Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Tartus

For one person, living is cheaper in Tartus: $635 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Tartus
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Tartus Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Tartus

🇸🇾 Syria

$635

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $635 in Tartus.

Mexico City $1,674
Tartus $635

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $988 in Tartus.

Mexico City $2,606
Tartus $988

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,340 in Tartus.

Mexico City $3,537
Tartus $1,340

Living in Mexico City is roughly 163% more expensive than in Tartus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Tartus is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$10.13 SYP 1,231

4.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$41.75 SYP 5,072

24.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$6.80 SYP 827

57.79%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$3.79 SYP 461

0.26%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$2.22 SYP 269

-27.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.83 SYP 101

45.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$1.94 SYP 236

63.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$4.09 SYP 497

33.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$0.44 SYP 53.9

290.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$0.44 SYP 53.9

575.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$0.74 SYP 90.3

160.81%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$0.81 SYP 98.8

241.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$3.95 SYP 480

195.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$3.05 SYP 370

210.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$13.97 SYP 1,698

10.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$1.04 SYP 126

198.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$1.37 SYP 166

43.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$1.15 SYP 140

72.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$0.22 SYP 26.66

963.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$0.22 SYP 26.73

818.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$0.29 SYP 35.82

527.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$0.43 SYP 52.7

258.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$0.61 SYP 74.7

114.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$2.65 SYP 322

101.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$4.93 SYP 599

228.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.15 SYP 140

70.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$2.86 SYP 347

52.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$0.33 SYP 39.53

-9.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$1.01 SYP 123

90.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$1.49 SYP 182

-68.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$7.85 SYP 954

-31.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$3.67 SYP 446

-59.67%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$15.1K SYP 1.8M

41.67%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$19.1K SYP 2.3M

24.22%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$139 SYP 16.9K

-55.56%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$9.52 SYP 1,157

199.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$20.33 SYP 2,470

67.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$5.64 SYP 685

935.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$5.47 SYP 664

20.48%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$9.54 SYP 1,160

4451.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$1,756 SYP 213.3K

699.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$11.34 SYP 1,378

502.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$40.40 SYP 4,909

35.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$46.48 SYP 5,648

138.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$15.39 SYP 1,870

653.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$117 SYP 14.2K

909.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$76.7 SYP 9,319

905.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$232 SYP 28.2K

1007.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$113 SYP 13.8K

1151.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

$49.39 SYP 6,001

1930.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

14.25

-20.35%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Tartus: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Tartus

$77 12.1% 90% $694

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Tartus

$135 21.2% 58.3% $189

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Tartus

$177 27.9% 11.7% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Tartus

$51 8.1% 67.5% $106

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Tartus

$169 26.7% 35.9% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Tartus

$17 2.6% 76.8% $55

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Tartus

$9.8 * 1.5% 60.9% $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 $117 in Tartus. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 20 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $42 in Tartus for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $135 per month, with Tartus cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇸🇾 Tartus

🕒 Local time

01:41 1:41 AM

10:41 10:41 AM

9 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

115,769

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SYP, 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).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 137 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Tartus 12,330 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Tartus

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 Tartus: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $635 in Tartus, so Tartus is about 62% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 20 times higher, 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: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $117 in Tartus. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $9.54 in Tartus. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tartus – 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 $635 in Tartus versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Tartus but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Tartus 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.

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