Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Targu Jiu

For one person, living is cheaper in Targu Jiu: $966 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Targu Jiu
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Targu Jiu Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Targu Jiu

🇷🇴 Romania

$966

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Targu Jiu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $966 in Targu Jiu.

Mexico City $1,608
Targu Jiu $966

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,502 in Targu Jiu.

Mexico City $2,549
Targu Jiu $1,502

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,038 in Targu Jiu.

Mexico City $3,490
Targu Jiu $2,038

Living in Mexico City is roughly 66% more expensive than in Targu Jiu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Targu Jiu is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$14.60 RON 70.2

-27.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$57.6 RON 277

-16.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$7.24 RON 34.80

42.96%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$3.56 RON 17.10

3.65%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$1.02 RON 4.93

63.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$2.21 RON 10.64

-42.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$3.67 RON 17.66

-13.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$4.23 RON 20.32

25.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.67 RON 8.03

2.99%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.28 RON 6.17

137.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.77 RON 8.49

9.60%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.75 RON 13.21

5.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$7.41 RON 35.63

48.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$2.91 RON 13.99

217.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$6.95 RON 33.40

117.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$0.91 RON 4.38

235.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.49 RON 7.17

30.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$1.17 RON 5.60

73.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.22 RON 5.84

89.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$0.83 RON 3.97

145.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$0.74 RON 3.54

143.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$0.61 RON 2.92

142.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.50 RON 2.40

154.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$5.21 RON 25.02

1.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$3.00 RON 14.42

436.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$0.82 RON 3.93

141.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$1.07 RON 5.16

297.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$0.65 RON 3.12

183.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.61 RON 2.93

-13.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$6.39 RON 30.69

-17.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$1.93 RON 9.30

-21.76%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$28.8K RON 138.4K

-24.43%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$25.9K RON 124.3K

-7.24%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$196 RON 943

-67.92%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$6.01 RON 28.87

355.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$9.32 RON 44.78

282.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$31.49 RON 151

87.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$8.34 RON 40.08

-23.26%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$676 RON 3,247

-36.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$14.3K RON 68.8K

-20.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$49.38 RON 237

38.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$25.42 RON 122

109.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$51.7 RON 248

108.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$84.2 RON 405

39.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$353 RON 1,698

215.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$233 RON 1,119

205.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$478 RON 2,295

442.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$403 RON 1,937

248.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$2,555 RON 12.3K

42.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$518 RON 2,490

82.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

6.75

68.15%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Targu Jiu: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Targu Jiu

$233 24.1% 67.2% $478

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Targu Jiu

$154 16% 51.8% $165

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Targu Jiu

$221 22.9% 11.3% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Targu Jiu

$95 9.8% 39.2% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Targu Jiu

$212 21.9% 67.9% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Targu Jiu

$48 5% 32.9% $24

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Targu Jiu

$3.7 * 0.4% 85.5% $22

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 $1,113 in Mexico City and $353 in Targu Jiu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 83% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $58 in Targu Jiu. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $154, with Targu Jiu cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇷🇴 Targu Jiu

🕒 Local time

14:39 2:39 PM

22:39 10:39 PM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

82,504

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.81 RON (1 RON = 0.208 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Targu Jiu 10,780 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Targu Jiu

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 Targu Jiu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $966 in Targu Jiu, so Targu Jiu is about 40% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 83% higher in Mexico City, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $353 in Targu Jiu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $676 in Targu Jiu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $58 in Targu Jiu. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Targu Jiu 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.

It comes down to priorities – Targu Jiu wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.