Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Subang Jaya

For one person, living is cheaper in Subang Jaya: $1,288 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Subang Jaya
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Subang Jaya Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Subang Jaya

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,288

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Subang Jaya

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,288 in Subang Jaya.

Mexico City $1,608
Subang Jaya $1,288

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,775 in Subang Jaya.

Mexico City $2,549
Subang Jaya $1,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,262 in Subang Jaya.

Mexico City $3,490
Subang Jaya $2,262

Living in Mexico City is roughly 25% more expensive than in Subang Jaya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Subang Jaya is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$3.63 MYR 14.81

192.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$19.42 MYR 79.2

148.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$4.60 MYR 18.75

125.00%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$2.92 MYR 11.90

26.37%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.72 MYR 2.94

131.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.37 MYR 1.50

243.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$4.06 MYR 16.56

-21.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$4.43 MYR 18.05

19.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.80 MYR 7.32

-4.44%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.06 MYR 4.32

186.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.77 MYR 7.19

9.60%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.25 MYR 9.19

28.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$13.84 MYR 56.4

-20.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$4.42 MYR 18.01

109.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$8.78 MYR 35.79

72.32%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$3.08 MYR 12.53

-0.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.83 MYR 7.45

6.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$2.21 MYR 9.02

-8.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.45 MYR 5.93

59.31%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.07 MYR 4.35

90.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.08 MYR 4.42

66.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.09 MYR 4.44

35.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.54 MYR 2.18

135.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$4.38 MYR 17.84

21.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$18.79 MYR 76.6

-14.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$2.99 MYR 12.16

-33.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$4.87 MYR 19.84

-12.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$0.25 MYR 1.02

24.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$24.29 MYR 99.0

-18.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$1.24 MYR 5.06

48.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.40 MYR 1.64

32.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$4.93 MYR 20.10

7.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$0.87 MYR 3.56

73.56%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$44.0K MYR 179.5K

-50.61%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$35.0K MYR 142.8K

-31.57%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$37.37 MYR 152

68.53%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$10.06 MYR 40.99

172.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$28.58 MYR 116

24.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$31.43 MYR 128

87.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$2.51 MYR 10.23

841.83%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$4.87 MYR 19.83

31.42%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$396 MYR 1,615

8.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$10.8K MYR 44.1K

5.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$59.2 MYR 241

15.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$35.42 MYR 144

50.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$84.0 MYR 342

28.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$71.0 MYR 289

65.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$851 MYR 3,469

30.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$663 MYR 2,701

7.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$1,068 MYR 4,350

142.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$906 MYR 3,693

55.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$2,344 MYR 9,551

54.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,876 MYR 7,643

13.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$933 MYR 3,800

1.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.04

180.94%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Subang Jaya: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Subang Jaya

$663 51.5% 6.7% $48

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Subang Jaya

$255 19.8% 20% $64

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Subang Jaya

$111 8.7% 43.9% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Subang Jaya

$112 8.7% 28% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Subang Jaya

$76 5.9% 39.7% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Subang Jaya

$41 3.2% 42.6% $31

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Subang Jaya

$29 2.2% 12.1% $3.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $851 in Subang Jaya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $19 in Subang Jaya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $255 per month, with Subang Jaya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 Subang Jaya

🕒 Local time

10:58 10:58 AM

00:58 12:58 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

902,086

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 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 Subang Jaya 16,640 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Subang Jaya

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 Subang Jaya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Subang Jaya differ by about 25% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $1,288 including rent). Subang Jaya is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $1,932 in Subang Jaya 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $851 in Subang Jaya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 19% less than in Subang Jaya. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $396 in Subang Jaya. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Subang Jaya is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.