Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Scottburgh

For one person, living is cheaper in Scottburgh: $1,105 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Scottburgh
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Scottburgh Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Scottburgh

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,105

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,105 in Scottburgh.

Mexico City $1,674
Scottburgh $1,105

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,736 in Scottburgh.

Mexico City $2,606
Scottburgh $1,736

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $2,368 in Scottburgh.

Mexico City $3,537
Scottburgh $2,368

Living in Mexico City is roughly 51% more expensive than in Scottburgh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Scottburgh is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$8.66 R 142

22.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$36.96 R 606

40.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$6.09 R 99.9

76.19%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$2.59 R 42.58

46.72%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$1.10 R 18.08

46.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.82 R 13.38

47.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$2.35 R 38.55

35.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$2.34 R 38.40

132.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$1.24 R 20.27

38.71%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$0.96 R 15.73

209.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$1.49 R 24.43

29.53%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$2.29 R 37.56

20.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$8.04 R 132

45.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$5.21 R 85.5

81.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$7.26 R 119

111.71%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$1.97 R 32.35

57.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$1.86 R 30.58

5.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$1.94 R 31.89

2.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$1.60 R 26.32

46.25%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$1.51 R 24.75

33.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$1.37 R 22.43

32.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$1.16 R 18.98

32.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$1.18 R 19.41

11.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$3.54 R 58.0

51.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$4.87 R 80.0

232.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.50 R 24.56

30.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$2.02 R 33.14

115.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$1.88 R 30.91

-84.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$0.44 R 7.16

336.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$0.71 R 11.60

-33.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$7.73 R 127

-30.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.50 R 24.58

-1.33%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$35.9K R 589.8K

-40.55%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$34.1K R 559.4K

-30.32%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$149 R 2,446

-58.41%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$38.28 R 628

-25.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$39.10 R 642

-12.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$30.86 R 506

89.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$13.26 R 218

84.77%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$7.54 R 124

-12.60%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$311 R 5,108

39.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$7,387 R 121.2K

89.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$52.5 R 861

30.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$27.25 R 447

101.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$95.5 R 1,567

16.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$83.8 R 1,376

38.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$361 R 5,930

226.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$368 R 6,046

109.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$821 R 13.5K

212.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$792 R 13.0K

79.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$759 R 12.5K

372.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$715 R 11.7K

188.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

11.7

-2.99%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Scottburgh: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Scottburgh

$368 33.4% 52.2% $402

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Scottburgh

$193 17.5% 40.3% $130

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Scottburgh

$143 12.9% 28.8% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Scottburgh

$117 10.6% 26% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Scottburgh

$226 20.5% 81.8% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Scottburgh

$46 4.2% 35.8% $26

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Scottburgh

$12 * 1% 53.9% $13

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 $1,179 in Mexico City and $361 in Scottburgh. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $37 in Scottburgh for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $193 per month, with Scottburgh cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇿🇦 Scottburgh

🕒 Local time

22:45 10:45 PM

06:45 6:45 AM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

23,949

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.09 USD). 1 EUR = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Scottburgh 14,860 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Scottburgh

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 Scottburgh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,105 in Scottburgh, so Scottburgh is about 34% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $1,657 in Scottburgh 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: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $361 in Scottburgh. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $311 in Scottburgh. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Scottburgh – a meal for two runs $37 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,105 in Scottburgh versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Scottburgh but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Scottburgh 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.