Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Scarborough, Canada and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,561 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
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Scarborough Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Scarborough

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,561

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,561 in Scarborough versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Scarborough $2,561
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,474 in Scarborough versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Scarborough $3,474
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,388 in Scarborough versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Scarborough $4,388
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Scarborough is roughly 59% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Scarborough 88% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.32 CA$24.20

$10.62 MX$200

63.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.3 CA$98.3

$48.35 MX$909

45.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.89 CA$15.21

$10.35 MX$194

5.22%

Cappuccino

$3.99 CA$5.57

$3.69 MX$69.4

8.13%

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

$2.03 CA$2.84

$1.67 MX$31.32

21.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.47 CA$2.05

$1.27 MX$23.78

15.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.55 CA$9.15

$3.19 MX$60.0

105.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.29 CA$10.18

$5.31 MX$99.7

37.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.51 CA$3.51

$1.72 MX$32.41

45.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.63 CA$3.68

$3.04 MX$57.1

-13.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.28 CA$3.18

$1.94 MX$36.48

17.53%

Eggs

$3.64 CA$5.09

$2.89 MX$54.3

25.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.14 CA$12.77

$10.97 MX$206

-16.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.44 CA$15.98

$9.25 MX$174

23.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.96 CA$18.11

$15.13 MX$284

-14.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.43 CA$4.79

$3.05 MX$57.3

12.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 CA$1.69

$1.94 MX$36.48

-37.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.34 CA$4.67

$2.03 MX$38.06

64.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.17 CA$5.82

$2.31 MX$43.50

80.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 CA$2.37

$2.04 MX$38.25

-17.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.68 CA$2.35

$1.80 MX$33.83

-6.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.20 CA$3.08

$1.48 MX$27.80

48.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 CA$1.76

$1.27 MX$23.82

-0.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.00 CA$19.56

$5.30 MX$99.7

164.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.58 CA$17.58

$16.10 MX$303

-21.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.19 CA$3.06

$1.98 MX$37.27

10.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 CA$3.57

$4.25 MX$79.9

-40.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.40 CA$3.35

$0.31 MX$5.73

674.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$105 CA$147

$19.73 MX$371

431.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.06 CA$4.28

$1.84 MX$34.53

66.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.28 CA$1.79

$0.53 MX$10.03

141.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.52 CA$31.46

$5.30 MX$99.5

324.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 CA$1.75

$1.51 MX$28.39

-17.22%

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

$26.1K CA$36.5K

$21.8K MX$408.8K

20.18%

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

$21.7K CA$30.4K

$24.0K MX$450.8K

-9.43%

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

$137 CA$192

$63.0 MX$1,184

118.09%

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

$35.21 CA$49.20

$27.39 MX$515

28.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.56 CA$67.8

$35.67 MX$670

36.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.87 CA$50.1

$58.9 MX$1,108

-39.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.96 CA$50.2

$23.64 MX$444

52.12%

Cinema Ticket

$12.95 CA$18.10

$6.40 MX$120

102.34%

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

$749 CA$1,047

$432 MX$8,111

73.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.8K CA$15.1K

$11.4K MX$214.7K

-5.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 CA$74.6

$68.2 MX$1,282

-21.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.94 CA$57.2

$53.1 MX$999

-22.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.1 CA$119

$108 MX$2,026

-21.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 CA$147

$117 MX$2,204

-10.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,744 CA$2,437

$1,113 MX$20.9K

56.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,415 CA$1,977

$710 MX$13.4K

99.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,122 CA$2,965

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-17.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,758 CA$2,456

$1,406 MX$26.4K

25.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,770 CA$10.9K

$3,631 MX$68.2K

113.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,085 CA$8,501

$2,135 MX$40.1K

184.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,980 CA$4,163

$946 MX$17.8K

214.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.55

11.35

-59.91%

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

Last update for Scarborough: 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

Scarborough

$1.4K 55.3%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 49.8% $704

Groceries & Markets

Scarborough

$331 12.9%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 3.4% $11

Eating Out

Scarborough

$280 11%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 29.2% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Scarborough

$221 8.6%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 43% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Scarborough

$128 5%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 21.8% $28

Getting Around

Scarborough

$124 4.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 79.5% $98

Sport & Entertainment

Scarborough

$62 2.4%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 16.1% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,744 in Scarborough and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Scarborough pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $70 in Scarborough vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $331 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Scarborough

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

21:03 9:03 PM

20:03 8:03 PM

1 h behind Scarborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

29,960

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.641 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Scarborough Mexico City 3,280 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Scarborough
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,561 in Scarborough and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Mexico City is about 37% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Scarborough is about 3.1 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: $1,744 in Scarborough 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 81% less than in Scarborough. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $749 in Scarborough 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.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Scarborough. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.