Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Novara

For one person, living costs are similar in Mexico City and in Novara: $1,548 and $1,483 a month, rent and utilities included.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
72

Cost of Living Index in Novara
Learn more

Novara Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Novara

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,483

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $1,483 in Novara.

Mexico City $1,548
Novara $1,483

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $2,293 in Novara.

Mexico City $2,436
Novara $2,293

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $3,103 in Novara.

Mexico City $3,323
Novara $3,103

Living in Mexico City is roughly 4% more expensive than in Novara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 14% above, Novara 9% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$16.78 €14.92

-34.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$56.6 €50.3

-13.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$10.25 €9.12

6.34%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$1.74 €1.55

111.49%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$3.46 €3.08

-52.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$1.72 €1.53

-27.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$5.57 €4.96

-41.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$5.09 €4.52

8.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.39 €1.24

22.30%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.95 €1.74

54.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$2.88 €2.56

-33.33%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$3.33 €2.96

-18.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$11.40 €10.14

3.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$8.76 €7.79

8.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$13.22 €11.76

9.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.53 €2.25

19.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.65 €1.46

14.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$3.41 €3.04

-41.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$2.16 €1.92

1.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.94 €1.73

-1.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.14 €1.02

64.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.03 €0.91

39.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$0.75 €0.67

69.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$6.23 €5.55

-16.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$5.58 €4.96

189.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.84 €1.63

3.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$2.28 €2.03

85.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$1.69 €1.51

-79.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

$38.24 €34.01

-48.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$4.36 €3.87

-54.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$1.20 €1.06

-56.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$34.82 €30.97

-84.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$2.05 €1.82

-25.85%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$26.9K €23.9K

-17.88%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$33.4K €29.7K

-26.63%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$176 €157

-65.38%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$10.41 €9.26

174.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$30.24 €26.90

13.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$78.3 €69.6

-28.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$18.96 €16.86

31.22%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$11.39 €10.13

-41.53%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$517 €460

-17.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$9,907 €8,813

17.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$124 €110

-45.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$34.03 €30.27

52.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$55.5 €49.40

90.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$139 €123

-18.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$644 €573

59.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$438 €389

49.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$1,048 €932

120.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$784 €698

58.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$2,850 €2,535

26.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$1,873 €1,666

3.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$2,082 €1,852

-53.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

3.62

212.15%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Novara: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Novara

$438 29.5% 33.1% $217

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Novara

$269 18.1% 15.4% $49

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Novara

$245 16.5% 20% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Novara

$158 10.7% 4% $6.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Novara

$217 14.6% 74.9% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Novara

$101 6.8% 45% $31

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Novara

$55 3.7% 116% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $644 in Novara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Novara pays 116% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $57.0 in Novara. Groceries flip the comparison at $318 vs $269, with Novara cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇮🇹 Novara

🕒 Local time

00:08 12:08 AM

08:08 8:08 AM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

100,910

💱 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 23, 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 23, 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 Novara 9,780 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Novara

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 Novara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Novara differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $1,483 including rent). Novara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 116% lower in Novara. 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $644 in Novara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Novara runs roughly 95% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $517 in Novara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,483 in Novara versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Novara but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Novara 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 Novara 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 Novara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.