Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Sarawak

For one person, living is cheaper in Sarawak: $954 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Sarawak
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Sarawak Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Sarawak

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$954

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $954 in Sarawak.

Mexico City $1,608
Sarawak $954

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,408 in Sarawak.

Mexico City $2,549
Sarawak $1,408

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,862 in Sarawak.

Mexico City $3,490
Sarawak $1,862

Living in Mexico City is roughly 69% more expensive than in Sarawak, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Sarawak is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$3.58 MYR 14.60

196.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$19.96 MYR 81.3

142.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$4.70 MYR 19.16

120.21%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$2.96 MYR 12.06

24.66%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.77 MYR 3.13

116.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.39 MYR 1.59

225.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$3.95 MYR 16.08

-19.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$4.57 MYR 18.63

16.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.75 MYR 7.13

-1.71%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.22 MYR 4.98

149.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.36 MYR 5.53

42.65%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.26 MYR 9.20

27.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$14.46 MYR 58.9

-24.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$4.07 MYR 16.58

127.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$9.85 MYR 40.13

53.60%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.90 MYR 11.81

5.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.45 MYR 5.89

33.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$2.38 MYR 9.72

-14.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.31 MYR 5.34

76.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.23 MYR 5.02

65.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.24 MYR 5.06

45.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.11 MYR 4.50

33.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.46 MYR 1.89

176.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$4.27 MYR 17.41

24.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$16.86 MYR 68.7

-4.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$2.93 MYR 11.94

-32.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$4.03 MYR 16.40

5.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$0.75 MYR 3.05

-58.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$10.56 MYR 43.04

86.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$1.12 MYR 4.55

64.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.51 MYR 2.08

3.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$6.93 MYR 28.22

-23.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$0.77 MYR 3.15

96.10%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$50.4K MYR 205.2K

-56.81%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$39.9K MYR 162.5K

-39.85%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$52.9 MYR 216

18.99%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$10.66 MYR 43.43

156.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$29.13 MYR 119

22.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$40.05 MYR 163

47.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$7.22 MYR 29.42

227.42%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$5.60 MYR 22.83

14.29%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$241 MYR 981

79.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$6,956 MYR 28.3K

64.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$58.1 MYR 237

17.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$29.97 MYR 122

77.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$87.0 MYR 354

23.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$75.9 MYR 309

54.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$410 MYR 1,669

171.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$318 MYR 1,297

123.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$704 MYR 2,870

267.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$491 MYR 2,000

186.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$2,170 MYR 8,841

67.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,323 MYR 5,393

61.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$349 MYR 1,420

171.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.06

179.56%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sarawak: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Sarawak

$318 33.4% 55.2% $392

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Sarawak

$249 26.1% 22% $70

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Sarawak

$112 11.7% 43.7% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Sarawak

$113 11.8% 27.6% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Sarawak

$93 9.7% 26.4% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Sarawak

$51 5.4% 28.5% $20

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Sarawak

$17 1.8% 32.3% $8.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $410 in Sarawak. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $20 in Sarawak for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $249 per month, with Sarawak cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 Sarawak

🕒 Local time

14:37 2:37 PM

04:37 4:37 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

💱 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Sarawak 16,040 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Sarawak

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 Sarawak: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $954 in Sarawak, so Sarawak is about 41% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 2.7 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $410 in Sarawak. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Sarawak runs roughly 46% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $241 in Sarawak. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $954 in Sarawak versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sarawak but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Sarawak 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.

Expats usually find Sarawak gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.