Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Scarborough and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,548 a month against $2,130 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
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Scarborough Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Scarborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,130

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/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: $2,130 in Scarborough versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Scarborough $2,130
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,096 in Scarborough versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Scarborough $3,096
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,062 in Scarborough versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Scarborough $4,062
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Scarborough is roughly 38% 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 57% above, Mexico City 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.36 £11.53

$11.02 MX$204

39.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.1 £53.4

$48.68 MX$900

46.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.12 £9.09

$10.90 MX$201

11.19%

Cappuccino

$3.51 £2.63

$3.68 MX$68.1

-4.62%

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

$2.05 £1.53

$1.63 MX$30.18

25.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 £0.77

$1.25 MX$23.07

-18.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.58 £3.44

$3.25 MX$60.1

40.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.29 £3.22

$5.53 MX$102

-22.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.70 MX$31.50

-24.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 £1.03

$3.02 MX$55.8

-54.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.08 £0.81

$1.92 MX$35.53

-43.75%

Eggs

$3.60 £2.70

$2.73 MX$50.5

31.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.92 £5.94

$11.77 MX$218

-32.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.18 £5.39

$9.53 MX$176

-24.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.94 £10.46

$14.41 MX$266

-3.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.13 £2.35

$3.02 MX$55.8

3.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.89 MX$35.01

5.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 £1.99

$1.99 MX$36.70

33.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 £1.57

$2.19 MX$40.38

-4.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.74 £1.30

$1.92 MX$35.43

-9.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 £1.21

$1.87 MX$34.49

-13.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 £0.87

$1.44 MX$26.62

-20.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.27 MX$23.39

50.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.58 £16.94

$5.22 MX$96.4

332.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 £7.19

$16.17 MX$299

-40.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.65 £2.74

$1.90 MX$35.03

92.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.60 £2.70

$4.22 MX$78.0

-14.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.30 £2.48

$0.34 MX$6.30

870.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.0 £64.5

$19.65 MX$363

337.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.73 £4.30

$2.00 MX$36.90

186.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.97 £3.73

$0.52 MX$9.67

855.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.58 £25.19

$5.34 MX$98.7

528.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 £1.48

$1.52 MX$28.13

30.26%

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

$36.0K £27.0K

$22.1K MX$408.0K

62.93%

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

$39.9K £29.9K

$24.5K MX$452.9K

62.84%

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

$356 £267

$61.1 MX$1,129

483.04%

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

$25.99 £19.50

$28.58 MX$528

-9.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 £24.56

$34.47 MX$637

-5.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.1 £49.59

$56.4 MX$1,042

17.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.67 £9.50

$24.88 MX$460

-49.08%

Cinema Ticket

$10.66 £7.99

$6.66 MX$123

60.06%

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

$1,804 £1,353

$427 MX$7,891

322.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K £11.1K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

26.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.3 £49.73

$67.8 MX$1,253

-2.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.54 £26.66

$52.0 MX$960

-31.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 £81.3

$106 MX$1,959

2.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 £85.2

$113 MX$2,080

0.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$867 £651

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-15.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$831 £624

$654 MX$12.1K

27.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,524 £1,143

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-33.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,365 £1,024

$1,242 MX$22.9K

9.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$910 £683

$964 MX$17.8K

-5.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.53

11.3

-51.06%

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

Last update for Scarborough: 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

Scarborough

$831 39%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 21.3% $177

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Scarborough

$415 19.5%

Mexico City

$124 8% 70.1% $291

Groceries & Markets

Scarborough

$276 13%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 15.2% $42

Eating Out

Scarborough

$245 11.5%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 16.8% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Scarborough

$146 6.8%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 4.5% $6.6

Getting Around

Scarborough

$130 6.1%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 80.3% $104

Sport & Entertainment

Scarborough

$87 4.1%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 20.3% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $867 in Scarborough and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 6% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $71.0 in Scarborough vs $49.00 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $276 vs $318, with Scarborough cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Scarborough

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

05:58 5:58 AM

22:58 10:58 PM

7 h behind Scarborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

61,749

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 21, 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 21, 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

Scarborough Mexico City 8,810 km ≈ 12 h 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

Scarborough and Mexico City differ by about 38% in total monthly costs ($2,130 vs $1,548 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 6% lower in Mexico City. 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: $867 in Scarborough 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 338% less than in Scarborough. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,804 in Scarborough 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 $2,130 in Scarborough, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Scarborough. 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, Scarborough 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 38% less than in Scarborough. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.