Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Spanish Town and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Spanish Town: $1,009 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

48

Cost of Living Index in Spanish Town
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Spanish Town Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Spanish Town

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,009

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,009 in Spanish Town versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Spanish Town $1,009
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,922 in Spanish Town versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Spanish Town $1,922
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,834 in Spanish Town versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Spanish Town $2,834
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Spanish Town costs roughly 37% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Spanish Town is 26% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.69 JMD 2,158

$10.62 MX$199

28.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.3 JMD 11.7K

$48.35 MX$904

53.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 JMD 1,328

$10.35 MX$193

-18.65%

Cappuccino

$5.23 JMD 824

$3.69 MX$69.0

41.73%

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

$1.16 JMD 183

$1.67 MX$31.14

-30.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 JMD 117

$1.27 MX$23.65

-41.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.19 JMD 345

$3.19 MX$59.7

-31.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 JMD 499

$5.31 MX$99.2

-40.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.21 JMD 665

$1.72 MX$32.23

144.77%

White Bread (500g)

$3.69 JMD 582

$3.04 MX$56.8

21.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 JMD 259

$1.94 MX$36.27

-15.46%

Eggs

$3.53 JMD 557

$2.89 MX$54.0

22.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.42 JMD 1,801

$10.97 MX$205

4.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.34 JMD 1,000

$9.25 MX$173

-31.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.17 JMD 1,604

$15.13 MX$283

-32.78%

Apples (1kg)

$6.07 JMD 958

$3.05 MX$57.0

99.02%

Banana (1kg)

$3.82 JMD 602

$1.94 MX$36.27

96.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.56 JMD 1,193

$2.03 MX$37.85

272.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.97 JMD 469

$2.31 MX$43.25

28.57%

Potato (1kg)

$3.23 JMD 509

$2.04 MX$38.03

58.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 JMD 320

$1.80 MX$33.63

12.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.13 JMD 493

$1.48 MX$27.64

111.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 JMD 229

$1.27 MX$23.69

14.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.58 JMD 1,510

$5.30 MX$99.1

80.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.44 JMD 1,804

$16.10 MX$301

-28.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.88 JMD 455

$1.98 MX$37.06

45.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 JMD 616

$4.25 MX$79.5

-8.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.70

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$369

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 JMD 202

$1.84 MX$34.34

-30.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.11 JMD 490

$0.53 MX$9.97

486.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.21 JMD 979

$5.30 MX$99.0

17.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 JMD 222

$1.51 MX$28.23

-6.62%

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

$44.0K JMD 6.9M

$21.8K MX$406.5K

102.44%

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

$32.5K JMD 5.1M

$24.0K MX$448.2K

35.60%

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

$171 JMD 26.9K

$63.0 MX$1,177

171.13%

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

$28.96 JMD 4,567

$27.39 MX$512

5.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.6 JMD 8,298

$35.67 MX$666

47.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,101

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$442

Cinema Ticket

$13.32 JMD 2,101

$6.40 MX$120

108.12%

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

$360 JMD 56.8K

$432 MX$8,065

-16.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,371 JMD 1.3M

$11.4K MX$213.5K

-26.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.26 JMD 3,667

$68.2 MX$1,275

-65.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.95 JMD 5,038

$53.1 MX$993

-39.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.1 JMD 12.5K

$108 MX$2,014

-26.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 JMD 16.4K

$117 MX$2,191

-11.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$624 JMD 98.4K

$2,588 MX$48.4K

-75.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$513 JMD 80.9K

$1,406 MX$26.3K

-63.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,178 JMD 185.7K

$946 MX$17.7K

24.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

11.35

-16.74%

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

Last update for Spanish Town: October 27, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Spanish Town

$383 38%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 16.7% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Spanish Town

$252 25%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 50.1% $126

Eating Out

Spanish Town

$222 22%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 10.7% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Spanish Town

$107 10.6%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 45.2% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Spanish Town

$27 * 2.6%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 169% $45

Getting Around

Spanish Town

$17 * 1.7%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 51.5% $8.7

Accommodation & Living

Spanish Town

- * 0%

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Spanish Town pays 24% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $74 in Spanish Town vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $383 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Spanish Town

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

14:04 2:04 PM

13:04 1:04 PM

1 h behind Spanish Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

131,056

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Spanish Town Mexico City 2,340 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Spanish Town
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

Spanish Town vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Spanish Town and Mexico City differ by about 59% in total monthly costs ($1,009 vs $1,608 including rent). Spanish Town is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 24% higher in Spanish Town, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $360 in Spanish Town versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $74 in Spanish Town. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Spanish Town is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.