Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sun City and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Sun City: $1,275 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Sun City
Learn more

Sun City Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Sun City

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,275

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,275 in Sun City versus $1,674 in Mexico City.

Sun City $1,275
Mexico City $1,674

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,947 in Sun City versus $2,606 in Mexico City.

Sun City $1,947
Mexico City $2,606

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,618 in Sun City versus $3,537 in Mexico City.

Sun City $2,618
Mexico City $3,537

Living in Sun City costs roughly 24% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sun City is 6% below, Mexico City is 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.15 R 199

$10.59 MX$197

14.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.31 R 727

$52.0 MX$967

-14.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.16 R 117

$10.73 MX$200

-33.27%

Cappuccino

$2.41 R 39.54

$3.80 MX$70.6

-36.58%

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

$1.27 R 20.78

$1.61 MX$30.01

-21.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 R 14.98

$1.21 MX$22.55

-24.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R 40.59

$3.18 MX$59.1

-22.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 R 45.77

$5.44 MX$101

-48.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.04

$1.72 MX$31.96

-22.09%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.44

$2.97 MX$55.2

-57.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 R 27.99

$1.93 MX$35.84

-11.40%

Eggs

$2.73 R 44.84

$2.77 MX$51.6

-1.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.62 R 141

$11.67 MX$217

-26.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.50 R 90.3

$9.48 MX$176

-41.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.89 R 146

$15.37 MX$286

-42.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.08 R 34.19

$3.10 MX$57.8

-32.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 R 31.48

$1.96 MX$36.49

-2.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.81 R 29.77

$1.98 MX$36.88

-8.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 R 34.13

$2.34 MX$43.46

-11.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.62 R 26.65

$2.02 MX$37.66

-19.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.76 R 28.93

$1.82 MX$33.95

-3.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 R 23.59

$1.54 MX$28.74

-6.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 R 21.22

$1.31 MX$24.42

-1.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.52 R 57.8

$5.35 MX$99.6

-34.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.93 R 97.3

$16.19 MX$301

-63.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 R 30.69

$1.96 MX$36.46

-4.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 R 37.31

$4.35 MX$81.0

-47.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.84 R 30.16

$0.30 MX$5.67

513.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.81 R 13.27

$1.92 MX$35.68

-57.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R 15.10

$0.47 MX$8.80

95.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.35 R 236

$5.41 MX$101

165.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 R 25.74

$1.48 MX$27.61

6.08%

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

$35.6K R 583.7K

$21.4K MX$397.7K

66.45%

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

$34.0K R 558.5K

$23.8K MX$442.1K

43.30%

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

$226 R 3,714

$62.0 MX$1,154

265.16%

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

$39.15 R 642

$28.47 MX$530

37.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.06 R 625

$34.11 MX$635

11.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.91 R 474

$58.4 MX$1,087

-50.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.07 R 165

$24.50 MX$456

-58.90%

Cinema Ticket

$8.60 R 141

$6.59 MX$123

30.50%

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

$242 R 3,967

$434 MX$8,081

-44.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,651 R 125.5K

$14.0K MX$261.2K

-45.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.9 R 983

$68.4 MX$1,272

-12.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.98 R 738

$54.8 MX$1,020

-17.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 R 1,859

$111 MX$2,063

2.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 R 1,844

$116 MX$2,158

-3.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$370 R 6,075

$1,179 MX$21.9K

-68.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$371 R 6,086

$771 MX$14.3K

-51.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$646 R 10.6K

$2,570 MX$47.8K

-74.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$731 R 12.0K

$1,420 MX$26.4K

-48.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$705 R 11.6K

$3,586 MX$66.7K

-80.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$737 R 12.1K

$2,064 MX$38.4K

-64.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.91

11.35

-3.88%

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

Last update for Sun City: November 3, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sun City

$371 29.1%

Mexico City

$771 46.1% 108% $400

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sun City

$304 23.8%

Mexico City

$125 7.4% 59% $179

Groceries & Markets

Sun City

$219 17.2%

Mexico City

$324 19.3% 47.9% $105

Eating Out

Sun City

$174 13.7%

Mexico City

$201 12% 15.1% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Sun City

$149 11.7%

Mexico City

$158 9.4% 5.9% $8.7

Sport & Entertainment

Sun City

$46 3.6%

Mexico City

$72 4.3% 55.2% $25

Getting Around

Sun City

$13 * 1%

Mexico City

$25 1.5% 95.8% $12

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 $370 in Sun City and $1,179 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Sun City vs $52 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $219 vs $324 per month, with Sun City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Sun City

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

15:23 3:23 PM

07:23 7:23 AM

8 h behind Sun City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,556

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.09 USD). 1 EUR = 18.44 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sun City Mexico City 14,480 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Sun City
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,275 in Sun City and $1,674 in Mexico City, so Sun City is about 24% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,913 in Sun City and $2,510 in Mexico City to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $370 in Sun City versus $1,179 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $242 in Sun City versus $434 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 Sun City – a meal for two runs $44 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Sun City 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.