Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Retford and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,548 a month against $2,255 in Retford, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Retford
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Retford Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Retford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,255

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,255 in Retford versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Retford $2,255
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,343 in Retford versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Retford $3,343
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,432 in Retford versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Retford $4,432
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Retford is roughly 46% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Retford 66% above, Mexico City 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.72 £11.04

$11.02 MX$204

33.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 £49.87

$48.68 MX$900

36.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.14 £5.36

$10.90 MX$201

-34.50%

Cappuccino

$3.88 £2.91

$3.68 MX$68.1

5.43%

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

$1.75 £1.31

$1.63 MX$30.18

7.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.25 MX$23.07

42.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.30 £3.22

$3.25 MX$60.1

32.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 £3.26

$5.53 MX$102

-21.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.70 MX$31.50

1.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.83 £1.38

$3.02 MX$55.8

-39.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.92 MX$35.53

-14.58%

Eggs

$4.66 £3.50

$2.73 MX$50.5

70.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.18 £8.39

$11.77 MX$218

-5.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.16 £7.62

$9.53 MX$176

6.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.50 £9.38

$14.41 MX$266

-13.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.09 £1.56

$3.02 MX$55.8

-30.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.89 MX$35.01

-4.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.99 MX$36.70

-11.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$2.19 MX$40.38

-20.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.92 MX$35.43

-22.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.87 MX$34.49

-15.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 £0.31

$1.44 MX$26.62

-70.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.27 MX$23.39

22.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.33 £17.50

$5.22 MX$96.4

346.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.77 £5.83

$16.17 MX$299

-51.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 £1.27

$1.90 MX$35.03

-10.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 £1.53

$4.22 MX$78.0

-51.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.65 £2.74

$0.34 MX$6.30

973.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$108 £80.7

$19.65 MX$363

447.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.93 £3.70

$2.00 MX$36.90

146.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.91 £2.93

$0.52 MX$9.67

651.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.85 £21.64

$5.34 MX$98.7

440.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.52 MX$28.13

37.50%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$22.1K MX$408.0K

81.82%

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

$44.2K £33.2K

$24.5K MX$452.9K

80.36%

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

$342 £257

$61.1 MX$1,129

459.93%

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

$27.87 £20.91

$28.58 MX$528

-2.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.53 £34.91

$34.47 MX$637

34.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 £39.53

$56.4 MX$1,042

-6.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

Cinema Ticket

$11.50 £8.62

$6.66 MX$123

72.67%

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

$1,926 £1,445

$427 MX$7,891

351.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.9K £17.9K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

105.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.1 £63.9

$67.8 MX$1,253

25.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.8 £45.59

$52.0 MX$960

16.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 £81.4

$106 MX$1,959

2.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$161 £121

$113 MX$2,080

43.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,398 £1,049

$1,025 MX$18.9K

36.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$924 £693

$654 MX$12.1K

41.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,099 £1,575

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-9.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,675 £1,257

$1,242 MX$22.9K

34.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,059 £3,796

$3,613 MX$66.8K

40.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,851 £2,889

$1,936 MX$35.8K

98.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,711 £1,283

$964 MX$17.8K

77.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.3

11.3

-53.10%

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

Last update for Retford: October 18, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Retford

$924 41%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 29.2% $270

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Retford

$416 18.5%

Mexico City

$124 8% 70.2% $292

Groceries & Markets

Retford

$276 12.2%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 15.4% $42

Eating Out

Retford

$230 10.2%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 11.4% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Retford

$187 8.3%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 18.6% $35

Getting Around

Retford

$147 6.5%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 82.5% $121

Sport & Entertainment

Retford

$76 3.4%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 7.9% $6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,398 in Retford and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Retford pays 77% 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: $66.0 in Retford vs $49.00 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $276 vs $318, with Retford cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Retford

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

11:36 11:36 AM

04:36 4:36 AM

7 h behind Retford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,023

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 = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Retford Mexico City 8,810 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Retford
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

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

Retford and Mexico City differ by about 46% in total monthly costs ($2,255 vs $1,548 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 77% higher in Retford, 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: $1,398 in Retford versus $1,025 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 447% less than in Retford. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,926 in Retford versus $427 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,548 in Mexico City versus $2,255 in Retford, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Retford. 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.

Safety-wise, Retford and Mexico City are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Retford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.