Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rawalpindi and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Rawalpindi: $504 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Rawalpindi
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Rawalpindi Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Rawalpindi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$504

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $504 in Rawalpindi versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Rawalpindi $504
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $787 in Rawalpindi versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Rawalpindi $787
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,069 in Rawalpindi versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Rawalpindi $1,069
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Rawalpindi costs roughly 69% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rawalpindi is 63% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.11 PKR 584

$10.62 MX$199

-80.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.10 PKR 4,454

$48.35 MX$908

-66.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.07 PKR 1,680

$10.35 MX$194

-41.35%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 PKR 492

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 PKR 963

Cappuccino

$2.01 PKR 556

$3.69 MX$69.3

-45.53%

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

$0.40 PKR 112

$1.67 MX$31.29

-76.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 PKR 63.1

$1.27 MX$23.76

-81.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 PKR 241

$1.72 MX$32.38

-49.42%

White Bread (500g)

$0.59 PKR 162

$3.04 MX$57.1

-80.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 PKR 336

$1.94 MX$36.44

-37.63%

Eggs

$1.10 PKR 303

$2.89 MX$54.2

-61.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.25 PKR 1,729

$10.97 MX$206

-43.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.55 PKR 983

$9.25 MX$174

-61.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.94 PKR 1,366

$15.13 MX$284

-67.35%

Apples (1kg)

$1.20 PKR 333

$3.05 MX$57.2

-60.66%

Banana (1kg)

$0.87 PKR 242

$1.94 MX$36.45

-55.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.21 PKR 336

$2.03 MX$38.02

-40.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.52 PKR 145

$2.31 MX$43.46

-77.49%

Potato (1kg)

$0.39 PKR 107

$2.04 MX$38.21

-80.88%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 PKR 127

$1.80 MX$33.79

-74.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.31 PKR 87.1

$1.48 MX$27.77

-79.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.40 PKR 110

$1.27 MX$23.80

-68.50%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$16.44 PKR 4,550

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 PKR 321

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 PKR 667

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.04 PKR 564

$5.30 MX$99.6

-61.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 PKR 53.9

$0.31 MX$5.73

-38.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.06 PKR 2,783

$19.73 MX$371

-49.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 PKR 240

$1.84 MX$34.50

-52.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 PKR 95.5

$0.53 MX$10.02

-33.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 PKR 860

$5.30 MX$99.4

-41.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 PKR 342

$1.51 MX$28.36

-17.88%

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

$19.3K PKR 5.3M

$21.8K MX$408.4K

-11.41%

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

$23.6K PKR 6.5M

$24.0K MX$450.3K

-1.49%

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

$115 PKR 31.7K

$63.0 MX$1,182

82.03%

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

$5.61 PKR 1,551

$27.39 MX$514

-79.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.35 PKR 5,078

$35.67 MX$670

-48.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$12.01 PKR 3,322

$58.9 MX$1,107

-79.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.28 PKR 2,015

$23.64 MX$444

-69.20%

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 PKR 1,175

$6.40 MX$120

-33.59%

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

$48.77 PKR 13.5K

$432 MX$8,103

-88.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,056 PKR 292.3K

$11.4K MX$214.5K

-90.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.54 PKR 4,852

$68.2 MX$1,281

-74.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.61 PKR 9,022

$53.1 MX$997

-38.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.6 PKR 25.9K

$108 MX$2,023

-13.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$35.98 PKR 9,956

$117 MX$2,202

-69.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$183 PKR 50.6K

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-83.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$87.2 PKR 24.1K

$710 MX$13.3K

-87.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$396 PKR 109.5K

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-84.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$221 PKR 61.2K

$1,406 MX$26.4K

-84.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,007 PKR 278.6K

$3,631 MX$68.2K

-72.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$434 PKR 120.2K

$2,135 MX$40.1K

-79.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$174 PKR 48.0K

$946 MX$17.8K

-81.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

22.81

11.35

100.97%

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

Last update for Rawalpindi: October 24, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rawalpindi

$139 27.5%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 9.1% $13

Groceries & Markets

Rawalpindi

$102 20.2%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 213% $218

Accommodation & Living

Rawalpindi

$87 17.3%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 715% $623

Clothing & Footwear

Rawalpindi

$81 16%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 92.7% $75

Eating Out

Rawalpindi

$62 12.2%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 222% $137

Sport & Entertainment

Rawalpindi

$21 4.1%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 250% $51

Getting Around

Rawalpindi

$13 2.7%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 89.6% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $183 in Rawalpindi and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 5.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $16 in Rawalpindi vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $102 vs $320 per month, with Rawalpindi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Rawalpindi

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

19:50 7:50 PM

08:50 8:50 AM

11 h behind Rawalpindi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,098,231

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.24 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PKR – Pakistani Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇰 Pakistani Rupee (₨)

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 309 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.24 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rawalpindi Mexico City 14,060 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Rawalpindi
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $504 in Rawalpindi and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Rawalpindi is about 69% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 82% lower in Rawalpindi. 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: $183 in Rawalpindi 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 Rawalpindi runs roughly 49% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $49 in Rawalpindi versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $504 in Rawalpindi versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Rawalpindi but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Rawalpindi 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 Rawalpindi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.