Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Waterloo

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,325 in Waterloo, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 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
112

Cost of Living Index in Waterloo
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Waterloo Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Waterloo

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,325

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $2,325 in Waterloo.

Mexico City $1,608
Waterloo $2,325

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $3,269 in Waterloo.

Mexico City $2,549
Waterloo $3,269

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $4,213 in Waterloo.

Mexico City $3,490
Waterloo $4,213

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 31% less than in Waterloo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, Waterloo 71% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$22.54 €20.20

-52.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$99.9 €89.6

-51.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$15.38 €13.79

-32.70%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$4.31 €3.86

-14.39%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$3.64 €3.27

-54.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$3.08 €2.76

-58.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$5.56 €4.98

-42.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$5.60 €5.02

-5.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.33 €1.19

29.32%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$2.67 €2.39

13.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$2.21 €1.98

-12.22%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$4.14 €3.71

-30.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$17.86 €16.00

-38.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$12.18 €10.92

-24.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$19.51 €17.48

-22.45%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$2.82 €2.53

8.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$2.47 €2.21

-21.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$2.72 €2.43

-25.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$2.80 €2.51

-17.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$2.20 €1.97

-7.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$1.99 €1.78

-9.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$1.31 €1.17

12.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$1.09 €0.98

16.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$12.86 €11.52

-58.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$8.70 €7.79

85.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$1.99 €1.78

-0.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$2.36 €2.12

80.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$3.35 €3.00

-90.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$48.39 €43.36

-59.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$2.92 €2.62

-36.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$2.25 €2.01

-76.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$39.53 €35.43

-86.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$2.09 €1.87

-27.75%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$35.0K €31.3K

-37.79%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$36.5K €32.7K

-34.36%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$219 €196

-71.27%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$20.68 €18.53

32.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$49.79 €44.61

-28.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$31.48 €28.21

87.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$21.14 €18.95

11.83%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$15.67 €14.05

-59.16%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$784 €702

-44.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$26.2K €23.5K

-56.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$100 €90.0

-32.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$46.83 €41.96

13.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$113 €101

-4.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$148 €132

-20.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$1,030 €923

8.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$1,016 €910

-30.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$1,405 €1,259

84.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$1,165 €1,044

20.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$4,138 €3,708

-12.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$3,242 €2,906

-34.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$2,441 €2,188

-61.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.71

205.93%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Waterloo: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Waterloo

$1K 43.7% 43% $306

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Waterloo

$353 15.2% 10.5% $34

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Waterloo

$344 14.8% 73.3% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Waterloo

$183 7.9% 17.7% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Waterloo

$290 12.5% 130% $164

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Waterloo

$63 2.7% 12.4% $8.9

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Waterloo

$76 3.3% 198% $50

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $1,030 in Waterloo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Waterloo pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $100 in Waterloo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $353 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇪 Waterloo

🕒 Local time

02:01 2:01 AM

09:01 9:01 AM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

29,649

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Waterloo 9,260 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Waterloo

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 Waterloo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $2,325 in Waterloo, so Mexico City is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 61% lower in Mexico City. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $1,030 in Waterloo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 59% less than in Waterloo. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $784 in Waterloo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Mexico City gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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