Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Sun City

For one person, living is cheaper in Sun City: $1,275 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 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
60

Cost of Living Index in Sun City
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Sun City Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Sun City

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,275

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,275 in Sun City.

Mexico City $1,674
Sun City $1,275

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,947 in Sun City.

Mexico City $2,606
Sun City $1,947

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $2,618 in Sun City.

Mexico City $3,537
Sun City $2,618

Living in Mexico City is roughly 31% more expensive than in Sun City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Sun City is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$12.15 R 200

-12.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$44.31 R 729

17.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$7.16 R 118

49.86%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.7

$2.41 R 39.64

57.68%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$1.27 R 20.84

26.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.91 R 15.02

32.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$2.47 R 40.70

28.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$2.79 R 45.89

94.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$1.34 R 22.10

28.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$1.25 R 20.50

137.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$1.71 R 28.06

12.87%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$2.73 R 44.95

1.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$8.62 R 142

35.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$5.50 R 90.6

72.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$8.89 R 146

72.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$2.08 R 34.28

49.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$1.92 R 31.56

2.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$1.81 R 29.85

9.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$2.08 R 34.22

12.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$1.62 R 26.72

24.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$1.76 R 29.01

3.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$1.44 R 23.66

6.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$1.29 R 21.28

1.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$3.52 R 57.9

51.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$5.93 R 97.6

173.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.87 R 30.77

4.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$2.27 R 37.41

91.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$1.84 R 30.24

-83.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$0.81 R 13.30

137.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$0.92 R 15.14

-48.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$14.35 R 236

-62.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.57 R 25.81

-5.73%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$35.6K R 585.2K

-39.92%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$34.0K R 560.0K

-30.21%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$226 R 3,724

-72.61%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$39.15 R 644

-27.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$38.06 R 626

-10.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$28.91 R 476

101.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$10.07 R 166

143.30%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$8.60 R 142

-23.37%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$242 R 3,978

79.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$7,651 R 125.9K

83.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$59.9 R 986

14.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$44.98 R 740

21.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$113 R 1,864

-2.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,159

$112 R 1,849

3.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$370 R 6,091

218.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$371 R 6,102

107.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$646 R 10.6K

297.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$731 R 12.0K

94.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$705 R 11.6K

408.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$737 R 12.1K

180.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

10.91

4.03%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Sun City: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Sun City

$371 29.1% 51.9% $400

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Sun City

$219 17.2% 32.4% $105

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Sun City

$174 13.7% 13.1% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Sun City

$149 11.7% 5.5% $8.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Sun City

$304 23.8% 144% $179

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Sun City

$46 3.6% 35.6% $25

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Sun City

$13 * 1% 48.9% $12

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 $370 in Sun City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $44 in Sun City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $219 per month, with Sun City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇿🇦 Sun City

🕒 Local time

22:44 10:44 PM

06:44 6:44 AM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,556

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.08 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 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 = 16.45 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.08 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Sun City 14,480 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Sun City

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 Sun City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,275 in Sun City, so Sun City is about 24% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $1,913 in Sun City 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 $370 in Sun City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $242 in Sun City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sun City – a meal for two runs $44 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Sun City 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.