Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Preston and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,114 in Preston, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Preston
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Preston Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Preston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,114

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,114 in Preston versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Preston $2,114
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,021 in Preston versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Preston $3,021
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,928 in Preston versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Preston $3,928
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Preston is roughly 32% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Preston 55% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.89 £11.96

$10.62 MX$198

49.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.3 £55.9

$48.35 MX$901

53.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.20 £6.93

$10.35 MX$193

-11.11%

Cappuccino

$4.24 £3.19

$3.69 MX$68.8

14.91%

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

$2.31 £1.74

$1.67 MX$31.07

38.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.38

$1.27 MX$23.59

44.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.39 £4.06

$3.19 MX$59.5

68.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.20 £3.91

$5.31 MX$98.9

-2.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 £1.12

$1.72 MX$32.15

-13.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 £1.08

$3.04 MX$56.7

-52.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 £1.21

$1.94 MX$36.19

-17.53%

Eggs

$3.59 £2.70

$2.89 MX$53.8

24.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.30 £3.99

$10.97 MX$205

-51.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 £7.17

$9.25 MX$172

3.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.68 £9.54

$15.13 MX$282

-16.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.59 £1.95

$3.05 MX$56.8

-15.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.94 MX$36.19

-11.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 £1.93

$2.03 MX$37.75

26.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.96 £2.98

$2.31 MX$43.15

71.43%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 £1.55

$2.04 MX$37.94

0.98%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 £1.70

$1.80 MX$33.55

25.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 £0.88

$1.48 MX$27.58

-20.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 £1.24

$1.27 MX$23.63

29.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.56 £16.23

$5.30 MX$98.9

306.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.14 £6.88

$16.10 MX$300

-43.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.39

$1.98 MX$36.97

60.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 £2.45

$4.25 MX$79.3

-23.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.92 £2.95

$0.31 MX$5.69

1164.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.5 £74.1

$19.73 MX$368

399.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.60 £1.96

$1.84 MX$34.25

41.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.10 £1.58

$0.53 MX$9.94

296.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.51 MX$28.16

31.79%

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

$37.9K £28.5K

$21.8K MX$405.5K

74.22%

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

$41.1K £31.0K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

71.50%

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

$439 £330

$63.0 MX$1,174

597.09%

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

$14.86 £11.19

$27.39 MX$511

-45.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.51 £32.75

$35.67 MX$665

21.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.40 £31.16

$58.9 MX$1,099

-29.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 £12.64

$23.64 MX$441

-28.93%

Cinema Ticket

$17.83 £13.42

$6.40 MX$119

178.59%

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

$1,512 £1,138

$432 MX$8,045

250.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,738 £6,576

$11.4K MX$212.9K

-23.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.7 £57.0

$68.2 MX$1,272

10.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.16 £19.69

$53.1 MX$990

-50.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$65.4 £49.21

$108 MX$2,009

-39.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.4 £49.97

$117 MX$2,186

-43.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 £729

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-12.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$767 £578

$710 MX$13.2K

8.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 £1,210

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-37.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,211 £911

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-13.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,634 £2,735

$3,631 MX$67.7K

0.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,379 £1,790

$2,135 MX$39.8K

11.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,994 £2,253

$946 MX$17.6K

216.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.93

11.35

-56.56%

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

Last update for Preston: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Preston

$767 36.3%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 7.4% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Preston

$497 23.5%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 74.7% $371

Groceries & Markets

Preston

$281 13.3%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 13.8% $39

Eating Out

Preston

$260 12.3%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 23.5% $61

Getting Around

Preston

$127 6%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 80% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Preston

$105 5%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 48.3% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Preston

$77 3.6%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 6.9% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $969 in Preston and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Preston pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $74 in Preston vs $48 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $281 vs $320, with Preston cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Preston

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

22:13 10:13 PM

16:13 4:13 PM

6 h behind Preston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,300

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

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).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Preston Mexico City 8,690 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Preston
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,114 in Preston and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Mexico City is about 24% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Preston is about 3.2 times higher, 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: $969 in Preston 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 80% less than in Preston. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $1,512 in Preston versus $432 in Mexico City. 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, Preston on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.