Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Durham

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,095 in Durham, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
100

Cost of Living Index in Durham
Learn more

Durham Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Durham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,095

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $2,095 in Durham.

Mexico City $1,608
Durham $2,095

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $3,366 in Durham.

Mexico City $2,549
Durham $3,366

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $4,636 in Durham.

Mexico City $3,490
Durham $4,636

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 23% less than in Durham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, Durham 54% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$19.85 £14.94

-46.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$92.7 £69.8

-47.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$11.49 £8.65

-9.92%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$4.79 £3.61

-22.96%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$2.47 £1.86

-32.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$2.09 £1.57

-39.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$6.10 £4.59

-47.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$5.42 £4.08

-2.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.99 £1.50

-13.57%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.53 £1.15

98.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$3.09 £2.32

-37.22%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$4.41 £3.32

-34.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$10.11 £7.61

8.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$9.24 £6.95

0.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$21.55 £16.22

-29.79%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.86 £2.15

6.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$2.50 £1.88

-22.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$2.82 £2.13

-28.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$5.27 £3.96

-56.17%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.58 £1.19

29.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.70 £1.28

5.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.07 £0.81

38.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$1.86 £1.40

-31.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$23.80 £17.91

-77.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$10.70 £8.05

50.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$3.23 £2.43

-38.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$3.21 £2.41

32.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$3.23 £2.43

-90.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$88.4 £66.5

-77.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$6.42 £4.83

-71.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$2.03 £1.53

-73.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$24.24 £18.24

-78.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$1.96 £1.48

-22.96%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$38.1K £28.7K

-42.90%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$41.0K £30.9K

-41.54%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$263 £198

-76.03%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$15.28 £11.50

79.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$43.46 £32.71

-17.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$46.28 £34.83

27.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$12.89 £9.70

-50.35%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$1,334 £1,004

-67.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$25.4K £19.1K

-54.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$106 £79.9

-35.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$70.3 £52.9

-24.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$117 £88.0

-7.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$97.4 £73.3

20.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$1,583 £1,191

-29.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$746 £561

-4.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$2,676 £2,014

-3.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$1,615 £1,215

-12.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$5,064 £3,811

-28.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$3,794 £2,855

-43.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$2,086 £1,570

-54.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

5.18

119.11%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Durham: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Durham

$746 35.6% 4.9% $35

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Durham

$352 16.8% 10.2% $33

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Durham

$310 14.8% 56.3% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Durham

$176 8.4% 12.8% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Durham

$322 15.3% 155% $195

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Durham

$72 3.4% 0.4% $0.3

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Durham

$118 5.6% 363% $92

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $1,583 in Durham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Durham pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $93 in Durham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $352 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇬🇧 Durham

🕒 Local time

16:55 4:55 PM

22:55 10:55 PM

6 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

42,100

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Durham 8,720 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Durham

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 Durham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $2,095 in Durham, so Mexico City is about 23% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 55% 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 $1,583 in Durham. 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 $2,095 in Durham – Mexico City is about 23% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 78% less than in Durham. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

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.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Durham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.