.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$107 £80.2

-36.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$56.3 £42.08

-5.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$114 £85.3

-5.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$114 £85.5

2.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$774 £578

43.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$699 £522

1.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$1,188 £887

117.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$1,153 £861

21.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$2,562 £1,914

41.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$2,920 £2,182

-26.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$2,877 £2,149

-67.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

5.64

101.24%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Carlisle: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Carlisle

$699 35.6% 1.6% $12

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Carlisle

$289 14.7% 9.5% $30

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Carlisle

$274 14% 38.1% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Carlisle

$176 9% 13.2% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Carlisle

$410 20.9% 226% $284

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Carlisle

$21 * 1.1% 70.2% $50

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Carlisle

$93 * 4.8% 266% $68

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 $774 in Carlisle. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Carlisle pays about 3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $69 in Carlisle. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $289, with Carlisle cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇬🇧 Carlisle

🕒 Local time

19:07 7:07 PM

01:07 1:07 AM

6 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

72,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Carlisle 8,640 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Carlisle

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 Carlisle: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City wins on cost – living expenses run 18% lower than in Carlisle. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Mexico City the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 67% 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 $774 in Carlisle. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $69 in Carlisle. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $1,964 in Carlisle – Mexico City is about 18% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Mexico City gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 – Mexico City wins on affordability, Carlisle on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.