Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and George Town, Malaysia

For one person, living is cheaper in George Town: $952 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 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
46

Cost of Living Index in George Town
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George Town Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

George Town

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$952

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in George Town

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $952 in George Town.

Mexico City $1,608
George Town $952

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,558 in George Town.

Mexico City $2,549
George Town $1,558

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,164 in George Town.

Mexico City $3,490
George Town $2,164

Living in Mexico City is roughly 69% more expensive than in George Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, George Town is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$3.46 MYR 14.06

206.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$906

$15.45 MYR 62.9

212.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$4.68 MYR 19.05

121.15%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$2.75 MYR 11.20

34.18%

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

$1.67 MX$31.23

$0.70 MYR 2.86

138.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.71

$0.35 MYR 1.43

262.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.8

$2.47 MYR 10.07

29.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$4.42 MYR 18.01

20.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$1.87 MYR 7.61

-8.02%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$1.05 MYR 4.27

189.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.73 MYR 7.04

12.14%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$2.22 MYR 9.03

30.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$13.65 MYR 55.6

-19.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$4.48 MYR 18.22

106.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$8.70 MYR 35.40

73.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.1

$2.34 MYR 9.51

30.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.46 MYR 5.93

32.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.95

$2.22 MYR 9.04

-8.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.38

$1.20 MYR 4.89

92.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.14

$0.92 MYR 3.73

121.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.73

$0.85 MYR 3.47

111.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.72

$0.74 MYR 3.03

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.75

$0.59 MYR 2.39

115.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$4.58 MYR 18.62

15.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$18.84 MYR 76.7

-14.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.16

$2.41 MYR 9.81

-17.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$3.56 MYR 14.51

19.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

$0.47 MYR 1.93

-34.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

$12.01 MYR 48.90

64.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.44

$1.23 MYR 5.01

49.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$0.51 MYR 2.06

3.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.2

$6.53 MYR 26.60

-18.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.31

$0.82 MYR 3.35

84.15%

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

$21.8K MX$407.7K

$45.5K MYR 185.4K

-52.24%

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

$24.0K MX$449.5K

$34.6K MYR 141.0K

-30.73%

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

$63.0 MX$1,180

$36.85 MYR 150

70.91%

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

$27.39 MX$513

$8.05 MYR 32.76

240.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$668

$28.38 MYR 116

25.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$40.35 MYR 164

46.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

$5.03 MYR 20.47

369.98%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$4.52 MYR 18.38

41.59%

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

$432 MX$8,088

$168 MYR 686

156.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.1K

$4,958 MYR 20.2K

130.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,278

$53.2 MYR 216

28.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$34.86 MYR 142

52.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,020

$73.5 MYR 299

46.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,198

$70.8 MYR 288

65.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$709 MYR 2,885

57.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$366 MYR 1,491

93.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

$1,104 MYR 4,493

134.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$904 MYR 3,681

55.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

$1,057 MYR 4,302

-10.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.04

180.94%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for George Town: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

George Town

$366 38.5% 48.4% $344

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

George Town

$241 25.3% 24.6% $78

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

George Town

$100 10.5% 49.6% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

George Town

$105 11% 32.9% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

George Town

$73 7.7% 41.9% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

George Town

$49 5.2% 31.2% $22

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

George Town

$18 1.9% 30.6% $7.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $709 in George Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

George Town pays 12% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $15 in George Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $241 per month, with George Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 George Town

🕒 Local time

08:40 8:40 AM

22:40 10:40 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

794,313

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 MYR = 0.246 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR 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).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mexico City George Town 16,530 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
George Town

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 George Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

George Town is about 41% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 10% 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 $709 in George Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in George Town runs roughly 39% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $168 in George Town. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

For families, George Town 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.

Expats usually find George Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.