Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sterling and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,814 in Sterling, rent and utilities included – about $14,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

135

Cost of Living Index in Sterling
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Sterling Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Sterling

🇺🇸 United States

$2,814

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,814 in Sterling versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Sterling $2,814
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,314 in Sterling versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Sterling $4,314
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,814 in Sterling versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Sterling $5,814
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Sterling is roughly 75% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sterling 107% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.81 $18.81

$10.62 MX$199

77.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.5 $75.5

$48.35 MX$908

56.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 $11.94

$10.35 MX$194

15.36%

Cappuccino

$6.07 $6.07

$3.69 MX$69.3

64.50%

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

$2.97 $2.97

$1.67 MX$31.29

77.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 $2.52

$1.27 MX$23.76

98.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.47 $5.47

$3.19 MX$59.9

71.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.83 $7.83

$5.31 MX$99.6

47.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 $1.10

$1.72 MX$32.38

-36.05%

White Bread (500g)

$4.06 $4.06

$3.04 MX$57.1

33.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.18 $5.18

$1.94 MX$36.44

167.01%

Eggs

$5.48 $5.48

$2.89 MX$54.2

89.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.09 $17.09

$10.97 MX$206

55.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.76 $14.76

$9.25 MX$174

59.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.69 $18.69

$15.13 MX$284

23.53%

Apples (1kg)

$5.57 $5.57

$3.05 MX$57.2

82.62%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 $2.28

$1.94 MX$36.45

17.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.98 $4.98

$2.03 MX$38.02

145.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.74 $5.74

$2.31 MX$43.46

148.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.95 $2.95

$2.04 MX$38.21

44.61%

Onion (1kg)

$3.92 $3.92

$1.80 MX$33.79

117.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.36 $2.36

$1.48 MX$27.77

59.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.76 $2.76

$1.27 MX$23.80

117.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.03 $10.03

$5.30 MX$99.6

89.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 $13.88

$16.10 MX$302

-13.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.24 $2.24

$1.98 MX$37.23

13.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.76 $5.76

$4.25 MX$79.8

35.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.08 $5.08

$0.31 MX$5.73

1538.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.06 $3.06

$1.84 MX$34.50

66.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 $1.49

$0.53 MX$10.02

181.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.06 $22.06

$5.30 MX$99.4

316.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.51 MX$28.36

-31.13%

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

$34.9K $34.9K

$21.8K MX$408.4K

60.37%

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

$25.5K $25.5K

$24.0K MX$450.3K

6.23%

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

$156 $156

$63.0 MX$1,182

147.63%

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

$50.3 $50.3

$27.39 MX$514

83.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$78.1 $78.1

$35.67 MX$670

118.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.14 $29.14

$58.9 MX$1,107

-50.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

Cinema Ticket

$18.21 $18.21

$6.40 MX$120

184.53%

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

$1,890 $1,890

$432 MX$8,103

337.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.0K $32.0K

$11.4K MX$214.5K

179.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 $53.5

$68.2 MX$1,281

-21.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.89 $45.89

$53.1 MX$997

-13.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.8 $86.8

$108 MX$2,023

-19.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 $105

$117 MX$2,202

-10.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,245 $1,245

$1,113 MX$20.9K

11.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,503 $1,503

$710 MX$13.3K

111.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,010 $2,010

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-22.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,860 $2,860

$1,406 MX$26.4K

103.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,292 $3,292

$3,631 MX$68.2K

-9.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,321 $2,321

$2,135 MX$40.1K

8.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,746 $3,746

$946 MX$17.8K

295.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.63

11.35

-41.59%

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

Last update for Sterling: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sterling

$1.5K 53.4%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 52.7% $792

Groceries & Markets

Sterling

$475 16.9%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 32.8% $156

Eating Out

Sterling

$324 11.5%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 38.7% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sterling

$284 10.1%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 55.7% $158

Clothing & Footwear

Sterling

$131 4.7%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 18.9% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Sterling

$66 2.3%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 9.4% $6.2

Getting Around

Sterling

$31 * 1.1%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 17.4% $5.4

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 $1,245 in Sterling and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sterling pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $75 in Sterling vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $475 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Sterling

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

15:16 3:16 PM

Same time as Sterling

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,782

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sterling Mexico City 2,640 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sterling
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,814 in Sterling and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Mexico City is about 43% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Sterling is about 4 times higher, 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: $1,245 in Sterling versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,890 in Sterling 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 $75 in Sterling. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Mexico City wins on affordability, Sterling on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.