Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Qalyub

For one person, living is cheaper in Qalyub: $451 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Qalyub
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Qalyub Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Qalyub

🇪🇬 Egypt

$451

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $451 in Qalyub.

Mexico City $1,548
Qalyub $451

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $740 in Qalyub.

Mexico City $2,436
Qalyub $740

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $1,028 in Qalyub.

Mexico City $3,323
Qalyub $1,028

Living in Mexico City is roughly 243% more expensive than in Qalyub, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Qalyub is 67% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$205

$4.33 E£239

154.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$908

$19.25 E£1,063

152.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$203

$4.73 E£262

130.44%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.7

$1.32 E£72.8

178.79%

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

$1.63 MX$30.46

$0.29 E£16.27

462.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.28

$0.13 E£7.31

861.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.6

$1.32 E£72.7

146.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$103

$2.29 E£127

141.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.78

$0.82 E£45.28

107.32%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$56.3

$0.70 E£38.92

331.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.86

$0.59 E£32.61

225.42%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$51.0

$1.13 E£62.2

141.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$220

$3.80 E£210

209.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$178

$4.35 E£240

119.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$269

$9.12 E£504

58.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$56.3

$1.54 E£85.2

96.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.33

$0.78 E£43.26

142.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$37.03

$0.57 E£31.25

249.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.75

$0.33 E£18.10

563.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.75

$0.24 E£13.25

700.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.81

$0.32 E£17.89

484.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.86

$0.25 E£13.70

476.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.60

$0.20 E£10.90

535.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$97.3

$1.93 E£107

170.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$302

$5.77 E£319

180.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.35

$1.19 E£65.9

59.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.7

$2.21 E£122

90.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.36

$0.20 E£11.02

70.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$366

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$37.23

$0.40 E£22.02

400.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.76

$0.20 E£11.10

160.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$99.6

$1.20 E£66.2

345.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.39

$0.42 E£23.46

261.90%

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

$22.1K MX$411.7K

$32.3K E£1.8M

-31.70%

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

$24.5K MX$457.1K

$26.9K E£1.5M

-8.74%

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

$61.1 MX$1,139

$14.31 E£791

326.76%

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

$28.58 MX$533

$6.72 E£371

325.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$643

$13.08 E£723

163.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,051

$16.40 E£906

243.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$464

$0.91 E£50.5

2634.07%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$124

$2.77 E£153

140.43%

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

$427 MX$7,964

$86.6 E£4,786

392.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$217.0K

$2,104 E£116.2K

453.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,264

$33.54 E£1,853

102.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$969

$45.09 E£2,491

15.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,977

$117 E£6,439

-9.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,099

$56.0 E£3,094

100.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$19.1K

$132 E£7,289

676.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.2K

$76.8 E£4,241

752.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$43.0K

$251 E£13.9K

818.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$23.2K

$144 E£7,959

762.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$67.4K

$752 E£41.5K

380.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$36.1K

$357 E£19.7K

442.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$18.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

16.21

-30.29%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Qalyub: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Qalyub

$77 17% 88.3% $577

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Qalyub

$126 27.8% 60.5% $193

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Qalyub

$78 17.2% 62% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Qalyub

$113 25.1% 25.8% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Qalyub

$34 7.6% 72.5% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Qalyub

$22 4.9% 68.5% $48

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Qalyub

$2.2 * 0.5% 91.4% $23

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 $1,025 in Mexico City and $132 in Qalyub. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $49 in Mexico City vs $19 in Qalyub for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $126 per month, with Qalyub cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇪🇬 Qalyub

🕒 Local time

00:55 12:55 AM

09:55 9:55 AM

9 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

109,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

100 EGP = 1.81 USD

100 EGP = 1.61 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.65 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.92 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 55.25 EGP (100 EGP = 1.81 USD). 1 EUR = 61.99 EGP (100 EGP = 1.61 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Qalyub 12,360 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Qalyub

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 Qalyub: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Qalyub differ by about 243% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $451 including rent). Qalyub is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,322 in Mexico City and $677 in Qalyub to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $132 in Qalyub. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $87 in Qalyub. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Qalyub – a meal for two runs $19 versus $49 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $451 in Qalyub versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Qalyub but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Qalyub 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.