Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Tawau

For one person, living is cheaper in Tawau: $920 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Tawau
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Tawau Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Tawau

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$920

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $920 in Tawau.

Mexico City $1,674
Tawau $920

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,420 in Tawau.

Mexico City $2,606
Tawau $1,420

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,921 in Tawau.

Mexico City $3,537
Tawau $1,921

Living in Mexico City is roughly 82% more expensive than in Tawau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Tawau is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$199

$3.26 MYR 13.20

224.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$976

$20.02 MYR 81.0

159.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$201

$4.20 MYR 16.97

155.48%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$71.3

$3.19 MYR 12.91

19.12%

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

$1.61 MX$30.28

$0.97 MYR 3.92

65.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.76

$0.35 MYR 1.42

245.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.7

$2.63 MYR 10.65

20.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$102

$4.64 MYR 18.75

17.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.26

$1.76 MYR 7.14

-2.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.7

$1.13 MYR 4.57

162.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.17

$1.49 MYR 6.03

29.53%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$52.1

$2.16 MYR 8.74

28.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$219

$15.38 MYR 62.2

-24.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$178

$4.49 MYR 18.15

111.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$289

$9.43 MYR 38.14

62.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$58.3

$2.87 MYR 11.59

8.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.82

$1.60 MYR 6.49

22.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$37.22

$2.23 MYR 9.03

-11.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.86

$1.73 MYR 7.00

35.26%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.00

$1.40 MYR 5.68

44.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.26

$1.22 MYR 4.92

49.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$29.00

$1.19 MYR 4.81

29.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.64

$0.51 MYR 2.08

156.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$100

$4.51 MYR 18.24

18.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$304

$19.08 MYR 77.2

-15.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.79

$2.89 MYR 11.70

-32.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.7

$4.92 MYR 19.90

-11.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.72

$0.77 MYR 3.12

-61.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$366

$11.72 MYR 47.38

66.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$36.01

$1.25 MYR 5.06

53.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.88

$0.56 MYR 2.27

-16.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$102

$5.37 MYR 21.73

0.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.86

$0.81 MYR 3.29

82.72%

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

$21.4K MX$401.4K

$45.3K MYR 183.0K

-52.77%

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

$23.8K MX$446.1K

$35.9K MYR 145.0K

-33.74%

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

$62.0 MX$1,164

$50.6 MYR 205

22.56%

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

$28.47 MX$535

$10.23 MYR 41.38

178.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$641

$28.43 MYR 115

19.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,097

$42.70 MYR 173

36.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$460

$6.07 MYR 24.56

303.62%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$124

$3.63 MYR 14.68

81.54%

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

$434 MX$8,155

$240 MYR 971

80.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$263.6K

$10.5K MYR 42.5K

33.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,284

$54.3 MYR 220

25.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,029

$40.23 MYR 163

36.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,082

$90.8 MYR 367

22.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,178

$79.9 MYR 323

45.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$22.1K

$433 MYR 1,752

172.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.5K

$275 MYR 1,113

179.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$48.3K

$783 MYR 3,166

228.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.7K

$526 MYR 2,128

169.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$67.3K

$1,980 MYR 8,007

81.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.8K

$1,030 MYR 4,165

100.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.8K

$412 MYR 1,666

143.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.17

172.18%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Tawau: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Tawau

$275 30% 64.3% $496

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Tawau

$262 28.5% 19% $62

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Tawau

$105 11.4% 47.8% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Tawau

$119 13% 24.2% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Tawau

$89 9.7% 28.4% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Tawau

$50 5.4% 30.2% $22

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Tawau

$19 2.1% 24.6% $6.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $433 in Tawau. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $20 in Tawau for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $262 per month, with Tawau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 Tawau

🕒 Local time

10:04 10:04 AM

00:04 12:04 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

420,806

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.04 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Tawau 15,190 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Tawau

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 Tawau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $920 in Tawau, so Tawau is about 45% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 2.4 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 $433 in Tawau. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tawau runs roughly 40% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $240 in Tawau. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Tawau 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.

Expats usually find Tawau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.