Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Leova

For one person, living is cheaper in Leova: $1,341 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 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
65

Cost of Living Index in Leova
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Leova Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Leova

🇲🇩 Moldova

$1,341

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,341 in Leova.

Mexico City $1,608
Leova $1,341

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $2,057 in Leova.

Mexico City $2,549
Leova $2,057

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,773 in Leova.

Mexico City $3,490
Leova $2,773

Living in Mexico City is roughly 20% more expensive than in Leova, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$10.31 MDL 184

3.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$904

$33.24 MDL 593

45.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$8.94 MDL 159

15.77%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.0

$0.81 MDL 14.55

355.56%

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

$1.67 MX$31.14

$0.49 MDL 8.70

240.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.65

$0.40 MDL 7.22

217.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.7

$2.48 MDL 44.34

28.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.2

$2.64 MDL 47.05

101.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.23

$1.69 MDL 30.11

1.78%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.8

$1.47 MDL 26.23

106.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.27

$1.38 MDL 24.59

40.58%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.0

$1.36 MDL 24.34

112.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$13.70 MDL 245

-19.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$2.29 MDL 40.94

303.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$4.03 MDL 71.9

275.43%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.0

$1.28 MDL 22.82

138.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.27

$0.86 MDL 15.33

125.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.85

$0.94 MDL 16.76

115.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.25

$1.09 MDL 19.43

111.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.03

$1.52 MDL 27.19

34.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.63

$0.53 MDL 9.51

239.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.64

$0.46 MDL 8.27

221.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.69

$0.98 MDL 17.53

29.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.1

$4.41 MDL 78.8

20.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$301

$14.81 MDL 264

8.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.06

$1.13 MDL 20.20

75.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.5

$2.67 MDL 47.67

59.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.70

$0.37 MDL 6.69

-16.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$369

$27.71 MDL 495

-28.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.34

$2.72 MDL 48.54

-32.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.97

$0.54 MDL 9.56

-1.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.0

$3.42 MDL 61.1

54.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.23

$1.35 MDL 24.09

11.85%

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

$21.8K MX$406.5K

$34.1K MDL 608.5K

-36.18%

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

$24.0K MX$448.2K

$34.0K MDL 606.0K

-29.35%

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

$63.0 MX$1,177

$184 MDL 3,280

-65.73%

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

$27.39 MX$512

$5.51 MDL 98.4

397.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$666

$20.70 MDL 370

72.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,101

$83.2 MDL 1,486

-29.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$442

$11.26 MDL 201

109.95%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$4.52 MDL 80.6

41.59%

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

$432 MX$8,065

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$213.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,275

$83.7 MDL 1,493

-18.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$993

$54.4 MDL 970

-2.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,014

$95.4 MDL 1,702

13.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,191

$110 MDL 1,961

6.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$641 MDL 11.4K

73.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$521 MDL 9,304

36.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.4K

$1,506 MDL 26.9K

71.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$1,086 MDL 19.4K

29.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.8K

$2,489 MDL 44.4K

45.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.9K

$1,885 MDL 33.6K

13.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

$653 MDL 11.7K

44.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

7.19

57.86%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Leova: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Leova

$521 38.9% 26.6% $189

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Leova

$188 14% 41.2% $132

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Leova

$140 10.5% 29.3% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Leova

$154 11.5% 0.9% $1.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Leova

$210 15.7% 66.6% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Leova

$92 6.9% 28.6% $21

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Leova

$35 2.6% 35.9% $9.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $641 in Leova. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 45% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $33 in Leova for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $188 per month, with Leova cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇩 Leova

🕒 Local time

11:49 11:49 AM

19:49 7:49 PM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

10,900

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Moldovan Leu MDL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MDL = 5.6 USD

100 MDL = 5.03 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MDL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 17.85 MDL (100 MDL = 5.6 USD). 1 EUR = 19.87 MDL (100 MDL = 5.03 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Leova 10,990 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Leova

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 Leova: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Leova is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 20% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 45% higher in Mexico City, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $641 in Leova. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 70% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $1,341 in Leova – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,341 in Leova versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Leova but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Leova 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.

It comes down to priorities – Leova wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.