Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Motherwell

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,674 a month against $2,306 in Motherwell, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
111

Cost of Living Index in Motherwell
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Motherwell Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Motherwell

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,306

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $2,306 in Motherwell.

Mexico City $1,674
Motherwell $2,306

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $3,342 in Motherwell.

Mexico City $2,606
Motherwell $3,342

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $4,377 in Motherwell.

Mexico City $3,537
Motherwell $4,377

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 27% less than in Motherwell, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 24% above, Motherwell 71% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$198

$19.71 £14.71

-46.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$972

$66.6 £49.73

-21.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$201

$10.52 £7.85

2.00%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$71.0

$4.83 £3.61

-21.33%

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

$1.61 MX$30.16

$2.36 £1.76

-31.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.67

$1.89 £1.41

-35.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.4

$5.46 £4.07

-41.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$102

$6.81 £5.09

-20.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$1.47 £1.10

17.01%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.5

$1.63 £1.22

82.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.02

$2.23 £1.66

-13.45%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.9

$4.06 £3.03

-31.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$218

$9.25 £6.90

26.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$177

$9.29 £6.93

2.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$288

$17.02 £12.71

-9.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$58.1

$2.96 £2.21

4.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.67

$1.50 £1.12

30.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$37.07

$2.80 £2.09

-29.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.68

$3.16 £2.36

-25.95%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.85

$2.00 £1.49

1.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.13

$1.37 £1.02

32.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.89

$1.14 £0.85

35.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.54

$1.66 £1.24

-21.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$100

$22.09 £16.49

-75.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$303

$10.53 £7.86

53.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.64

$3.27 £2.44

-40.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.4

$3.34 £2.49

30.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.70

$3.99 £2.98

-92.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$365

$98.6 £73.6

-80.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.86

$5.85 £4.37

-67.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.84

$1.87 £1.40

-74.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$23.71 £17.70

-77.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.75

$2.19 £1.63

-32.42%

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

$21.4K MX$399.7K

$39.4K £29.4K

-45.77%

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

$23.8K MX$444.3K

$41.1K £30.6K

-42.14%

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

$62.0 MX$1,160

$236 £176

-73.78%

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

$28.47 MX$533

$20.05 £14.96

42.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$638

$43.38 £32.38

-21.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,092

$44.11 £32.93

32.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$458

$6.62 £4.94

270.09%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$12.09 £9.03

-45.49%

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

$434 MX$8,122

$1,128 £842

-61.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$262.5K

$22.8K £17.0K

-38.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,278

$120 £89.9

-43.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,025

$47.45 £35.42

15.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,073

$103 £77.2

7.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,169

$92.1 £68.7

25.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$22.1K

$1,268 £947

-7.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.4K

$1,030 £769

-25.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$48.1K

$2,090 £1,560

22.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.6K

$1,620 £1,209

-12.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$67.1K

$5,310 £3,964

-32.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.6K

$3,380 £2,523

-38.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.8K

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: November 1, 2026

Last update for Motherwell: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Motherwell

$1K 44.7% 33.6% $259

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Motherwell

$310 13.4% 4.3% $14

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Motherwell

$305 13.2% 52.1% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Motherwell

$164 7.1% 3.8% $6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Motherwell

$300 13% 141% $175

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Motherwell

$68 3% 4.6% $3.3

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Motherwell

$130 5.6% 419% $105

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $1,268 in Motherwell. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $67 in Motherwell. Groceries flip the comparison at $324 vs $310, with Motherwell cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇬🇧 Motherwell

🕒 Local time

17:13 5:13 PM

23:13 11:13 PM

6 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

32,120

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.9 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Motherwell 8,540 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Motherwell

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 Motherwell: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $2,306 in Motherwell, so Mexico City is about 27% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $3,459 in Motherwell to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $1,268 in Motherwell. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 80% less than in Motherwell. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $1,128 in Motherwell. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Mexico City gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.