Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Medea

For one person, living is cheaper in Medea: $453 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $13,900 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
22

Cost of Living Index in Medea
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Medea Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Medea

🇩🇿 Algeria

$453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Mexico City vs $453 in Medea, rent included.

Mexico City $1,608
Medea $453

A couple spends around $2,549 per month in Mexico City vs $778 in Medea, rent included.

Mexico City $2,549
Medea $778

A family of three spends $3,490 per month in Mexico City vs $1,103 in Medea, rent included.

Mexico City $3,490
Medea $1,103

Mexico City costs about 255% more than Medea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Mexico City sits 18% above the global median, while Medea is 67% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$197

$1.91 DZD 258

456.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$898

$28.37 DZD 3,835

70.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$192

$3.80 DZD 514

172.37%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.5

$0.36 DZD 49.22

925.00%

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

$1.67 MX$30.95

$0.43 DZD 58.2

288.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.50

$0.21 DZD 27.71

504.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.3

$2.19 DZD 296

45.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.6

$2.18 DZD 295

143.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.03

$0.88 DZD 119

95.45%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.5

$0.08 DZD 10.18

3700.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.05

$1.10 DZD 148

76.36%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.6

$1.19 DZD 161

142.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$7.91 DZD 1,069

38.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$3.93 DZD 531

135.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$281

$14.49 DZD 1,959

4.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.6

$2.04 DZD 275

49.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.05

$2.77 DZD 374

-29.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.61

$1.07 DZD 144

89.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.99

$0.60 DZD 80.7

285.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.79

$0.62 DZD 83.2

229.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.43

$0.49 DZD 66.0

267.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.47

$0.81 DZD 110

82.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.54

$0.27 DZD 36.52

370.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.5

$2.16 DZD 292

145.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$299

$6.84 DZD 924

135.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.83

$1.28 DZD 172

54.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.0

$1.87 DZD 253

127.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.67

$0.23 DZD 30.49

34.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$367

$6.89 DZD 932

186.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.13

$0.54 DZD 73.6

240.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.91

$0.46 DZD 62.3

15.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.3

$5.55 DZD 750

-4.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.05

$0.32 DZD 43.89

371.87%

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

$21.8K MX$404.0K

$19.7K DZD 2.7M

10.52%

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

$24.0K MX$445.4K

$34.4K DZD 4.7M

-30.36%

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

$63.0 MX$1,170

$18.29 DZD 2,472

244.34%

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

$27.39 MX$509

$7.51 DZD 1,015

264.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$662

$12.12 DZD 1,638

194.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,095

$22.61 DZD 3,056

160.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$439

$1.89 DZD 256

1150.79%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$3.27 DZD 442

95.72%

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

$432 MX$8,015

$39.39 DZD 5,325

995.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.1K

$6,300 DZD 851.5K

81.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,267

$19.54 DZD 2,641

249.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$987

$31.20 DZD 4,216

70.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,002

$31.23 DZD 4,221

245.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,178

$54.9 DZD 7,414

113.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$141 DZD 19.1K

687.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$91.6 DZD 12.4K

675.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.1K

$268 DZD 36.2K

866.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.1K

$197 DZD 26.7K

611.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.4K

$990 DZD 133.7K

266.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.6K

$1,059 DZD 143.1K

101.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$311 DZD 42.1K

203.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

127.00%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Medea: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Medea

$92 20.3% 87.1% $619

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Medea

$173 38.2% 46% $147

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Medea

$49 10.8% 75.4% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Medea

$62 13.6% 60.5% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Medea

$38 8.4% 69.9% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Medea

$29 6.4% 59.4% $43

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Medea

$11 2.4% 58.2% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,113 in Mexico City versus $141 in Medea. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Mexico City are about 3 times higher, 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 $48 in Mexico City versus $28 in Medea. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $173 – making Medea the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇩🇿 Medea

🕒 Local time

02:38 2:38 AM

09:38 9:38 AM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

138,355

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Algerian Dinar DZD د.ج

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 DZD = 7.4 USD

1,000 DZD = 6.61 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DZD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Algerian Dinar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 135 DZD (1,000 DZD = 7.4 USD). 1 EUR = 151 DZD (1,000 DZD = 6.61 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Medea 9,750 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Medea

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 Medea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Mexico City is pricier by about 255%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,412 per month in Mexico City and $679 in Medea. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Medea, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $141 there versus $1,113 in Mexico City.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Mexico City and $28 in Medea. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $453 in Medea. That makes Medea about 72% cheaper.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Medea, where all-in costs run around $453, than in Mexico City at $1,608. In Medea it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Medea – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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