Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Damascus

For one person, living is cheaper in Damascus: $870 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Damascus
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Damascus Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Damascus

🇸🇾 Syria

$870

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $870 in Damascus.

Mexico City $1,608
Damascus $870

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,410 in Damascus.

Mexico City $2,549
Damascus $1,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,951 in Damascus.

Mexico City $3,490
Damascus $1,951

Living in Mexico City is roughly 85% more expensive than in Damascus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Damascus is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$10.19 SYP 1,238

4.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$43.30 SYP 5,262

11.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$6.80 SYP 827

52.21%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$3.79 SYP 461

-2.64%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$2.28 SYP 277

-26.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.81 SYP 98.9

56.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$1.93 SYP 235

65.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$4.05 SYP 493

31.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$1.10 SYP 134

56.36%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$0.39 SYP 47.14

679.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$1.52 SYP 185

27.63%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$1.56 SYP 190

85.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$4.01 SYP 488

173.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$5.61 SYP 682

64.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$14.05 SYP 1,707

7.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$1.07 SYP 130

185.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$1.41 SYP 171

37.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$1.09 SYP 132

86.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$1.05 SYP 128

120.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$0.80 SYP 97.0

155.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$0.76 SYP 92.9

136.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$0.40 SYP 49.10

270.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$0.62 SYP 75.3

104.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$2.72 SYP 331

94.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$5.98 SYP 727

169.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$1.09 SYP 133

81.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$2.94 SYP 358

44.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.21 SYP 25.46

47.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$10.15 SYP 1,233

94.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$1.02 SYP 124

80.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$1.53 SYP 186

-65.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$7.90 SYP 961

-32.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$3.68 SYP 447

-58.97%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$15.1K SYP 1.8M

43.94%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$18.9K SYP 2.3M

27.09%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$140 SYP 17.0K

-54.95%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$9.39 SYP 1,141

191.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$45.50 SYP 5,529

-21.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$27.57 SYP 3,351

113.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$8.41 SYP 1,022

181.09%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$5.46 SYP 663

17.22%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$65.4 SYP 7,952

559.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$1,770 SYP 215.1K

545.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$28.26 SYP 3,434

141.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$40.49 SYP 4,921

31.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$59.7 SYP 7,253

80.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$58.6 SYP 7,117

100.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$516 SYP 62.7K

115.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$186 SYP 22.6K

281.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$846 SYP 102.8K

206.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$462 SYP 56.2K

204.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$1,713 SYP 208.2K

111.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$598 SYP 72.6K

257.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$79.5 SYP 9,665

1089.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

14.25

-20.35%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Damascus: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Damascus

$186 21.4% 73.8% $524

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Damascus

$169 19.5% 47.1% $150

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Damascus

$178 20.4% 10.6% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Damascus

$84 9.7% 46% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Damascus

$195 22.4% 54.5% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Damascus

$38 4.4% 46.4% $33

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Damascus

$20 2.3% 22.7% $5.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $516 in Damascus. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 12 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $43 in Damascus for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $169 per month, with Damascus cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇸🇾 Damascus

🕒 Local time

09:49 9:49 AM

18:49 6:49 PM

9 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,414,913 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SYP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 136 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.37 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Damascus 12,470 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Damascus

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 Damascus: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $870 in Damascus, so Damascus is about 46% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 12 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $516 in Damascus. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Damascus – a meal for two runs $43 versus $48 in Mexico City. 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 $870 in Damascus – Damascus is about 46% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $870 in Damascus versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Damascus but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Damascus 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.

Expats usually find Damascus gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.