Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Rustenburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Rustenburg: $797 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Rustenburg
Learn more

Rustenburg Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Rustenburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$797

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $797 in Rustenburg.

Mexico City $1,608
Rustenburg $797

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,316 in Rustenburg.

Mexico City $2,549
Rustenburg $1,316

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,834 in Rustenburg.

Mexico City $3,490
Rustenburg $1,834

Living in Mexico City is roughly 102% more expensive than in Rustenburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Rustenburg is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$4.87 R 81.3

118.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$45.11 R 754

7.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$6.22 R 104

66.40%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$1.66 R 27.75

122.29%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$1.02 R 17.03

63.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.50 R 8.38

154.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$1.48 R 24.77

115.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$2.13 R 35.57

149.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$1.03 R 17.19

66.99%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$0.90 R 15.00

237.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$1.70 R 28.40

14.12%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$2.61 R 43.60

10.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$7.57 R 127

44.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$5.04 R 84.3

83.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$6.28 R 105

140.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$1.78 R 29.73

71.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$1.57 R 26.20

23.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$1.80 R 30.00

12.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$1.07 R 17.94

115.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$1.31 R 21.94

55.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$1.08 R 18.12

66.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$1.34 R 22.34

10.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$0.86 R 14.34

47.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$3.07 R 51.2

72.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$6.02 R 101

167.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$0.59 R 9.80

235.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$0.92 R 15.34

361.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$0.81 R 13.60

127.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$0.89 R 14.86

-40.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$14.27 R 238

-62.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$1.45 R 24.16

4.14%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$31.6K R 527.3K

-31.07%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$31.7K R 529.2K

-24.27%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$76.1 R 1,271

-17.20%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$13.47 R 225

103.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$37.07 R 619

-3.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$38.12 R 637

54.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$6.11 R 102

286.91%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$4.90 R 81.9

30.61%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$110 R 1,842

291.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$5,453 R 91.1K

109.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$41.73 R 697

63.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$44.31 R 740

19.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$112 R 1,863

-3.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$53.3 R 890

120.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$336 R 5,614

231.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$237 R 3,955

200.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$716 R 12.0K

261.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$515 R 8,609

172.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$1,065 R 17.8K

-11.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

9.9

14.65%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Rustenburg: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Rustenburg

$237 29.7% 66.7% $474

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Rustenburg

$173 21.7% 45.9% $147

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Rustenburg

$95 12% 52% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Rustenburg

$113 14.2% 27.6% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Rustenburg

$127 15.9% 0.4% $0.6

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Rustenburg

$48 6% 33.2% $24

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Rustenburg

$5.3 * 0.7% 79.3% $20

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 $1,113 in Mexico City and $336 in Rustenburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rustenburg pays 13% 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 $45 in Rustenburg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $173 per month, with Rustenburg cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇿🇦 Rustenburg

🕒 Local time

18:46 6:46 PM

02:46 2:46 AM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

549,575

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.71 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Rustenburg 14,500 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Rustenburg

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 Rustenburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $797 in Rustenburg, so Rustenburg is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 11% 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 $336 in Rustenburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $110 in Rustenburg. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Rustenburg – a meal for two runs $45 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $797 in Rustenburg versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Rustenburg but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Rustenburg 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.