Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Southampton and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,561 a month against $2,681 in Southampton, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Southampton
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Southampton Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Southampton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,681

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,561

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,681 in Southampton versus $1,561 in Mexico City.

Southampton $2,681
Mexico City $1,561

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,835 in Southampton versus $2,440 in Mexico City.

Southampton $3,835
Mexico City $2,440

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,989 in Southampton versus $3,319 in Mexico City.

Southampton $4,989
Mexico City $3,319

Living in Southampton is roughly 72% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Southampton 100% above, Mexico City 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.05 £19.68

$11.12 MX$204

134.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.7 £68.5

$48.99 MX$900

85.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.35 £8.57

$11.23 MX$206

1.07%

Cappuccino

$5.14 £3.89

$3.76 MX$69.0

36.70%

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

$2.97 £2.24

$1.65 MX$30.34

80.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.62

$1.28 MX$23.48

67.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.48 £5.65

$3.26 MX$59.8

129.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.53 £4.94

$5.66 MX$104

15.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 £1.48

$1.81 MX$33.23

8.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 £1.31

$2.94 MX$54.0

-41.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.98 £2.25

$2.05 MX$37.62

45.37%

Eggs

$4.54 £3.43

$2.93 MX$53.7

54.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.89 £7.47

$11.95 MX$219

-17.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.43 £7.12

$9.51 MX$175

-0.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.27 £10.78

$14.84 MX$273

-3.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 £2.26

$3.14 MX$57.7

-4.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 £1.32

$2.01 MX$36.99

-12.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.89 £2.18

$2.08 MX$38.10

38.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 £2.68

$2.22 MX$40.72

59.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$2.06 MX$37.82

-13.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 £1.14

$1.88 MX$34.46

-19.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.94

$1.48 MX$27.18

-16.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 £1.32

$1.35 MX$24.70

28.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.37 £16.15

$5.41 MX$99.3

295.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.85 £8.20

$16.86 MX$310

-35.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.95 £2.23

$1.98 MX$36.43

48.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 £2.62

$4.32 MX$79.4

-19.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.13 £2.36

$0.34 MX$6.33

820.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.2 £65.1

$20.23 MX$371

325.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.27 £3.23

$2.10 MX$38.47

103.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 £1.46

$0.53 MX$9.74

264.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.36 £23.70

$5.41 MX$99.3

479.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.58

$1.52 MX$27.91

37.50%

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

$37.7K £28.5K

$21.7K MX$399.0K

73.61%

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

$40.2K £30.3K

$24.8K MX$455.6K

61.82%

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

$325 £245

$63.0 MX$1,156

415.80%

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

$29.44 £22.25

$28.88 MX$530

1.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.9 £40.75

$33.93 MX$623

58.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.02 £31.00

$55.8 MX$1,024

-26.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.46 £12.44

$24.90 MX$457

-33.90%

Cinema Ticket

$15.69 £11.85

$6.77 MX$124

131.76%

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

$1,560 £1,179

$428 MX$7,854

264.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.8K £13.4K

$11.9K MX$218.0K

49.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 £77.8

$70.0 MX$1,286

47.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.9 £38.49

$53.7 MX$986

-5.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.4 £75.1

$110 MX$2,016

-9.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 £101

$115 MX$2,115

15.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,500 £1,133

$1,062 MX$19.5K

41.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,192 £901

$671 MX$12.3K

77.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,397 £1,811

$2,379 MX$43.7K

0.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,859 £1,405

$1,260 MX$23.1K

47.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,870 £4,436

$3,716 MX$68.2K

57.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,381 £4,066

$1,976 MX$36.3K

172.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,333 £2,519

$997 MX$18.3K

234.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

11.3

-56.11%

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

Last update for Southampton: October 5, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Southampton

$1.2K 45%

Mexico City

$671 42.4% 43.7% $522

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Southampton

$408 15.4%

Mexico City

$126 8% 69.2% $282

Eating Out

Southampton

$375 14.1%

Mexico City

$207 13.1% 44.8% $168

Groceries & Markets

Southampton

$319 12%

Mexico City

$327 20.7% 2.5% $7.9

Clothing & Footwear

Southampton

$174 6.6%

Mexico City

$157 9.9% 9.7% $17

Getting Around

Southampton

$113 4.2%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 76.6% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Southampton

$72 2.7%

Mexico City

$69 4.4% 4.2% $3.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,500 in Southampton and $1,062 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Southampton pays 234% 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: $91.0 in Southampton vs $49.00 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $319 vs $327, with Southampton cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Southampton

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

07:42 7:42 AM

00:42 12:42 AM

7 h behind Southampton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

228,600

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Southampton Mexico City 8,870 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Southampton
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

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

Southampton and Mexico City differ by about 72% in total monthly costs ($2,681 vs $1,561 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 234% higher in Southampton, 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: $1,500 in Southampton versus $1,062 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 326% less than in Southampton. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,560 in Southampton versus $428 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,561 in Mexico City versus $2,681 in Southampton, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Southampton. 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.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Southampton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.