Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Queenstown

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,370 in Queenstown, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 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
115

Cost of Living Index in Queenstown
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Queenstown Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Queenstown

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,370

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $2,370 in Queenstown.

Mexico City $1,608
Queenstown $2,370

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $3,764 in Queenstown.

Mexico City $2,549
Queenstown $3,764

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $5,158 in Queenstown.

Mexico City $3,490
Queenstown $5,158

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 32% less than in Queenstown, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, Queenstown 74% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$17.26 NZ$30.77

-38.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$86.8 NZ$155

-44.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$9.76 NZ$17.39

6.05%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$3.28 NZ$5.84

12.50%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$2.29 NZ$4.08

-27.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$2.08 NZ$3.71

-38.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$6.75 NZ$12.02

-52.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$6.19 NZ$11.04

-14.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$2.14 NZ$3.81

-19.63%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.96 NZ$3.49

55.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.78 NZ$3.17

8.99%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$5.80 NZ$10.33

-50.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$8.53 NZ$15.21

28.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$10.16 NZ$18.11

-8.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$15.81 NZ$28.18

-4.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.92 NZ$5.21

4.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$2.40 NZ$4.28

-19.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$3.89 NZ$6.94

-47.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$5.50 NZ$9.80

-58.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$3.55 NZ$6.33

-42.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.84 NZ$3.28

-2.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$2.42 NZ$4.31

-38.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$1.97 NZ$3.50

-35.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$27.67 NZ$49.31

-80.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$9.24 NZ$16.47

74.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$4.50 NZ$8.02

-56.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$6.63 NZ$11.81

-35.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$1.88 NZ$3.35

-83.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$128 NZ$229

-84.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$2.69 NZ$4.80

-31.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$1.92 NZ$3.43

-72.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$29.48 NZ$52.5

-82.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$1.70 NZ$3.03

-11.18%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$26.7K NZ$47.5K

-18.39%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$22.5K NZ$40.1K

6.52%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$111 NZ$197

-43.02%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$28.93 NZ$51.6

-5.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$51.8 NZ$92.4

-31.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$55.9 NZ$99.6

5.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$26.64 NZ$47.47

-11.26%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$11.17 NZ$19.91

-42.70%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$983 NZ$1,752

-56.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$7,685 NZ$13.7K

48.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$60.0 NZ$107

13.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$46.90 NZ$83.6

13.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$91.0 NZ$162

18.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$137 NZ$245

-14.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$1,523 NZ$2,714

-26.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$1,162 NZ$2,072

-38.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$2,918 NZ$5,200

-11.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$2,294 NZ$4,089

-38.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$7,612 NZ$13.6K

-52.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$5,271 NZ$9,395

-59.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$3,054 NZ$5,443

-69.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

6.12

85.46%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Queenstown: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Queenstown

$1.2K 49% 63.6% $452

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Queenstown

$369 15.6% 15.5% $50

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Queenstown

$270 11.4% 36.1% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Queenstown

$151 6.4% 3.2% $5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Queenstown

$191 8.1% 51.8% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Queenstown

$78 3.3% 9.1% $6.5

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Queenstown

$148 6.3% 482% $123

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $1,523 in Queenstown. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Queenstown pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $87 in Queenstown for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $369 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇳🇿 Queenstown

🕒 Local time

09:11 9:11 AM

04:11 4:11 AM

19 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

15,450

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, 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).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Queenstown 11,690 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Queenstown

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 Queenstown: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Queenstown differ by about 47% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $2,370 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 69% 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 $1,523 in Queenstown. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 85% less than in Queenstown. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $983 in Queenstown. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Mexico City 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.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Queenstown. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.