Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Nelson

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $1,865 in Nelson, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 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
90

Cost of Living Index in Nelson
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Nelson Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Nelson

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,865

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,865 in Nelson.

Mexico City $1,608
Nelson $1,865

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $2,872 in Nelson.

Mexico City $2,549
Nelson $2,872

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $3,879 in Nelson.

Mexico City $3,490
Nelson $3,879

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 14% less than in Nelson, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, Nelson 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$13.72 NZ$24.40

-22.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$64.8 NZ$115

-25.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$8.27 NZ$14.71

25.15%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$3.19 NZ$5.66

15.67%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$1.82 NZ$3.23

-8.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$1.65 NZ$2.94

-23.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$7.61 NZ$13.52

-58.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$5.84 NZ$10.38

-9.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.93 NZ$3.43

-10.88%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$2.19 NZ$3.89

38.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.96 NZ$3.48

-1.02%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$5.85 NZ$10.40

-50.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$9.13 NZ$16.22

20.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$7.62 NZ$13.54

21.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$13.65 NZ$24.26

10.84%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$3.15 NZ$5.61

-3.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$2.15 NZ$3.82

-9.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$3.00 NZ$5.33

-32.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$5.63 NZ$10.01

-58.97%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$2.07 NZ$3.68

-1.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$1.23 NZ$2.19

46.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$2.02 NZ$3.60

-26.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$1.08 NZ$1.92

17.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$25.87 NZ$45.99

-79.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$9.94 NZ$17.66

61.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$3.14 NZ$5.58

-36.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$2.81 NZ$5.00

51.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$2.20 NZ$3.92

-85.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$1.83 NZ$3.25

0.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$1.79 NZ$3.18

-70.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$33.80 NZ$60.1

-84.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.56 NZ$2.77

-3.21%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$17.1K NZ$30.3K

27.53%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$22.4K NZ$39.7K

7.31%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$130 NZ$231

-51.62%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$32.93 NZ$58.5

-16.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$43.70 NZ$77.7

-18.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$101 NZ$179

-41.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$34.48 NZ$61.3

-31.44%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$11.14 NZ$19.81

-42.55%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$458 NZ$814

-5.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$13.1K NZ$23.3K

-12.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$52.9 NZ$94.1

28.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$28.57 NZ$50.8

85.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$104 NZ$185

3.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$143 NZ$254

-17.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$1,023 NZ$1,819

8.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$813 NZ$1,445

-12.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$1,755 NZ$3,120

47.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$1,455 NZ$2,586

-3.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$1,396 NZ$2,482

160.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$852 NZ$1,514

150.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$2,043 NZ$3,632

-53.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

5.39

110.58%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Nelson: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Nelson

$813 43.6% 14.4% $102

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Nelson

$319 17.1% 0.3% $0.9

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Nelson

$236 12.7% 19% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Nelson

$148 7.9% 5.3% $8.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Nelson

$207 11.1% 64.1% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Nelson

$123 6.6% 71.3% $51

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Nelson

$20 * 1.1% 23.1% $5.9

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 $1,113 in Mexico City and $1,023 in Nelson. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nelson pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $65 in Nelson. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $319, with Nelson cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇳🇿 Nelson

🕒 Local time

23:55 11:55 PM

18:55 6:55 PM

19 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

51,100

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Nelson 11,220 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Nelson

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 Nelson: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,865 in Nelson, so Mexico City is about 14% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 54% lower in Mexico City. 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $1,023 in Nelson. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $458 in Nelson. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $1,865 in Nelson – Mexico City is about 14% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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.

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