Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Zenica

For one person, living is cheaper in Zenica: $856 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Zenica
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Zenica Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Zenica

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$856

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $856 in Zenica.

Mexico City $1,608
Zenica $856

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,251 in Zenica.

Mexico City $2,549
Zenica $1,251

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,646 in Zenica.

Mexico City $3,490
Zenica $1,646

Living in Mexico City is roughly 88% more expensive than in Zenica, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Zenica is 37% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$6.91 BAM 12.14

53.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$18.19 BAM 31.95

165.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$3.89 BAM 6.84

166.07%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$1.61 BAM 2.83

129.19%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$1.76 BAM 3.09

-5.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$1.19 BAM 2.09

6.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.99 BAM 3.49

60.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$2.02 BAM 3.55

162.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.31 BAM 2.30

31.30%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$0.93 BAM 1.63

226.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.77 BAM 3.11

9.60%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.73 BAM 4.79

5.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$7.80 BAM 13.69

40.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$7.13 BAM 12.52

29.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$12.57 BAM 22.08

20.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$1.37 BAM 2.40

122.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.66 BAM 2.92

16.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$1.50 BAM 2.63

35.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.83 BAM 3.21

26.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$0.96 BAM 1.69

112.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.26 BAM 2.20

42.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$0.59 BAM 1.03

150.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.74 BAM 1.29

71.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$3.33 BAM 5.86

59.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$5.61 BAM 9.86

186.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$0.88 BAM 1.55

125.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$0.91 BAM 1.60

367.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$0.89 BAM 1.57

-65.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$31.85 BAM 55.9

-38.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$1.60 BAM 2.80

15.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.84 BAM 1.47

-36.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$8.65 BAM 15.20

-38.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$1.53 BAM 2.69

-1.31%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$30.7K BAM 53.9K

-29.19%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$20.8K BAM 36.5K

15.34%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$163 BAM 286

-61.28%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$18.42 BAM 32.34

48.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$23.62 BAM 41.49

51.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$23.76 BAM 41.73

148.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$13.13 BAM 23.06

80.05%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$4.55 BAM 7.99

40.66%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$134 BAM 235

222.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$18.5K BAM 32.4K

-38.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$49.45 BAM 86.8

37.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$30.23 BAM 53.1

75.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$91.0 BAM 160

18.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$88.7 BAM 156

32.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$190 BAM 334

486.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$145 BAM 255

389.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$267 BAM 469

869.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$204 BAM 358

590.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$1,599 BAM 2,808

127.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,264 BAM 2,220

68.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$645 BAM 1,132

46.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

278.33%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Zenica: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Zenica

$145 17% 79.6% $565

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Zenica

$203 23.7% 36.4% $116

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Zenica

$112 13.1% 43.5% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Zenica

$117 13.6% 25.1% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Zenica

$205 23.9% 62.4% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Zenica

$33 3.8% 54.2% $39

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Zenica

$41 4.8% 61.8% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $190 in Zenica. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 47% 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 $18 in Zenica for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $203 per month, with Zenica cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇦 Zenica

🕒 Local time

16:28 4:28 PM

23:28 11:28 PM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

70,533

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 BAM = 0.569 USD

1 BAM = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.76 BAM (1 BAM = 0.569 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BAM (1 BAM = 0.512 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Zenica 10,490 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Zenica

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 Zenica: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $856 in Zenica, so Zenica is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 47% 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 $190 in Zenica. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 38% less than in Zenica. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $134 in Zenica. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Zenica is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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