Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Wilkes-Barre, PA

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,674 a month against $1,883 in Wilkes-Barre, PA, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 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
89

Cost of Living Index in Wilkes-Barre, PA
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Wilkes-Barre, PA Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Wilkes-Barre, PA

🇺🇸 United States

$1,883

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Wilkes-Barre, PA

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 Wilkes-Barre, PA actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,883 in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Mexico City $1,674
Wilkes-Barre, PA $1,883

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $2,939 in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Mexico City $2,606
Wilkes-Barre, PA $2,939

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $3,996 in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Mexico City $3,537
Wilkes-Barre, PA $3,996

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 11% less than in Wilkes-Barre, PA, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 24% above, Wilkes-Barre, PA 39% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$198

$15.09 $15.09

-29.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$972

$50.4 $50.4

3.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$201

$9.74 $9.74

10.16%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$71.0

$3.59 $3.59

5.85%

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

$1.61 MX$30.16

$1.03 $1.03

56.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.67

$1.88 $1.88

-35.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.4

$5.11 $5.11

-37.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$102

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$1.18 $1.18

45.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.5

$3.60 $3.60

-17.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.02

$1.99 $1.99

-3.02%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.9

$5.83 $5.83

-52.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$218

$8.29 $8.29

40.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$177

$14.49 $14.49

-34.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$288

$18.93 $18.93

-18.81%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$58.1

$3.58 $3.58

-13.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.67

$2.21 $2.21

-11.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$37.07

$5.36 $5.36

-63.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.68

$6.85 $6.85

-65.84%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.85

$1.78 $1.78

13.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.13

$3.18 $3.18

-42.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.89

$2.27 $2.27

-32.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.54

$1.51 $1.51

-13.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$100

$11.74 $11.74

-54.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$303

$15.25 $15.25

6.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.64

$1.72 $1.72

13.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.4

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.70

$1.54 $1.54

-80.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$365

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.86

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.84

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.75

$1.18 $1.18

25.42%

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

$21.4K MX$399.7K

$27.7K $27.7K

-22.91%

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

$23.8K MX$444.3K

$26.4K $26.4K

-10.06%

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

$62.0 MX$1,160

$158 $158

-60.73%

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

$28.47 MX$533

$39.82 $39.82

-28.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$638

$68.6 $68.6

-50.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,092

$49.43 $49.43

18.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

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

$434 MX$8,122

$1,049 $1,049

-58.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$262.5K

$13.0K $13.0K

7.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,278

$49.96 $49.96

36.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,025

$39.47 $39.47

38.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,073

$78.5 $78.5

41.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,169

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$22.1K

$1,237 $1,237

-4.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.4K

$857 $857

-10.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$48.1K

$1,760 $1,760

46.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.6K

$1,757 $1,757

-19.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$67.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.8K

$4,319 $4,319

-76.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

6.59

72.23%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Wilkes-Barre, PA: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Wilkes-Barre, PA

$857 45.5% 11.2% $86

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Wilkes-Barre, PA

$398 * 21.2% 23.1% $75

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Wilkes-Barre, PA

$230 * 12.2% 14.8% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Wilkes-Barre, PA

$76 * 4% 52% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Wilkes-Barre, PA

$266 14.1% 114% $142

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Wilkes-Barre, PA

$49 * 2.6% 30.9% $22

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Wilkes-Barre, PA

$6.2 * 0.3% 75.4% $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 $1,237 in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wilkes-Barre, PA pays about 4.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $50 in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Groceries flip the comparison at $324 vs $398, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇺🇸 Wilkes-Barre, PA

🕒 Local time

10:50 10:50 AM

11:50 11:50 AM

1 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

41,288

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 21.01 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Mexico City Wilkes-Barre, PA 3,270 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

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Mexico City
Wilkes-Barre, PA

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 Wilkes-Barre, PA: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,883 in Wilkes-Barre, PA, so Mexico City is about 11% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 77% 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: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $1,237 in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $1,049 in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Wilkes-Barre, PA – a meal for two runs $50 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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, Wilkes-Barre, PA on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.