Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and St Albans

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,548 a month against $2,894 in St Albans, rent and utilities included – about $16,200 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
141

Cost of Living Index in St Albans
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St Albans Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

St Albans

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,894

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in St Albans

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $2,894 in St Albans.

Mexico City $1,548
St Albans $2,894

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $4,095 in St Albans.

Mexico City $2,436
St Albans $4,095

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $5,295 in St Albans.

Mexico City $3,323
St Albans $5,295

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 47% less than in St Albans, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 14% above, St Albans 114% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$20.89 £15.68

-47.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$88.8 £66.6

-45.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$9.24 £6.94

17.97%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$4.45 £3.34

-17.30%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$2.75 £2.06

-40.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$1.93 £1.45

-35.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$6.78 £5.09

-52.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$6.58 £4.94

-15.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.64 £1.23

3.66%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.62 £1.21

86.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$2.46 £1.84

-21.95%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$4.35 £3.26

-37.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$9.74 £7.31

20.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$9.40 £7.06

1.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$13.60 £10.20

5.96%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$3.02 £2.27

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.36 £1.02

38.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$2.16 £1.62

-7.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$3.23 £2.43

-32.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.67 £1.25

14.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.48 £1.11

26.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.29 £0.97

11.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$1.96 £1.47

-35.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$22.35 £16.77

-76.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$10.49 £7.87

54.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$2.78 £2.09

-31.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$3.15 £2.36

33.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$2.97 £2.22

-88.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

$82.4 £61.8

-76.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$3.93 £2.95

-49.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$2.43 £1.82

-78.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$50.0 £37.51

-89.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$2.06 £1.54

-26.21%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$38.4K £28.8K

-42.58%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$39.9K £29.9K

-38.56%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$339 £254

-81.99%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$18.74 £14.06

52.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$42.04 £31.54

-18.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$52.5 £39.37

7.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$13.52 £10.14

84.02%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$19.58 £14.69

-65.99%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$2,535 £1,902

-83.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$10.5K £7,853

11.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$78.6 £59.0

-13.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$46.58 £34.95

11.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$93.1 £69.8

13.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$122 £91.7

-7.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$1,870 £1,403

-45.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$1,523 £1,142

-57.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$2,953 £2,215

-21.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$2,339 £1,755

-46.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$9,224 £6,920

-60.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$6,833 £5,126

-71.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$2,972 £2,229

-67.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.4

109.26%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for St Albans: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

St Albans

$1.5K 52.6% 133% $868

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

St Albans

$303 10.5% 4.9% $15

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

St Albans

$314 10.9% 54% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

St Albans

$153 5.3% 0.6% $0.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

St Albans

$400 13.8% 222% $276

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

St Albans

$92 3.2% 31.5% $22

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

St Albans

$110 3.8% 331% $85

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $1,870 in St Albans. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St Albans pays 208% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $89.0 in St Albans. Groceries flip the comparison at $318 vs $303, with St Albans cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇬🇧 St Albans

🕒 Local time

14:10 2:10 PM

21:10 9:10 PM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

57,795

💱 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 23, 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 23, 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 St Albans 8,910 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
St Albans

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 St Albans: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and St Albans differ by about 87% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $2,894 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 208% lower in St Albans. 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $1,870 in St Albans. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 319% less than in St Albans. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $2,535 in St Albans. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,548 in Mexico City versus $2,894 in St Albans, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in St Albans. 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.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 87% less than in St Albans. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.