Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New York, NY and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,561 a month against $5,142 in New York, NY, rent and utilities included – about $43,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

245

Cost of Living Index in New York, NY
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New York, NY Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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New York, NY

🇺🇸 United States

$5,142

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,561

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in New York, NY and in Mexico City

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in New York, NY and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $5,142 in New York, NY versus $1,561 in Mexico City.

New York, NY $5,142
Mexico City $1,561

Estimated couple costs with rent: $7,455 in New York, NY versus $2,440 in Mexico City.

New York, NY $7,455
Mexico City $2,440

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $9,767 in New York, NY versus $3,319 in Mexico City.

New York, NY $9,767
Mexico City $3,319

Living in New York, NY is roughly 229% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: New York, NY 284% above, Mexico City 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.46 $26.46

$11.12 MX$202

137.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$119 $119

$48.99 MX$891

142.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.43 $14.43

$11.23 MX$204

28.50%

Cappuccino

$6.55 $6.55

$3.76 MX$68.4

74.20%

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

$3.84 $3.84

$1.65 MX$30.05

132.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 $3.00

$1.28 MX$23.27

134.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.27 $8.27

$3.26 MX$59.2

153.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.05 $10.05

$5.66 MX$103

77.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 $1.31

$1.81 MX$32.92

-27.62%

White Bread (500g)

$4.90 $4.90

$2.94 MX$53.5

66.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$7.16 $7.16

$2.05 MX$37.27

249.27%

Eggs

$5.92 $5.92

$2.93 MX$53.2

102.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.06 $19.06

$11.95 MX$217

59.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.38 $17.38

$9.51 MX$173

82.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.94 $18.94

$14.84 MX$270

27.63%

Apples (1kg)

$6.96 $6.96

$3.14 MX$57.2

121.66%

Banana (1kg)

$2.08 $2.08

$2.01 MX$36.65

3.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.10 $6.10

$2.08 MX$37.75

193.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.95 $6.95

$2.22 MX$40.35

213.06%

Potato (1kg)

$3.98 $3.98

$2.06 MX$37.47

93.20%

Onion (1kg)

$4.44 $4.44

$1.88 MX$34.14

136.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.81 $2.81

$1.48 MX$26.93

89.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.51 $2.51

$1.35 MX$24.47

85.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.27 $19.27

$5.41 MX$98.4

256.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.67 $19.67

$16.86 MX$307

16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.08 $3.08

$1.98 MX$36.09

55.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 $3.68

$4.32 MX$78.7

-14.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.02 $3.02

$0.34 MX$6.27

788.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$140 $140

$20.23 MX$368

589.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.07 $3.07

$2.10 MX$38.11

46.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 $2.13

$0.53 MX$9.65

301.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.21 $41.21

$5.41 MX$98.3

661.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 $1.11

$1.52 MX$27.65

-26.97%

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

$35.0K $35.0K

$21.7K MX$395.3K

61.03%

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

$25.4K $25.4K

$24.8K MX$451.4K

2.36%

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

$217 $217

$63.0 MX$1,145

245.39%

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

$74.0 $74.0

$28.88 MX$525

156.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$72.5 $72.5

$33.93 MX$617

113.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$120 $120

$55.8 MX$1,015

115.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$66.9 $66.9

$24.90 MX$453

168.63%

Cinema Ticket

$22.32 $22.32

$6.77 MX$123

229.69%

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

$3,425 $3,425

$428 MX$7,781

700.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$61.2K $61.2K

$11.9K MX$216.0K

415.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.3 $76.3

$70.0 MX$1,274

8.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.5 $55.5

$53.7 MX$977

3.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 $119

$110 MX$1,997

8.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 $131

$115 MX$2,096

13.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,506 $4,506

$1,062 MX$19.3K

324.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,155 $3,155

$671 MX$12.2K

370.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$8,817 $8,817

$2,379 MX$43.3K

270.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$5,532 $5,532

$1,260 MX$22.9K

338.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.4K $19.4K

$3,716 MX$67.6K

421.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,754 $6,754

$1,976 MX$35.9K

241.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,290 $5,290

$997 MX$18.1K

430.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.82

11.3

-39.65%

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

Last update for New York, NY: October 3, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

New York, NY

$3.2K 63.2%

Mexico City

$671 42.4% 78.7% $2.5K

Groceries & Markets

New York, NY

$546 11%

Mexico City

$327 20.7% 40.2% $219

Eating Out

New York, NY

$422 8.5%

Mexico City

$207 13.1% 51% $215

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New York, NY

$364 7.3%

Mexico City

$126 8% 65.4% $238

Clothing & Footwear

New York, NY

$172 3.4%

Mexico City

$157 9.9% 8.6% $15

Getting Around

New York, NY

$165 3.3%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 84.1% $139

Sport & Entertainment

New York, NY

$165 3.3%

Mexico City

$69 4.4% 58% $96

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $4,506 in New York, NY and $1,062 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

New York, NY pays 431% 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: $119 in New York, NY vs $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $546 vs $327 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 New York, NY

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

22:40 10:40 PM

20:40 8:40 PM

2 h behind New York, NY

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,804,190

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.4 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

New York, NY Mexico City 3,340 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

New York, NY
Mexico City

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

New York, NY vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

New York, NY and Mexico City differ by about 229% in total monthly costs ($5,142 vs $1,561 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 431% higher in New York, NY, 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: $4,506 in New York, NY versus $1,062 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 590% less than in New York, NY. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $3,425 in New York, NY versus $428 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,561 in Mexico City versus $5,142 in New York, NY, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in New York, NY. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City 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.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 229% less than in New York, NY. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.