Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Dammam

For one person, living is cheaper in Dammam: $1,226 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Dammam
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Dammam Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Dammam

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,226

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,226 in Dammam.

Mexico City $1,608
Dammam $1,226

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,857 in Dammam.

Mexico City $2,549
Dammam $1,857

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,488 in Dammam.

Mexico City $3,490
Dammam $2,488

Living in Mexico City is roughly 31% more expensive than in Dammam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Dammam is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$6.49 SAR 24.35

63.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$39.23 SAR 147

23.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$7.78 SAR 29.21

33.03%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.83 SAR 6.87

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 SAR 6.68

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$3.71 SAR 13.94

-0.54%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.81 SAR 3.02

106.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.28 SAR 1.04

353.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.72 SAR 6.45

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.04 SAR 3.91

192.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$2.32 SAR 8.71

-16.38%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.54 SAR 9.52

13.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$6.79 SAR 25.48

61.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$7.34 SAR 27.55

26.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$12.93 SAR 48.52

17.01%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.36 SAR 8.85

29.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.60 SAR 6.01

21.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$1.62 SAR 6.10

25.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.63 SAR 6.11

41.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.25 SAR 4.67

63.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.32 SAR 4.94

36.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.35 SAR 5.07

9.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.59 SAR 2.22

115.25%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.84 SAR 10.65

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 SAR 6.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 SAR 7.62

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$7.26 SAR 27.23

-27.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$1.04 SAR 3.90

-70.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$40.52 SAR 152

-51.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$2.62 SAR 9.83

-29.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$1.89 SAR 7.10

-71.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$13.55 SAR 50.8

-60.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$0.65 SAR 2.42

132.31%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$27.1K SAR 101.8K

-19.84%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$23.4K SAR 87.7K

2.58%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$105 SAR 395

-40.19%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$33.70 SAR 126

-18.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$72.2 SAR 271

-50.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$94.5 SAR 354

-37.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$36.96 SAR 139

-36.04%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$14.61 SAR 54.8

-56.19%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$346 SAR 1,299

24.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$7,665 SAR 28.8K

49.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$56.1 SAR 210

21.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$62.8 SAR 236

-15.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$84.0 SAR 315

28.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$81.3 SAR 305

44.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$440 SAR 1,652

152.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$384 SAR 1,441

84.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$889 SAR 3,337

191.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$627 SAR 2,352

124.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$1,788 SAR 6,708

103.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,073 SAR 4,025

99.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.42

156.79%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Dammam: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Dammam

$384 31.4% 45.9% $326

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Dammam

$198 16.1% 38.1% $122

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Dammam

$124 10.1% 37.5% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Dammam

$128 10.4% 18% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Dammam

$211 17.2% 67.6% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Dammam

$124 10.1% 72.4% $52

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Dammam

$57 4.6% 123% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $440 in Dammam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $39 in Dammam for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $198 per month, with Dammam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇸🇦 Dammam

🕒 Local time

16:15 4:15 PM

01:15 1:15 AM

9 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

903,312

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, 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).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.18 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Dammam 13,930 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Dammam

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 Dammam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dammam is about 24% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $1,839 in Dammam to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $440 in Dammam. 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 $1,226 in Dammam – Dammam is about 24% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 51% less than in Dammam. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,226 in Dammam versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dammam but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Dammam the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Dammam is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Mexico City, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.