Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portmore and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Portmore: $1,250 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

60

Cost of Living Index in Portmore
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Portmore Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Portmore

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,250

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Portmore 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 Portmore and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,250 in Portmore versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Portmore $1,250
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,081 in Portmore versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Portmore $2,081
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,912 in Portmore versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Portmore $2,912
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Portmore costs roughly 22% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Portmore is 8% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.11 JMD 1,598

$10.62 MX$200

-4.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.1 JMD 9,975

$48.35 MX$909

30.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.99 JMD 1,262

$10.35 MX$194

-22.80%

Cappuccino

$5.27 JMD 833

$3.69 MX$69.4

42.82%

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

$0.93 JMD 147

$1.67 MX$31.32

-44.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.61 JMD 96.6

$1.27 MX$23.78

-51.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.18 JMD 345

$3.19 MX$60.0

-31.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 JMD 345

$5.31 MX$99.7

-58.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.18 JMD 502

$1.72 MX$32.41

84.88%

White Bread (500g)

$3.64 JMD 575

$3.04 MX$57.1

19.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 JMD 163

$1.94 MX$36.48

-46.91%

Eggs

$3.44 JMD 544

$2.89 MX$54.3

19.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.29 JMD 1,784

$10.97 MX$206

2.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.22 JMD 982

$9.25 MX$174

-32.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.49 JMD 1,499

$15.13 MX$284

-37.28%

Apples (1kg)

$5.88 JMD 929

$3.05 MX$57.3

92.79%

Banana (1kg)

$3.94 JMD 622

$1.94 MX$36.48

103.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.01 JMD 476

$2.03 MX$38.06

48.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.02 JMD 477

$2.31 MX$43.50

30.74%

Potato (1kg)

$3.22 JMD 509

$2.04 MX$38.25

57.84%

Onion (1kg)

$2.57 JMD 406

$1.80 MX$33.83

42.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.55 JMD 245

$1.48 MX$27.80

4.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 JMD 197

$1.27 MX$23.82

-1.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.49 JMD 1,499

$5.30 MX$99.7

79.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.46 JMD 1,811

$16.10 MX$303

-28.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.87 JMD 454

$1.98 MX$37.27

44.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 JMD 342

$4.25 MX$79.9

-49.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.25 JMD 355

$0.31 MX$5.73

625.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 JMD 7,917

$19.73 MX$371

153.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 JMD 145

$1.84 MX$34.53

-50.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.13 JMD 494

$0.53 MX$10.03

490.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.44 JMD 1,017

$5.30 MX$99.5

21.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 JMD 200

$1.51 MX$28.39

-16.56%

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

$44.3K JMD 7.0M

$21.8K MX$408.8K

103.80%

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

$32.7K JMD 5.2M

$24.0K MX$450.8K

36.19%

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

$160 JMD 25.2K

$63.0 MX$1,184

153.57%

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

$28.89 JMD 4,564

$27.39 MX$515

5.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.8 JMD 8,346

$35.67 MX$670

48.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.7 JMD 9,273

$58.9 MX$1,108

-0.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

Cinema Ticket

$13.47 JMD 2,129

$6.40 MX$120

110.47%

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

$281 JMD 44.4K

$432 MX$8,111

-34.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,157 JMD 498.8K

$11.4K MX$214.7K

-72.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.28 JMD 3,677

$68.2 MX$1,282

-65.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.19 JMD 4,928

$53.1 MX$999

-41.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 JMD 12.2K

$108 MX$2,026

-28.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.9 JMD 15.2K

$117 MX$2,204

-18.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$315 JMD 49.7K

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-71.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$218 JMD 34.4K

$710 MX$13.4K

-69.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$667 JMD 105.3K

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-74.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$605 JMD 95.5K

$1,406 MX$26.4K

-57.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,655 JMD 1.2M

$3,631 MX$68.2K

110.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,857 JMD 925.3K

$2,135 MX$40.1K

174.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,280 JMD 202.3K

$946 MX$17.8K

35.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

11.35

-16.74%

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

Last update for Portmore: October 27, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Portmore

$337 27%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 5.3% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portmore

$241 19.3%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 47.8% $115

Accommodation & Living

Portmore

$218 17.4%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 226% $492

Eating Out

Portmore

$190 15.2%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 4.8% $9

Clothing & Footwear

Portmore

$102 8.2%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 52.3% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Portmore

$86 6.9%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 16.2% $14

Getting Around

Portmore

$76 6.1%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 66.3% $50

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $315 in Portmore and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Portmore pays 35% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $63 in Portmore vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $337 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Portmore

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

09:27 9:27 AM

08:27 8:27 AM

1 h behind Portmore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

170,000

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.67 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.67 EUR).

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).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Portmore Mexico City 2,350 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Portmore
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

Portmore vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,250 in Portmore and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Portmore is about 22% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 35% higher in Portmore, 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: $315 in Portmore versus $1,113 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 61% less than in Portmore. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $281 in Portmore versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Portmore 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.