Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Scalea

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $1,723 in Scalea, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 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
84

Cost of Living Index in Scalea
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Scalea Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Scalea

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,723

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,723 in Scalea.

Mexico City $1,608
Scalea $1,723

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $2,482 in Scalea.

Mexico City $2,549
Scalea $2,482

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $3,241 in Scalea.

Mexico City $3,490
Scalea $3,241

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 7% less than in Scalea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, Scalea 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$16.80 €14.99

-36.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$906

$56.6 €50.5

-14.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$11.02 €9.83

-6.08%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$2.10 €1.88

75.71%

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

$1.67 MX$31.23

$2.96 €2.64

-43.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.71

$2.08 €1.86

-38.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.8

$6.59 €5.88

-51.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$4.13 €3.68

28.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$1.26 €1.13

36.51%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$1.68 €1.49

80.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$2.62 €2.34

-25.95%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$3.41 €3.04

-15.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$11.04 €9.85

-0.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$11.70 €10.44

-20.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$15.79 €14.08

-4.18%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.1

$1.99 €1.77

53.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.73 €1.54

12.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.95

$1.39 €1.24

46.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.38

$2.64 €2.35

-12.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.14

$1.74 €1.55

17.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.73

$1.30 €1.16

38.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.72

$1.28 €1.14

15.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.75

$0.46 €0.41

176.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$6.82 €6.08

-22.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$7.81 €6.97

106.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.16

$1.83 €1.63

8.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$1.53 €1.36

177.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

$1.66 €1.48

-81.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

$38.62 €34.46

-48.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.44

$4.57 €4.08

-59.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$1.14 €1.01

-53.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.2

$22.00 €19.63

-75.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.31

$2.12 €1.89

-28.77%

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

$21.8K MX$407.7K

$36.0K €32.1K

-39.56%

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

$24.0K MX$449.5K

$37.6K €33.5K

-36.21%

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

$63.0 MX$1,180

$315 €281

-79.98%

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

$27.39 MX$513

$10.52 €9.38

160.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$668

$34.57 €30.84

3.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$53.1 €47.40

10.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

$22.55 €20.12

4.83%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$9.07 €8.09

-29.44%

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

$432 MX$8,088

$445 €397

-2.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.1K

$6,807 €6,073

67.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,278

$83.0 €74.1

-17.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$34.18 €30.49

55.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,020

$84.9 €75.8

26.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,198

$129 €115

-9.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$700 €625

58.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$556 €496

27.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

$1,099 €980

135.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$819 €730

71.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

$1,452 €1,295

150.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

$1,141 €1,018

87.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.55

219.72%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Scalea: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Scalea

$556 32.3% 21.7% $154

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Scalea

$278 16.1% 13% $42

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Scalea

$254 14.7% 27.9% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Scalea

$149 8.6% 4.5% $6.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Scalea

$360 20.9% 185% $234

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Scalea

$71 4.1% 0.7% $0.5

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Scalea

$56 3.2% 118% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $700 in Scalea. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $57 in Scalea. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $278, with Scalea cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇮🇹 Scalea

🕒 Local time

07:44 7:44 AM

14:44 2:44 PM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

10,913

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Scalea 10,600 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Scalea

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 Scalea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,723 in Scalea, so Mexico City is about 7% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $2,585 in Scalea 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $700 in Scalea. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 49% less than in Scalea. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $445 in Scalea. 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.