Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Andrews and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,548 a month against $2,285 in St. Andrews, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in St. Andrews
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St. Andrews Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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St. Andrews

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,285

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,285 in St. Andrews versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

St. Andrews $2,285
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,891 in St. Andrews versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

St. Andrews $3,891
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,496 in St. Andrews versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

St. Andrews $5,496
Mexico City $3,323

Living in St. Andrews is roughly 48% 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: St. Andrews 69% above, Mexico City 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.15 £15.87

$11.02 MX$204

91.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$87.9 £65.9

$48.68 MX$900

80.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.51 £7.89

$10.90 MX$201

-3.58%

Cappuccino

$4.61 £3.46

$3.68 MX$68.1

25.27%

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

$2.84 £2.13

$1.63 MX$30.18

74.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 £1.57

$1.25 MX$23.07

68.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.76 £5.07

$3.25 MX$60.1

108.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.76 £5.07

$5.53 MX$102

22.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.70 MX$31.50

-11.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.28

$3.02 MX$55.8

-43.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.92 MX$35.53

5.73%

Eggs

$4.49 £3.37

$2.73 MX$50.5

64.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.37 £5.53

$11.77 MX$218

-37.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 £7.24

$9.53 MX$176

1.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.41 £11.56

$14.41 MX$266

6.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.50 £1.88

$3.02 MX$55.8

-17.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.33 £1.00

$1.89 MX$35.01

-29.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 £2.07

$1.99 MX$36.70

38.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.86 £2.15

$2.19 MX$40.38

30.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.92 MX$35.43

-11.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.87 MX$34.49

-18.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.44 MX$26.62

-16.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.46 £1.85

$1.27 MX$23.39

93.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.57 £16.93

$5.22 MX$96.4

332.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.86 £8.15

$16.17 MX$299

-32.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.70 £2.03

$1.90 MX$35.03

42.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 £2.24

$4.22 MX$78.0

-29.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.79 £3.59

$0.34 MX$6.30

1308.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.05 £3.04

$2.00 MX$36.90

102.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.44 £1.83

$0.52 MX$9.67

369.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.73 £17.80

$5.34 MX$98.7

344.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.10 £1.58

$1.52 MX$28.13

38.16%

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

$38.3K £28.7K

$22.1K MX$408.0K

73.54%

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

$41.2K £30.9K

$24.5K MX$452.9K

68.02%

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

$243 £182

$61.1 MX$1,129

297.35%

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

$13.40 £10.06

$28.58 MX$528

-53.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.64 £31.24

$34.47 MX$637

20.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$91.6 £68.7

$56.4 MX$1,042

62.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

Cinema Ticket

$13.06 £9.80

$6.66 MX$123

96.10%

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

$1,806 £1,355

$427 MX$7,891

322.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.8K £17.1K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

95.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.6 £71.7

$67.8 MX$1,253

41.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.97 £36.74

$52.0 MX$960

-5.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £77.8

$106 MX$1,959

-2.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.5 £66.4

$113 MX$2,080

-21.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,366 £1,025

$1,025 MX$18.9K

33.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 £792

$654 MX$12.1K

61.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,104 £2,329

$2,308 MX$42.7K

34.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,743 £2,058

$1,242 MX$22.9K

120.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,137 £4,604

$3,613 MX$66.8K

69.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,718 £2,039

$1,936 MX$35.8K

40.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,397 £2,548

$964 MX$17.8K

252.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.41

11.3

-52.12%

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

Last update for St. Andrews: 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

St. Andrews

$1.1K 46.2%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 38% $401

Eating Out

St. Andrews

$323 14.1%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 36.9% $119

Groceries & Markets

St. Andrews

$304 13.3%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 4.5% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Andrews

$298 13%

Mexico City

$124 8% 58.3% $174

Clothing & Footwear

St. Andrews

$152 6.6%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 0.5% $0.7

Sport & Entertainment

St. Andrews

$118 5.2%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 40.8% $48

Getting Around

St. Andrews

$35 * 1.6%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 27.7% $9.8

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,366 in St. Andrews and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. Andrews pays 252% 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: $88.0 in St. Andrews vs $49.00 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $304 vs $318, with St. Andrews cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 St. Andrews

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

01:26 1:26 AM

18:26 6:26 PM

7 h behind St. Andrews

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

16,460

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 22, 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 22, 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

St. Andrews Mexico City 8,600 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Andrews
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

St. Andrews vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St. Andrews and Mexico City differ by about 48% in total monthly costs ($2,285 vs $1,548 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 252% higher in St. Andrews, 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: $1,366 in St. Andrews versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,806 in St. Andrews versus $427 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 $49.00 versus $88.0 in St. Andrews. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,548 in Mexico City versus $2,285 in St. Andrews, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in St. Andrews. 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, St. Andrews 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 48% less than in St. Andrews. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.