Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Scarborough, Canada

Name: Scarborough
Address: Scarborough, CA

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,561 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 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
122

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
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Scarborough Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Scarborough

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,561

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $2,561 in Scarborough.

Mexico City $1,608
Scarborough $2,561

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $3,474 in Scarborough.

Mexico City $2,549
Scarborough $3,474

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $4,388 in Scarborough.

Mexico City $3,490
Scarborough $4,388

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 37% less than in Scarborough, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, Scarborough 88% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$17.32 CA$24.20

-38.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$70.3 CA$98.3

-31.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$10.89 CA$15.21

-4.96%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$3.99 CA$5.57

-7.52%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$2.03 CA$2.84

-17.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$1.47 CA$2.05

-13.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$6.55 CA$9.15

-51.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$7.29 CA$10.18

-27.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$2.51 CA$3.51

-31.47%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$2.63 CA$3.68

15.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$2.28 CA$3.18

-14.91%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$3.64 CA$5.09

-20.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$9.14 CA$12.77

20.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$11.44 CA$15.98

-19.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$12.96 CA$18.11

16.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$3.43 CA$4.79

-11.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.21 CA$1.69

60.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$3.34 CA$4.67

-39.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$4.17 CA$5.82

-44.60%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$1.69 CA$2.37

20.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$1.68 CA$2.35

7.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$2.20 CA$3.08

-32.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$1.26 CA$1.76

0.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$14.00 CA$19.56

-62.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$12.58 CA$17.58

27.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$2.19 CA$3.06

-9.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$2.55 CA$3.57

66.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$2.40 CA$3.35

-87.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$105 CA$147

-81.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$3.06 CA$4.28

-39.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$1.28 CA$1.79

-58.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$22.52 CA$31.46

-76.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.25 CA$1.75

20.80%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$26.1K CA$36.5K

-16.79%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$21.7K CA$30.4K

10.41%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$137 CA$192

-54.15%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$35.21 CA$49.20

-22.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$48.56 CA$67.8

-26.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$35.87 CA$50.1

64.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$35.96 CA$50.2

-34.26%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$12.95 CA$18.10

-50.58%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$749 CA$1,047

-42.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$10.8K CA$15.1K

5.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$53.4 CA$74.6

27.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$40.94 CA$57.2

29.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$85.1 CA$119

26.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$105 CA$147

11.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$1,744 CA$2,437

-36.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$1,415 CA$1,977

-49.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$2,122 CA$2,965

21.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$1,758 CA$2,456

-20.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$7,770 CA$10.9K

-53.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$6,085 CA$8,501

-64.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$2,980 CA$4,163

-68.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.55

149.45%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Scarborough: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Scarborough

$1.4K 55.3% 99.1% $704

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Scarborough

$331 12.9% 3.5% $11

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Scarborough

$280 11% 41.2% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Scarborough

$128 5% 17.9% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Scarborough

$221 8.6% 75.4% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Scarborough

$62 2.4% 13.9% $10

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Scarborough

$124 4.8% 387% $98

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $1,744 in Scarborough. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Scarborough pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $70 in Scarborough for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $331 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇦 Scarborough

🕒 Local time

06:33 6:33 AM

07:33 7:33 AM

1 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

29,960

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.641 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Scarborough 3,280 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Scarborough

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 Scarborough: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $2,561 in Scarborough, so Mexico City is about 37% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 68% 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 $1,744 in Scarborough. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 81% less than in Scarborough. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $749 in Scarborough. 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 37% less than in Scarborough. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.