Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Essen

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $1,979 in Essen, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
96

Cost of Living Index in Essen
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Essen Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Essen

🇩🇪 Germany

$1,979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Mexico City vs $1,979 in Essen, rent included.

Mexico City $1,608
Essen $1,979

A couple spends around $2,549 per month in Mexico City vs $3,071 in Essen, rent included.

Mexico City $2,549
Essen $3,071

A family of three spends $3,490 per month in Mexico City vs $4,163 in Essen, rent included.

Mexico City $3,490
Essen $4,163

Mexico City is about 19% cheaper than Essen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Mexico City and Essen sit above the global median – Mexico City by 18%, Essen by 45%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$19.98 €17.82

-46.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$906

$85.8 €76.5

-43.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$13.14 €11.73

-21.23%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$3.85 €3.44

-4.16%

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

$1.67 MX$31.23

$3.15 €2.81

-46.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.71

$2.67 €2.38

-52.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.8

$6.32 €5.64

-49.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$5.49 €4.89

-3.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$1.26 €1.12

36.51%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$2.09 €1.86

45.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$3.10 €2.77

-37.42%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$3.72 €3.32

-22.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$16.15 €14.41

-32.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$10.63 €9.49

-12.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$24.04 €21.45

-37.06%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.1

$3.19 €2.84

-4.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$2.12 €1.90

-8.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.95

$2.15 €1.91

-5.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.38

$3.97 €3.55

-41.81%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.14

$1.32 €1.18

54.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.73

$1.30 €1.16

38.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.72

$1.48 €1.32

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.75

$1.19 €1.06

6.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$9.43 €8.42

-43.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$5.41 €4.83

197.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.16

$1.10 €0.98

80.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$1.52 €1.35

179.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

$3.97 €3.54

-92.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

$71.5 €63.8

-72.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.44

$4.81 €4.29

-61.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$3.40 €3.04

-84.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.2

$39.36 €35.11

-86.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.31

$2.27 €2.03

-33.48%

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

$21.8K MX$407.7K

$32.9K €29.3K

-33.83%

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

$24.0K MX$449.5K

$38.2K €34.1K

-37.25%

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

$63.0 MX$1,180

$390 €348

-83.85%

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

$27.39 MX$513

$35.31 €31.50

-22.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$668

$40.19 €35.85

-11.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$40.49 €36.12

45.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

$36.62 €32.67

-35.45%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$14.80 €13.20

-56.76%

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

$432 MX$8,088

$472 €421

-8.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.1K

$9,253 €8,255

23.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,278

$94.4 €84.2

-27.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$83.6 €74.6

-36.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,020

$108 €96.6

-0.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,198

$154 €137

-23.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$623 €556

78.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$488 €435

45.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

$1,433 €1,279

80.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$960 €856

46.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

$4,476 €3,993

-18.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

$3,001 €2,677

-28.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

$3,023 €2,697

-68.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.95

187.34%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Essen: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Essen

$488 24.6% 31.4% $223

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Essen

$338 17.1% 5.7% $18

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Essen

$311 15.7% 56.7% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Essen

$198 10% 27.1% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Essen

$465 23.5% 269% $339

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Essen

$70 3.5% 2.3% $1.6

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Essen

$109 5.5% 329% $84

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,113 in Mexico City versus $623 in Essen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Essen are about 3.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Mexico City versus $86 in Essen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $338 – making Mexico City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇩🇪 Essen

🕒 Local time

13:06 1:06 PM

20:06 8:06 PM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

569,884

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Essen 9,390 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Essen

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 Essen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City, $1,979 in Essen – Mexico City comes out roughly 19% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,412 per month in Mexico City and $2,969 in Essen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Essen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $623 there versus $1,113 in Mexico City.

Public transport costs about 72% less in Mexico City. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $432 per month in Mexico City and $472 in Essen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$3,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,979 in Essen, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Mexico City has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,608 in Mexico City to $1,979 in Essen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Mexico City. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Essen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.