Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and St Francis Bay

For one person, living is cheaper in St Francis Bay: $979 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 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
49

Cost of Living Index in St Francis Bay
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St Francis Bay Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

St Francis Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in St Francis Bay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $979 in St Francis Bay.

Mexico City $1,674
St Francis Bay $979

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,629 in St Francis Bay.

Mexico City $2,606
St Francis Bay $1,629

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $2,279 in St Francis Bay.

Mexico City $3,537
St Francis Bay $2,279

Living in Mexico City is roughly 71% more expensive than in St Francis Bay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, St Francis Bay is 28% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$10.81 R 177

-2.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$41.74 R 685

24.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$3.53 R 58.0

203.97%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$2.14 R 35.06

77.57%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$1.01 R 16.62

59.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.72 R 11.89

68.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$2.06 R 33.72

54.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$1.84 R 30.24

195.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$0.94 R 15.43

82.98%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$1.00 R 16.33

197.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$1.50 R 24.64

28.67%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$2.70 R 44.32

2.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$7.11 R 117

64.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$5.22 R 85.7

81.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$8.63 R 142

78.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$2.18 R 35.71

42.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$1.46 R 23.93

34.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$1.70 R 27.96

16.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$1.81 R 29.62

29.28%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$1.74 R 28.48

16.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$1.37 R 22.56

32.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$1.24 R 20.29

24.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$1.03 R 16.84

27.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$3.14 R 51.5

70.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$4.74 R 77.7

241.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.27 R 20.84

54.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$1.81 R 29.72

140.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$1.78 R 29.16

-83.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$0.82 R 13.44

134.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$0.46 R 7.51

2.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$8.62 R 141

-37.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.31 R 21.44

12.98%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$21.0K R 344.6K

1.75%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$35.2K R 577.0K

-32.45%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$60.8 R 997

2.04%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$34.39 R 564

-17.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$41.35 R 679

-17.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$28.64 R 470

103.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$12.00 R 197

104.17%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$9.20 R 151

-28.37%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$179 R 2,934

142.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$6,135 R 100.7K

128.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$71.9 R 1,179

-4.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$39.31 R 645

39.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$112 R 1,842

-1.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$95.1 R 1,560

21.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$420 R 6,891

180.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$308 R 5,056

150.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$834 R 13.7K

208.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$711 R 11.7K

99.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$784 R 12.9K

357.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$648 R 10.6K

218.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

11.94

-4.94%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for St Francis Bay: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

St Francis Bay

$308 31.5% 60% $463

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

St Francis Bay

$190 19.4% 41.4% $134

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

St Francis Bay

$144 14.7% 28.4% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

St Francis Bay

$143 14.7% 9% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

St Francis Bay

$136 14% 9.6% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

St Francis Bay

$47 4.8% 34.3% $25

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

St Francis Bay

$10 * 1% 59.1% $15

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 $420 in St Francis Bay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $42 in St Francis Bay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $190 per month, with St Francis Bay cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇿🇦 St Francis Bay

🕒 Local time

04:29 4:29 AM

12:29 12:29 PM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

5,910

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.42 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 = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.09 USD). 1 EUR = 18.44 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mexico City St Francis Bay 14,290 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
St Francis Bay

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 Francis Bay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $979 in St Francis Bay, so St Francis Bay is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $1,468 in St Francis Bay 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 $420 in St Francis Bay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $179 in St Francis Bay. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in St Francis Bay – a meal for two runs $42 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $979 in St Francis Bay versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in St Francis Bay but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes St Francis Bay 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.