Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Selangor

For one person, living is cheaper in Selangor: $1,145 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Selangor
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Selangor Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Selangor

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,145

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,145 in Selangor.

Mexico City $1,608
Selangor $1,145

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,656 in Selangor.

Mexico City $2,549
Selangor $1,656

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,168 in Selangor.

Mexico City $3,490
Selangor $2,168

Living in Mexico City is roughly 40% more expensive than in Selangor, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Selangor is 16% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$4.23 MYR 17.14

151.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$19.90 MYR 80.7

142.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$3.87 MYR 15.67

167.44%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$2.20 MYR 8.91

67.73%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$0.88 MYR 3.58

89.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.47 MYR 1.91

170.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$4.51 MYR 18.29

-29.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$5.12 MYR 20.75

3.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.83 MYR 7.43

-6.01%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.05 MYR 4.25

189.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.48 MYR 6.02

31.08%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$1.88 MYR 7.64

53.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$23.03 MYR 93.4

-52.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$4.96 MYR 20.11

86.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$10.94 MYR 44.35

38.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$4.13 MYR 16.73

-26.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.77 MYR 7.16

9.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$3.45 MYR 14.01

-41.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$2.68 MYR 10.86

-13.81%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$1.75 MYR 7.09

16.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$1.07 MYR 4.34

68.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$1.11 MYR 4.50

33.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.57 MYR 2.33

122.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$4.28 MYR 17.36

23.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$31.12 MYR 126

-48.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$4.60 MYR 18.64

-56.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$5.64 MYR 22.86

-24.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.76 MYR 3.09

-59.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$12.37 MYR 50.2

59.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$1.19 MYR 4.84

54.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$1.25 MYR 5.06

-57.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$4.37 MYR 17.70

21.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$0.75 MYR 3.03

101.33%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$46.2K MYR 187.4K

-52.95%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$36.0K MYR 145.9K

-33.36%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$76.2 MYR 309

-17.34%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$10.68 MYR 43.31

156.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$30.89 MYR 125

15.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$39.74 MYR 161

48.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$7.00 MYR 28.39

237.71%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$5.92 MYR 24.00

8.11%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$121 MYR 489

258.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$7,093 MYR 28.8K

61.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$116 MYR 469

-41.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$65.8 MYR 267

-19.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$78.7 MYR 319

36.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$82.0 MYR 332

43.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$510 MYR 2,067

118.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$346 MYR 1,402

105.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$894 MYR 3,625

189.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$485 MYR 1,966

189.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$1,787 MYR 7,245

103.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$1,015 MYR 4,113

110.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$1,048 MYR 4,250

-9.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.96

186.62%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Selangor: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Selangor

$346 30.2% 51.3% $365

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Selangor

$343 29.9% 7.2% $23

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Selangor

$110 9.6% 44.6% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Selangor

$154 13.5% 1.2% $1.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Selangor

$118 10.3% 6.6% $8.3

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Selangor

$52 4.5% 28.1% $20

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Selangor

$23 2% 10.2% $2.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $510 in Selangor. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Selangor pays 11% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $20 in Selangor. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $343, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 Selangor

🕒 Local time

23:43 11:43 PM

13:43 1:43 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

281,717

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.05 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Selangor 16,640 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Selangor

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 Selangor: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,145 in Selangor, so Selangor is about 29% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 10% 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 $510 in Selangor. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Selangor runs roughly 37% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $121 in Selangor. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Selangor 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.