Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Ilford

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,567 a month against $2,414 in Ilford, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 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
117

Cost of Living Index in Ilford
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Ilford Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Ilford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,414

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,567 per month in Mexico City vs $2,414 in Ilford, rent included.

Mexico City $1,567
Ilford $2,414

A couple spends around $2,450 per month in Mexico City vs $3,764 in Ilford, rent included.

Mexico City $2,450
Ilford $3,764

A family of three spends $3,333 per month in Mexico City vs $5,115 in Ilford, rent included.

Mexico City $3,333
Ilford $5,115

Mexico City is about 35% cheaper than Ilford, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Mexico City and Ilford sit above the global median – Mexico City by 16%, Ilford by 79%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$21.28 £15.97

-49.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$93.9 £70.5

-46.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$10.51 £7.89

5.61%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$4.60 £3.45

-20.00%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$2.81 £2.11

-41.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$1.83 £1.38

-28.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$7.91 £5.93

-58.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$6.43 £4.82

-13.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$1.64 £1.23

7.93%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.72 £1.29

77.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$2.30 £1.72

-12.61%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$4.60 £3.45

-39.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$9.46 £7.09

25.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$9.61 £7.21

-2.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$15.45 £11.59

-2.78%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$2.94 £2.21

4.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.41 £1.06

38.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$2.96 £2.22

-31.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$3.28 £2.46

-32.62%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$1.67 £1.25

20.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$1.77 £1.33

2.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.28 £0.96

18.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$1.77 £1.33

-27.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$22.20 £16.65

-76.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$10.88 £8.16

48.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$3.04 £2.28

-35.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$3.92 £2.94

8.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$3.43 £2.57

-90.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$97.6 £73.2

-79.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$5.39 £4.05

-62.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$2.61 £1.96

-79.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$25.45 £19.09

-77.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$2.11 £1.58

-27.96%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$38.9K £29.2K

-45.99%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$40.9K £30.7K

-38.48%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$334 £250

-81.26%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$18.31 £13.73

57.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$40.86 £30.65

-15.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$44.93 £33.70

27.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$17.09 £12.82

-60.97%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$2,535 £1,902

-83.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$35.1K £26.3K

-66.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$88.0 £66.0

-19.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$46.25 £34.69

12.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$93.0 £69.8

17.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$96.2 £72.1

16.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$1,350 £1,013

-22.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$1,023 £768

-35.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$2,960 £2,221

-20.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$2,099 £1,575

-41.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$4,983 £3,738

-28.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$3,831 £2,874

-48.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$3,485 £2,614

-72.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.04

124.21%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Ilford: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Ilford

$1K 42.4% 53.9% $358

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Ilford

$315 13.1% 2.3% $7.5

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Ilford

$328 13.6% 61.6% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Ilford

$146 6% 5.9% $9.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Ilford

$393 16.3% 212% $267

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Ilford

$79 3.3% 12.3% $8.7

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Ilford

$130 5.4% 403% $104

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,051 in Mexico City versus $1,350 in Ilford. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 258% higher in Ilford, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $50.0 in Mexico City versus $94.0 in Ilford. Groceries tell a different story – $323 in Mexico City vs $315 in Ilford – so Ilford wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇬🇧 Ilford

🕒 Local time

10:58 10:58 AM

17:58 5:58 PM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

168,168

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Mexico City Ilford 8,940 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Ilford

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 Ilford: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ilford costs about 54% more than Mexico City, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,351 per month in Mexico City and $3,620 in Ilford. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mexico City, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 2% cheaper in Ilford – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $50.0 in Mexico City and $94.0 in Ilford. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Mexico City, where all-in costs run around $1,567, than in Ilford at $2,414. In Mexico City it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ilford it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Mexico City costs $1,567 versus $2,414 in Ilford. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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