Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Semarang and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Semarang: $593 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Semarang
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Semarang Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Semarang

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$593

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $593 in Semarang versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Semarang $593
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $938 in Semarang versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Semarang $938
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,282 in Semarang versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Semarang $1,282
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Semarang costs roughly 63% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Semarang is 56% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.34 Rp 24.4K

$10.62 MX$198

-87.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$10.53 Rp 191.3K

$48.35 MX$901

-78.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.04 Rp 55.3K

$10.35 MX$193

-70.63%

Cappuccino

$1.28 Rp 23.2K

$3.69 MX$68.8

-65.31%

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

$0.43 Rp 7,808

$1.67 MX$31.07

-74.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 Rp 2,847

$1.27 MX$23.59

-87.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.64 Rp 29.8K

$3.19 MX$59.5

-48.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 Rp 59.1K

$5.31 MX$98.9

-38.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 Rp 19.0K

$1.72 MX$32.15

-38.95%

White Bread (500g)

$0.92 Rp 16.7K

$3.04 MX$56.7

-69.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.79 Rp 14.4K

$1.94 MX$36.19

-59.28%

Eggs

$1.18 Rp 21.4K

$2.89 MX$53.8

-59.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.86 Rp 70.2K

$10.97 MX$205

-64.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.33 Rp 42.4K

$9.25 MX$172

-74.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.55 Rp 137.3K

$15.13 MX$282

-50.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.96 Rp 35.7K

$3.05 MX$56.8

-35.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 Rp 23.3K

$1.94 MX$36.19

-34.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 Rp 32.8K

$2.03 MX$37.75

-11.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 Rp 26.7K

$2.31 MX$43.15

-36.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 Rp 23.3K

$2.04 MX$37.94

-37.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 Rp 34.3K

$1.80 MX$33.55

5.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 Rp 17.0K

$1.48 MX$27.58

-37.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.40 Rp 7,359

$1.27 MX$23.63

-68.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.87 Rp 34.1K

$5.30 MX$98.9

-64.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$25.05 Rp 455.2K

$16.10 MX$300

55.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 Rp 29.8K

$1.98 MX$36.97

-17.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 Rp 35.4K

$4.25 MX$79.3

-54.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 Rp 3,816

$0.31 MX$5.69

-32.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.93 Rp 253.1K

$19.73 MX$368

-29.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.50 Rp 9,128

$1.84 MX$34.25

-72.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 Rp 5,331

$0.53 MX$9.94

-45.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.69 Rp 48.8K

$5.30 MX$98.7

-49.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.77 Rp 14.0K

$1.51 MX$28.16

-49.01%

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

$24.5K Rp 446.0M

$21.8K MX$405.5K

12.80%

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

$32.2K Rp 585.5M

$24.0K MX$447.1K

34.30%

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

$86.1 Rp 1.6M

$63.0 MX$1,174

36.76%

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

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

$27.39 MX$511

-90.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.96 Rp 344.7K

$35.67 MX$665

-46.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.30 Rp 368.9K

$58.9 MX$1,099

-65.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.49 Rp 81.5K

$23.64 MX$441

-81.01%

Cinema Ticket

$2.25 Rp 40.9K

$6.40 MX$119

-64.84%

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

$49.33 Rp 896.6K

$432 MX$8,045

-88.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,076 Rp 37.7M

$11.4K MX$212.9K

-81.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$34.61 Rp 629.1K

$68.2 MX$1,272

-49.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.31 Rp 532.7K

$53.1 MX$990

-44.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$56.4 Rp 1.0M

$108 MX$2,009

-47.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$38.07 Rp 691.9K

$117 MX$2,186

-67.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$226 Rp 4.1M

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-79.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$136 Rp 2.5M

$710 MX$13.2K

-80.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$477 Rp 8.7M

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-81.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$380 Rp 6.9M

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-73.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,223 Rp 22.2M

$3,631 MX$67.7K

-66.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$833 Rp 15.1M

$2,135 MX$39.8K

-60.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$186 Rp 3.4M

$946 MX$17.6K

-80.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.82

11.35

-22.29%

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

Last update for Semarang: October 24, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Semarang

$184 31%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 73.8% $136

Accommodation & Living

Semarang

$136 23%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 421% $574

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Semarang

$108 18.2%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 17% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Semarang

$71 12%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 119% $85

Eating Out

Semarang

$52 8.8%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 280% $146

Sport & Entertainment

Semarang

$25 4.2%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 189% $47

Getting Around

Semarang

$17 2.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 52.1% $8.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $226 in Semarang and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 5.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $11 in Semarang vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $184 vs $320 per month, with Semarang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Semarang

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

02:51 2:51 AM

13:51 1:51 PM

13 h behind Semarang

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,555,984

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18,175 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,233 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 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 IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Semarang Mexico City 16,540 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Semarang
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $593 in Semarang and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Semarang is about 63% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 80% lower in Semarang. 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: $226 in Semarang 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 Semarang runs roughly 29% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

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

At $593 in Semarang versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Semarang but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Semarang 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 Semarang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.