Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Rio Tinto

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,548 a month against $1,690 in Rio Tinto, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio Tinto outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Rio Tinto
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Rio Tinto Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Rio Tinto

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,690

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Rio Tinto

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $1,690 in Rio Tinto.

Mexico City $1,548
Rio Tinto $1,690

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $2,591 in Rio Tinto.

Mexico City $2,436
Rio Tinto $2,591

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $3,491 in Rio Tinto.

Mexico City $3,323
Rio Tinto $3,491

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 8% less than in Rio Tinto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 14% above, Rio Tinto 25% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$12.73 €11.32

-13.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$49.59 €44.11

-1.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$9.06 €8.06

20.31%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.00 €1.78

84.00%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$1.99 €1.77

-18.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$1.50 €1.33

-16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$3.02 €2.68

7.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$2.83 €2.52

95.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.12 €0.99

51.79%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.85 €1.65

63.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.59 €1.41

20.75%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.92 €2.60

-6.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$15.53 €13.82

-24.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$8.29 €7.38

14.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$20.69 €18.40

-30.35%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.40 €2.14

25.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.43 €1.27

32.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$2.10 €1.87

-5.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$2.25 €2.00

-2.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.71 €1.52

12.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$2.11 €1.88

-11.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.61 €1.43

-10.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$1.12 €1.00

13.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$6.81 €6.06

-23.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$4.97 €4.42

225.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.35 €1.20

40.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$2.47 €2.20

70.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$1.77 €1.58

-80.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

$45.29 €40.29

-56.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$4.37 €3.89

-54.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$0.47 €0.41

10.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$13.56 €12.06

-60.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$2.15 €1.92

-29.30%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$32.8K €29.2K

-32.78%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$37.4K €33.2K

-34.38%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$110 €97.9

-44.53%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$17.50 €15.57

63.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$42.98 €38.23

-19.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$41.17 €36.62

36.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$16.82 €14.96

47.92%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$8.68 €7.72

-23.27%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$429 €381

-0.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$6,343 €5,642

83.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$112 €99.6

-39.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$35.80 €31.85

45.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$74.6 €66.4

42.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$76.8 €68.3

46.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$931 €828

10.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$791 €703

-17.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$2,094 €1,863

10.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$1,435 €1,277

-13.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$2,998 €2,667

20.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$2,293 €2,039

-15.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$1,278 €1,137

-24.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

3.27

245.57%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Rio Tinto: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Rio Tinto

$791 46.8% 20.9% $136

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Rio Tinto

$289 17.1% 9.1% $29

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Rio Tinto

$188 11.1% 7.9% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Rio Tinto

$135 8% 11.6% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Rio Tinto

$171 10.1% 37.4% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Rio Tinto

$59 3.5% 16% $11

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Rio Tinto

$59 3.5% 131% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $931 in Rio Tinto. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio Tinto pays 33% 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: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $50.0 in Rio Tinto. Groceries flip the comparison at $318 vs $289, with Rio Tinto cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇹 Rio Tinto

🕒 Local time

18:15 6:15 PM

01:15 1:15 AM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

51,086

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Rio Tinto 8,650 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Rio Tinto

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 Rio Tinto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Rio Tinto differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $1,690 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 33% lower in Rio Tinto. 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $931 in Rio Tinto. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 130% less than in Rio Tinto. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $429 in Rio Tinto. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,548 in Mexico City versus $1,690 in Rio Tinto, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Rio Tinto. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City 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.

Safety-wise, Mexico City and Rio Tinto are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Rio Tinto. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.