Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Oued Zem

For one person, living is cheaper in Oued Zem: $751 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Oued Zem
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Oued Zem Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Oued Zem

🇲🇦 Morocco

$751

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Oued Zem

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $751 in Oued Zem.

Mexico City $1,608
Oued Zem $751

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,196 in Oued Zem.

Mexico City $2,549
Oued Zem $1,196

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,640 in Oued Zem.

Mexico City $3,490
Oued Zem $1,640

Living in Mexico City is roughly 114% more expensive than in Oued Zem, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Oued Zem is 45% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$4.18 MAD 41.15

154.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$41.10 MAD 405

17.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$7.11 MAD 70.0

45.57%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$1.93 MAD 19.02

91.19%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$0.57 MAD 5.59

192.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$0.36 MAD 3.58

252.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$4.95 MAD 48.72

-35.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$3.19 MAD 31.44

66.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$0.82 MAD 8.04

109.76%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$0.61 MAD 5.96

398.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.85 MAD 18.19

4.86%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$1.95 MAD 19.17

48.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$11.22 MAD 110

-2.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$6.67 MAD 65.6

38.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$11.88 MAD 117

27.36%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$1.60 MAD 15.79

90.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.42 MAD 13.99

36.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$0.89 MAD 8.76

128.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$0.82 MAD 8.08

181.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$0.71 MAD 7.03

187.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$0.79 MAD 7.74

127.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$0.39 MAD 3.85

279.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$0.61 MAD 5.97

108.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$4.23 MAD 41.60

25.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$7.23 MAD 71.1

122.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$2.56 MAD 25.24

-22.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$2.58 MAD 25.43

64.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

$0.50 MAD 4.94

-38.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$19.08 MAD 188

3.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$0.73 MAD 7.19

152.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.75 MAD 7.36

-29.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$3.95 MAD 38.92

34.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.50 MAD 14.76

0.67%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$29.9K MAD 294.3K

-27.24%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$32.7K MAD 322.3K

-26.76%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$36.51 MAD 359

72.50%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$9.90 MAD 97.4

176.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$33.95 MAD 334

5.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$22.75 MAD 224

159.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$19.10 MAD 188

23.77%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$6.24 MAD 61.4

2.56%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$181 MAD 1,778

138.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$9,550 MAD 94.0K

19.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$47.28 MAD 465

44.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$39.31 MAD 387

35.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$91.6 MAD 901

17.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$66.5 MAD 655

76.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$314 MAD 3,094

254.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$185 MAD 1,823

283.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$476 MAD 4,683

443.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$283 MAD 2,786

396.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

$1,129 MAD 11.1K

221.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$874 MAD 8,600

144.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$230 MAD 2,263

311.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.55

149.45%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Oued Zem: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Oued Zem

$185 24.7% 73.9% $525

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Oued Zem

$201 26.8% 37% $118

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Oued Zem

$113 15% 43.2% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Oued Zem

$110 14.7% 29.4% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Oued Zem

$80 10.7% 36.2% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Oued Zem

$35 4.7% 50.9% $37

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Oued Zem

$26 3.4% 0.4% $0.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $314 in Oued Zem. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 4.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $41 in Oued Zem for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $201 per month, with Oued Zem cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇦 Oued Zem

🕒 Local time

20:14 8:14 PM

02:14 2:14 AM

6 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

95,267

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 MAD = 10.16 USD

100 MAD = 9.13 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, 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).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 9.84 MAD (1 MAD = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.13 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Oued Zem 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Oued Zem

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 Oued Zem: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $751 in Oued Zem, so Oued Zem is about 53% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 4.1 times higher, 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 $314 in Oued Zem. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Oued Zem runs roughly 3% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $181 in Oued Zem. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $751 in Oued Zem versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Oued Zem but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Oued Zem 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.

Expats usually find Oued Zem gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.