Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Ilmenau

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,567 a month against $2,071 in Ilmenau, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 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
100

Cost of Living Index in Ilmenau
Learn more

Ilmenau Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Ilmenau

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,071

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $2,071 in Ilmenau.

Mexico City $1,567
Ilmenau $2,071

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $2,525 in Ilmenau.

Mexico City $2,450
Ilmenau $2,525

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $2,980 in Ilmenau.

Mexico City $3,333
Ilmenau $2,980

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 24% less than in Ilmenau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 16% above, Ilmenau 53% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$10.96 €9.75

-1.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$66.5 €59.2

-24.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$11.27 €10.02

-1.51%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.41 €3.04

7.92%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$4.26 €3.79

-61.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$7.97 €7.09

-83.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$4.41 €3.92

-24.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$4.99 €4.44

11.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$1.13 €1.01

56.64%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$2.14 €1.90

42.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$3.24 €2.88

-37.96%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$3.23 €2.87

-14.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$14.33 €12.75

-16.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$10.24 €9.11

-8.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$17.76 €15.79

-15.43%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$2.87 €2.55

7.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.40 €1.24

39.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$3.50 €3.11

-42.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$3.82 €3.40

-42.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$2.11 €1.88

-4.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$1.36 €1.21

33.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.63 €1.45

-6.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$0.88 €0.78

45.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$9.22 €8.20

-42.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$6.22 €5.53

159.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$1.11 €0.99

75.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$1.48 €1.32

187.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$65.3 €58.1

-69.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$5.23 €4.65

-61.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$4.21 €3.75

-87.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$43.78 €38.94

-87.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$2.14 €1.90

-28.97%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$32.3K €28.7K

-34.80%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$37.8K €33.6K

-33.32%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$675 €600

-90.74%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$27.38 €24.36

5.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$34.08 €30.32

1.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$48.13 €42.81

18.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$13.20 €11.74

-49.47%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$454 €404

-5.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$93.0 €82.8

-23.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$31.50 €28.02

64.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$121 €107

-9.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$113 €101

-0.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$471 €419

123.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$455 €404

46.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$828 €737

183.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$3,254 €2,894

-70.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

3.95

186.08%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Ilmenau: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Ilmenau

$455 22% 31.6% $210

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Ilmenau

$309 14.9% 4.3% $14

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Ilmenau

$243 11.8% 19.9% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Ilmenau

$161 7.8% 4.3% $6.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Ilmenau

$736 35.6% 486% $611

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Ilmenau

$75 3.6% 5.8% $4.1

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Ilmenau

$92 * 4.4% 255% $66

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 $471 in Ilmenau. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ilmenau pays 234% 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 $67.0 in Ilmenau. Groceries flip the comparison at $323 vs $309, with Ilmenau cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇩🇪 Ilmenau

🕒 Local time

05:52 5:52 AM

13:52 1:52 PM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

39,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Ilmenau 9,670 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Ilmenau

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 Ilmenau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Ilmenau differ by about 32% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $2,071 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 234% lower in Ilmenau. 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 $471 in Ilmenau. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,567 per month in Mexico City versus $2,071 in Ilmenau – a 32% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 229% less than in Ilmenau. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,567 in Mexico City versus $2,071 in Ilmenau, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Ilmenau. 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 Ilmenau 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 32% less than in Ilmenau. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.