Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Dunedin

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,567 a month against $1,794 in Dunedin, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Dunedin
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Dunedin Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Dunedin

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $1,794 in Dunedin.

Mexico City $1,567
Dunedin $1,794

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $2,661 in Dunedin.

Mexico City $2,450
Dunedin $2,661

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $3,527 in Dunedin.

Mexico City $3,333
Dunedin $3,527

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 13% less than in Dunedin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 16% above, Dunedin 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$13.81 NZ$24.43

-22.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$61.7 NZ$109

-18.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$11.05 NZ$19.54

0.45%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.28 NZ$5.80

12.20%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$2.03 NZ$3.58

-18.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$2.04 NZ$3.61

-36.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$6.74 NZ$11.92

-50.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$6.27 NZ$11.09

-11.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$2.13 NZ$3.77

-16.90%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.96 NZ$3.47

55.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$1.68 NZ$2.98

19.64%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$5.75 NZ$10.16

-51.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$8.54 NZ$15.10

39.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$9.45 NZ$16.72

-1.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$16.50 NZ$29.19

-8.97%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$3.00 NZ$5.30

2.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$2.39 NZ$4.22

-18.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$3.14 NZ$5.56

-35.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$4.93 NZ$8.72

-55.17%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$1.85 NZ$3.28

9.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$1.82 NZ$3.22

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$2.34 NZ$4.13

-35.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$0.59 NZ$1.04

116.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$20.71 NZ$36.63

-74.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$8.90 NZ$15.75

81.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$3.09 NZ$5.47

-36.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$1.20 NZ$2.12

254.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$1.11 NZ$1.96

-72.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$66.0 NZ$117

-69.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$5.46 NZ$9.66

-63.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$27.62 NZ$48.84

-79.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.76 NZ$3.12

-13.64%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$25.6K NZ$45.2K

-17.74%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$24.9K NZ$44.0K

1.18%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$111 NZ$196

-43.68%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$28.15 NZ$49.78

2.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$52.5 NZ$92.9

-34.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$47.73 NZ$84.4

19.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$10.36 NZ$18.33

-35.62%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$570 NZ$1,009

-24.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$58.9 NZ$104

20.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$34.56 NZ$61.1

49.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$92.5 NZ$164

17.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$132 NZ$234

-15.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$873 NZ$1,545

20.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$749 NZ$1,324

-11.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$1,480 NZ$2,617

58.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$1,148 NZ$2,031

6.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$2,200 NZ$3,890

-10.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$2,425 NZ$4,288

-59.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

7.07

59.83%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Dunedin: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Dunedin

$749 41.7% 12.6% $84

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Dunedin

$321 17.9% 0.6% $1.8

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Dunedin

$246 13.7% 21% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Dunedin

$143 8% 7.4% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Dunedin

$192 10.7% 52.5% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Dunedin

$68 3.8% 2.8% $2

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Dunedin

$76 * 4.2% 195% $50

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 $1,051 in Mexico City and $873 in Dunedin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dunedin pays 149% 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: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $62.0 in Dunedin. Groceries flip the comparison at $323 vs $321, with Dunedin cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇳🇿 Dunedin

🕒 Local time

18:20 6:20 PM

13:20 1:20 PM

19 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

105,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Dunedin 11,570 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Dunedin

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 Dunedin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Dunedin differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $1,794 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 149% lower in Dunedin. 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: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $873 in Dunedin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 233% less than in Dunedin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $570 in Dunedin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,567 in Mexico City versus $1,794 in Dunedin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Dunedin. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City 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.

Safety-wise, Mexico City and Dunedin are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Dunedin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.