Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Vacoas

For one person, living is cheaper in Vacoas: $750 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

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

Cost of Living Index in Vacoas
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Vacoas Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Vacoas

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$750

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $750 in Vacoas.

Mexico City $1,608
Vacoas $750

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,104 in Vacoas.

Mexico City $2,549
Vacoas $1,104

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,458 in Vacoas.

Mexico City $3,490
Vacoas $1,458

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Vacoas is 45% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$5.95 MUR 280

78.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$32.47 MUR 1,530

48.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$6.31 MUR 297

64.03%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$2.58 MUR 122

43.02%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$1.15 MUR 54.0

45.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.62 MUR 29.22

104.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$2.66 MUR 125

19.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$3.91 MUR 184

35.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$1.40 MUR 65.8

22.86%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$0.73 MUR 34.38

316.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$1.16 MUR 54.6

67.24%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$2.24 MUR 106

29.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$2.71 MUR 128

304.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$2.62 MUR 124

253.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$11.51 MUR 542

31.45%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$2.59 MUR 122

17.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$2.22 MUR 104

-12.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$1.43 MUR 67.4

41.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$2.90 MUR 136

-20.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$1.02 MUR 47.88

100.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$1.01 MUR 47.59

78.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$0.75 MUR 35.16

97.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$0.72 MUR 33.96

76.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$6.30 MUR 297

-15.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$6.42 MUR 303

150.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$1.45 MUR 68.3

36.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$2.37 MUR 112

79.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$1.30 MUR 61.4

-76.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$4.24 MUR 200

-56.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$3.25 MUR 153

-83.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$4.16 MUR 196

27.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$1.41 MUR 66.5

7.09%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$29.6K MUR 1.4M

-26.50%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$31.5K MUR 1.5M

-23.85%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$44.84 MUR 2,113

40.45%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$10.49 MUR 495

161.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$24.48 MUR 1,154

45.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$25.26 MUR 1,191

133.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$5.33 MUR 251

20.08%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$126 MUR 5,934

242.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$7,579 MUR 357.2K

50.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$31.56 MUR 1,487

116.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$38.24 MUR 1,802

38.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$64.3 MUR 3,030

67.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$47.72 MUR 2,249

145.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$262 MUR 12.4K

324.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$223 MUR 10.5K

218.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$472 MUR 22.3K

448.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$231 MUR 10.9K

509.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$688 MUR 32.4K

37.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

6.67

70.16%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Vacoas: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Vacoas

$223 29.7% 68.6% $487

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Vacoas

$179 23.8% 44.1% $141

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Vacoas

$126 16.7% 36.7% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Vacoas

$82 10.9% 47.5% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Vacoas

$80 10.6% 36.7% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Vacoas

$36 4.8% 49.9% $36

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Vacoas

$26 * 3.4% 0.9% $0.2

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 $262 in Vacoas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 38% 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: $48 in Mexico City vs $32 in Vacoas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $179 per month, with Vacoas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇺 Vacoas

🕒 Local time

16:16 4:16 PM

02:16 2:16 AM

10 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

115,289

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.9 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MUR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 47.13 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.62 MUR (100 MUR = 1.9 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Vacoas 17,570 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Vacoas

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 Vacoas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $750 in Vacoas, so Vacoas is about 53% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 38% 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 $262 in Vacoas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $126 in Vacoas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Vacoas – a meal for two runs $32 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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