Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Petaling Jaya

For one person, living is cheaper in Petaling Jaya: $1,056 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Petaling Jaya
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Petaling Jaya Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Petaling Jaya

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,056

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Petaling Jaya

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,056 in Petaling Jaya.

Mexico City $1,608
Petaling Jaya $1,056

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,569 in Petaling Jaya.

Mexico City $2,549
Petaling Jaya $1,569

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,082 in Petaling Jaya.

Mexico City $3,490
Petaling Jaya $2,082

Living in Mexico City is roughly 52% more expensive than in Petaling Jaya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Petaling Jaya is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$3.57 MYR 14.54

197.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$24.39 MYR 99.4

98.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$4.85 MYR 19.75

113.40%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$3.08 MYR 12.53

19.81%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.85 MYR 3.46

96.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.41 MYR 1.67

209.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$3.28 MYR 13.38

-2.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$5.69 MYR 23.19

-6.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.93 MYR 7.87

-10.88%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.03 MYR 4.21

195.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.44 MYR 5.87

34.72%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$1.77 MYR 7.21

63.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$9.71 MYR 39.56

12.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$3.28 MYR 13.36

182.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$9.73 MYR 39.65

55.50%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$3.51 MYR 14.29

-13.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.86 MYR 7.57

4.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$2.73 MYR 11.13

-25.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.83 MYR 7.44

26.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$2.15 MYR 8.75

-5.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$2.02 MYR 8.23

-10.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.45 MYR 5.90

2.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.52 MYR 2.14

144.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$4.56 MYR 18.59

16.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$19.38 MYR 79.0

-16.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$2.64 MYR 10.75

-25.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$4.48 MYR 18.24

-5.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$1.25 MYR 5.10

-75.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$12.45 MYR 50.7

58.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$1.19 MYR 4.85

54.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.35 MYR 1.44

51.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$8.75 MYR 35.65

-39.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$0.87 MYR 3.55

73.56%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$45.9K MYR 186.9K

-52.58%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$35.3K MYR 143.9K

-32.09%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$49.61 MYR 202

26.95%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$8.18 MYR 33.33

234.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$27.36 MYR 111

30.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$40.42 MYR 165

45.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$3.03 MYR 12.34

680.20%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$5.00 MYR 20.38

28.00%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$273 MYR 1,112

58.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$10.5K MYR 42.9K

8.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$51.6 MYR 210

32.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$29.45 MYR 120

80.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$78.0 MYR 318

38.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$87.2 MYR 355

34.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$511 MYR 2,084

117.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$426 MYR 1,738

66.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$961 MYR 3,914

169.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$699 MYR 2,849

101.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$3,144 MYR 12.8K

15.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$976 MYR 3,978

118.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$1,746 MYR 7,115

-45.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.51

151.66%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Petaling Jaya: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Petaling Jaya

$426 40.4% 40% $284

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Petaling Jaya

$249 23.6% 21.9% $70

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Petaling Jaya

$113 10.7% 43.2% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Petaling Jaya

$111 10.5% 28.9% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Petaling Jaya

$85 8.1% 32.4% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Petaling Jaya

$50 4.8% 29.7% $21

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Petaling Jaya

$20 1.9% 19.8% $5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $511 in Petaling Jaya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Petaling Jaya pays 85% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $24 in Petaling Jaya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $249 per month, with Petaling Jaya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 Petaling Jaya

🕒 Local time

16:15 4:15 PM

06:15 6:15 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

771,687

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Mexico City Petaling Jaya 16,630 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Petaling Jaya

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 Petaling Jaya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,056 in Petaling Jaya, so Petaling Jaya is about 34% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 46% 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 $511 in Petaling Jaya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Petaling Jaya runs roughly 37% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $273 in Petaling Jaya. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Petaling Jaya is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Petaling Jaya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 34% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.