Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Nuku'alofa

For one person, living is cheaper in Nuku’alofa: $1,021 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Nuku'alofa
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Nuku'alofa Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Nuku'alofa

🇹🇴 Tonga

$1,021

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Nuku'alofa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,021 in Nuku’alofa.

Mexico City $1,608
Nuku'alofa $1,021

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,865 in Nuku’alofa.

Mexico City $2,549
Nuku'alofa $1,865

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,710 in Nuku’alofa.

Mexico City $3,490
Nuku'alofa $2,710

Living in Mexico City is roughly 58% more expensive than in Nuku’alofa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Nuku’alofa is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$8.30 TOP 19.66

27.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$62.1 TOP 147

-22.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$10.43 TOP 24.71

-0.77%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$2.84 TOP 6.73

29.93%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$2.87 TOP 6.80

-41.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$2.45 TOP 5.80

-48.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$3.40 TOP 8.05

-6.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$4.89 TOP 11.59

8.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$1.54 TOP 3.64

11.69%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$1.01 TOP 2.40

200.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$2.12 TOP 5.01

-8.49%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$5.03 TOP 11.92

-42.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$8.80 TOP 20.86

24.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$5.95 TOP 14.10

55.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$7.76 TOP 18.38

94.97%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.80 TOP 6.62

8.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$2.69 TOP 6.38

-27.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$2.86 TOP 6.79

-29.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$3.84 TOP 9.10

-39.84%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$3.22 TOP 7.62

-36.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$2.56 TOP 6.06

-29.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$2.20 TOP 5.21

-32.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$1.34 TOP 3.18

-5.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$9.99 TOP 23.66

-46.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$17.00 TOP 40.27

-5.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$3.23 TOP 7.66

-38.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$3.31 TOP 7.84

28.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

$2.11 TOP 4.99

-85.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$41.11 TOP 97.4

-52.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$2.10 TOP 4.99

-12.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$2.06 TOP 4.89

-74.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$41.98 TOP 99.5

-87.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.48 TOP 3.51

2.03%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$5,770 TOP 13.7K

277.03%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$8,255 TOP 19.6K

190.55%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$188 TOP 446

-66.52%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$22.11 TOP 52.4

23.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$126 TOP 298

-71.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$31.77 TOP 75.3

85.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$41.37 TOP 98.0

-42.86%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$41.62 TOP 98.6

-84.62%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$155 TOP 368

177.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$252 TOP 596

4438.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$14.42 TOP 34.16

373.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$17.89 TOP 42.37

196.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$20.97 TOP 49.68

413.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$29.14 TOP 69.0

302.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$619 TOP 1,467

79.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$814 TOP 1,929

217.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$557 TOP 1,319

152.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

$417 TOP 988

770.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$251 TOP 595

750.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$692 TOP 1,640

36.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Nuku'alofa: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Nuku'alofa

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Nuku'alofa

$291 28.5% 9% $29

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Nuku'alofa

$180 17.6% 9.5% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Nuku'alofa

$37 3.6% 76.2% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Nuku'alofa

$336 32.9% 167% $210

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Nuku'alofa

$115 11.3% 60.3% $43

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Nuku'alofa

$62 6.1% 143% $36

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 $619 in Nuku’alofa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 37% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $62 in Nuku’alofa. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $291, with Nuku’alofa cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa

🕒 Local time

19:29 7:29 PM

14:29 2:29 PM

19 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

24,500 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Tongan Paʻanga TOP T$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 TOP = 0.422 USD

1 TOP = 0.379 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TOP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Tongan Paʻanga exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 2.37 TOP (1 TOP = 0.422 USD). 1 EUR = 2.64 TOP (1 TOP = 0.379 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Nuku'alofa 9,420 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Nuku'alofa

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 Nuku'alofa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,021 in Nuku’alofa, so Nuku’alofa is about 37% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 37% 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 $619 in Nuku’alofa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 52% less than in Nuku’alofa. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $155 in Nuku’alofa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Nuku’alofa 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 – Nuku’alofa wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.