Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Thika

For one person, living is cheaper in Thika: $516 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $13,900 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
25

Cost of Living Index in Thika
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Thika Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Thika

🇰🇪 Kenya

$516

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $516 in Thika.

Mexico City $1,674
Thika $516

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $880 in Thika.

Mexico City $2,606
Thika $880

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,245 in Thika.

Mexico City $3,537
Thika $1,245

Living in Mexico City is roughly 225% more expensive than in Thika, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Thika is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$3.42 KES 444

209.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$33.96 KES 4,410

53.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$6.26 KES 813

71.41%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.7

$1.93 KES 251

96.89%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$0.30 KES 38.66

436.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.63 KES 81.6

92.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$1.96 KES 255

62.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$2.15 KES 279

153.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$0.73 KES 95.3

135.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$0.44 KES 57.6

575.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$1.20 KES 155

60.83%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$1.41 KES 183

96.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$10.96 KES 1,423

6.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$6.73 KES 873

40.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$3.94 KES 511

290.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$1.58 KES 206

96.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$0.61 KES 79.2

221.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$0.74 KES 96.6

167.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$1.15 KES 149

103.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$0.37 KES 47.84

445.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$0.45 KES 58.4

304.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$0.69 KES 89.4

123.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$0.39 KES 50.8

235.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$2.79 KES 363

91.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$5.72 KES 742

183.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.78 KES 231

10.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$1.97 KES 256

120.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$1.52 KES 198

26.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$0.96 KES 125

-51.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$2.93 KES 380

84.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.41 KES 184

4.96%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$19.3K KES 2.5M

10.49%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$21.5K KES 2.8M

10.63%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$34.90 KES 4,532

77.62%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$14.86 KES 1,930

91.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$34.82 KES 4,521

-2.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$45.48 KES 5,906

28.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$7.47 KES 970

-11.78%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$54.0 KES 7,005

704.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$3,528 KES 458.2K

297.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$28.24 KES 3,666

142.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$29.33 KES 3,808

86.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$69.2 KES 8,991

60.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,159

$19.51 KES 2,533

494.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$99.5 KES 12.9K

1084.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$56.8 KES 7,380

1256.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$270 KES 35.0K

852.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$178 KES 23.1K

696.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$611 KES 79.3K

486.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

14.71

-22.84%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Thika: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Thika

$57 11% 92.6% $714

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Thika

$154 30% 52.3% $169

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Thika

$87 16.9% 56.5% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Thika

$66 12.8% 58.2% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Thika

$85 16.4% 32.1% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Thika

$60 11.7% 15.6% $11

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Thika

$6.3 * 1.2% 74.7% $19

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 $100 in Thika. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $34 in Thika for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $155 per month, with Thika cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇰🇪 Thika

🕒 Local time

08:02 8:02 AM

17:02 5:02 PM

9 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

83,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.87 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.86 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.87 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Thika 14,830 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Thika

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 Thika: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $516 in Thika, so Thika is about 69% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $773 in Thika 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 $100 in Thika. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $54 in Thika. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Thika – a meal for two runs $34 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $516 in Thika versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Thika but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Thika 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.