Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Scarborough

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,548 a month against $2,130 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
103

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
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Scarborough Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Scarborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,130

/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: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $2,130 in Scarborough.

Mexico City $1,548
Scarborough $2,130

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $3,096 in Scarborough.

Mexico City $2,436
Scarborough $3,096

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $4,062 in Scarborough.

Mexico City $3,323
Scarborough $4,062

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 27% less than in Scarborough, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 14% above, Scarborough 57% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$15.36 £11.53

-28.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$71.1 £53.4

-31.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$12.12 £9.09

-10.07%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.51 £2.63

4.84%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$2.05 £1.53

-20.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$1.02 £0.77

22.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$4.58 £3.44

-29.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$4.29 £3.22

28.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.29 £0.97

31.78%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.37 £1.03

120.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.08 £0.81

77.78%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$3.60 £2.70

-24.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$7.92 £5.94

48.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$7.18 £5.39

32.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$13.94 £10.46

3.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$3.13 £2.35

-3.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.99 £1.49

-5.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$2.65 £1.99

-24.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$2.09 £1.57

4.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.74 £1.30

10.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.62 £1.21

15.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.15 £0.87

25.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$1.91 £1.43

-33.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$22.58 £16.94

-76.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$9.59 £7.19

68.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$3.65 £2.74

-47.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$3.60 £2.70

17.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$3.30 £2.48

-89.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

$86.0 £64.5

-77.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$5.73 £4.30

-65.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$4.97 £3.73

-89.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$33.58 £25.19

-84.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.98 £1.48

-23.23%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$36.0K £27.0K

-38.62%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$39.9K £29.9K

-38.59%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$356 £267

-82.85%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$25.99 £19.50

9.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$32.74 £24.56

5.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$66.1 £49.59

-14.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$12.67 £9.50

96.37%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$10.66 £7.99

-37.52%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$1,804 £1,353

-76.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$14.7K £11.1K

-21.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$66.3 £49.73

2.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$35.54 £26.66

46.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$108 £81.3

-2.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$114 £85.2

-0.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$867 £651

18.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$831 £624

-21.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$1,524 £1,143

51.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$1,365 £1,024

-9.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$910 £683

5.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.53

104.34%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Scarborough: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Scarborough

$831 39% 27% $177

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Scarborough

$276 13% 13.2% $42

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Scarborough

$245 11.5% 20.2% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Scarborough

$146 6.8% 4.3% $6.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Scarborough

$415 19.5% 234% $291

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Scarborough

$87 4.1% 25.4% $18

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Scarborough

$130 6.1% 407% $104

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $867 in Scarborough. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 6% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $71.0 in Scarborough. Groceries flip the comparison at $318 vs $276, with Scarborough cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇬🇧 Scarborough

🕒 Local time

23:42 11:42 PM

06:42 6:42 AM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

61,749

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR 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).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Scarborough 8,810 km ≈ 12 h 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

Mexico City and Scarborough differ by about 38% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $2,130 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 6% higher in Mexico City, 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $867 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 338% less than in Scarborough. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $1,804 in Scarborough. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,548 in Mexico City versus $2,130 in Scarborough, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Scarborough. 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 Scarborough 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 38% less than in Scarborough. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.