Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Tema

For one person, living is cheaper in Tema: $734 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Tema
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Tema Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Tema

🇬🇭 Ghana

$734

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $734 in Tema.

Mexico City $1,567
Tema $734

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $1,166 in Tema.

Mexico City $2,450
Tema $1,166

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $1,598 in Tema.

Mexico City $3,333
Tema $1,598

Living in Mexico City is roughly 114% more expensive than in Tema, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, Tema is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$6.64 GHS 77.2

61.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$28.26 GHS 329

77.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$4.97 GHS 57.9

-25.96%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$0.88 GHS 10.23

87.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$0.28 GHS 3.25

364.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$3.22 GHS 37.45

3.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$2.57 GHS 29.85

115.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$3.11 GHS 36.13

-43.09%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.52 GHS 17.72

100.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$2.02 GHS 23.45

-0.50%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$2.33 GHS 27.08

18.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$4.27 GHS 49.67

178.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$3.12 GHS 36.31

199.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$3.48 GHS 40.50

331.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$2.52 GHS 29.29

22.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$2.18 GHS 25.37

-10.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$2.08 GHS 24.19

-2.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$3.32 GHS 38.65

-33.43%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$3.43 GHS 39.94

-41.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$2.78 GHS 32.37

-34.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$0.40 GHS 4.64

280.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$0.71 GHS 8.30

80.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$1.24 GHS 14.37

325.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$8.72 GHS 101

84.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$2.15 GHS 24.97

-9.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$2.95 GHS 34.30

44.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$1.72 GHS 20.06

-81.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$40.78 GHS 474

-51.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$2.18 GHS 25.35

-8.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$0.44 GHS 5.11

20.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.19 GHS 13.84

27.73%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$77.4 GHS 900

-19.25%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$14.74 GHS 171

95.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$80.4 GHS 935

-57.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$23.40 GHS 272

144.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$8.70 GHS 101

-23.33%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$167 GHS 1,946

157.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$2,522 GHS 29.3K

365.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$13.00 GHS 151

444.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$15.35 GHS 179

237.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$42.57 GHS 495

155.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$31.35 GHS 365

258.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$129 GHS 1,503

713.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$70.7 GHS 823

840.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$433 GHS 5,037

441.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$206 GHS 2,401

494.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$10.2K GHS 118.1K

-64.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$6,098 GHS 70.9K

-67.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$423 GHS 4,924

130.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

-67.71%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Tema: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Tema

$71 9.6% 89.4% $594

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Tema

$213 29.1% 33.9% $109

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Tema

$139 * 18.9% 31.7% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Tema

$46 6.3% 70.3% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Tema

$173 23.5% 37.3% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Tema

$41 5.6% 42.1% $30

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Tema

$52 7.1% 102% $26

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 $1,051 in Mexico City and $129 in Tema. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 130% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $28.00 in Tema for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $213 per month, with Tema cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇬🇭 Tema

🕒 Local time

06:33 6:33 AM

12:33 12:33 PM

6 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

160,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Ghanaian Cedi GHS ₵

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 GHS = 8.6 USD

100 GHS = 7.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GHS, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Ghanaian Cedi exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 11.63 GHS (100 GHS = 8.6 USD). 1 EUR = 13.07 GHS (100 GHS = 7.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Tema 10,750 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Tema

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 Tema: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Tema differ by about 114% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $734 including rent). Tema is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 130% 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: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $129 in Tema. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tema runs roughly 105% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $167 in Tema. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $734 in Tema versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Tema but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Tema 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.

Expats usually find Tema gentler on the wallet – expenses run 114% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.