Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surrey, United Kingdom and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $3,025 in Surrey, rent and utilities included – about $17,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Surrey, United Kingdom
Mexico City, Mexico
Surrey
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$3,025
/mo nomad
Mexico City
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,608
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,025 in Surrey versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

  • Surrey $3,025
  • Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,456 in Surrey versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

  • Surrey $4,456
  • Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,887 in Surrey versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

  • Surrey $5,887
  • Mexico City $3,490

Living in Surrey is roughly 88% 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: Surrey 122% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Surrey
Mexico City
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$23.47 £17.53
$10.62 MX$200
121.00%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$59.5 £44.42
$48.35 MX$909
22.98%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.62 £7.19
$10.35 MX$194
-7.05%
Cappuccino
$4.77 £3.56
$3.69 MX$69.4
29.27%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.26 £1.69
$1.67 MX$31.32
35.33%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.48 £1.10
$1.27 MX$23.78
16.54%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$6.54 £4.89
$3.19 MX$60.0
105.02%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$6.15 £4.59
$5.31 MX$99.7
15.82%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Surrey
Mexico City
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.31 £0.98
$1.72 MX$32.41
-23.84%
White Bread (500g)
$2.10 £1.57
$3.04 MX$57.1
-30.92%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.60 £1.20
$1.94 MX$36.48
-17.53%
Eggs
$4.15 £3.10
$2.89 MX$54.3
43.60%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.62 £6.44
$10.97 MX$206
-21.42%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.33 £6.97
$9.25 MX$174
0.86%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$16.52 £12.34
$15.13 MX$284
9.19%
Apples (1kg)
$3.19 £2.38
$3.05 MX$57.3
4.59%
Banana (1kg)
$1.48 £1.11
$1.94 MX$36.48
-23.71%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.03 £1.52
$2.03 MX$38.06
-
Tomato (1kg)
$3.26 £2.43
$2.31 MX$43.50
41.13%
Potato (1kg)
$1.38 £1.03
$2.04 MX$38.25
-32.35%
Onion (1kg)
$1.79 £1.34
$1.80 MX$33.83
-0.56%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.40 £1.05
$1.48 MX$27.80
-5.41%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.17 £0.88
$1.27 MX$23.82
-7.87%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$23.32 £17.42
$5.30 MX$99.7
340.00%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.47 £7.82
$16.10 MX$303
-34.97%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.22 £1.66
$1.98 MX$37.27
12.12%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.50 £1.87
$4.25 MX$79.9
-41.18%
🚌 Getting Around
Surrey
Mexico City
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.90 £2.91
$0.31 MX$5.73
1158.06%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$19.73 MX$371
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.22 £3.90
$1.84 MX$34.53
183.70%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
-
$0.53 MX$10.03
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
-
$5.30 MX$99.5
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.93 £1.44
$1.51 MX$28.39
27.81%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.1K £28.5K
$21.8K MX$408.8K
75.30%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$41.0K £30.6K
$24.0K MX$450.8K
70.80%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Surrey
Mexico City
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$263 £196
$63.0 MX$1,184
317.13%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$13.29 £9.93
$27.39 MX$515
-51.48%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$35.87 £26.80
$35.67 MX$670
0.56%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Surrey
Mexico City
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$52.7 £39.40
$58.9 MX$1,108
-10.52%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.44 £13.78
$23.64 MX$444
-22.00%
Cinema Ticket
$13.07 £9.77
$6.40 MX$120
104.22%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Surrey
Mexico City
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$2,137 £1,597
$432 MX$8,111
395.24%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$29.9K £22.3K
$11.4K MX$214.7K
161.65%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Surrey
Mexico City
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$52.7 £39.40
$68.2 MX$1,282
-22.69%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$40.02 £29.90
$53.1 MX$999
-24.68%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$87.4 £65.3
$108 MX$2,026
-18.94%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$93.0 £69.5
$117 MX$2,204
-20.68%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Surrey
Mexico City
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,945 £1,453
$1,113 MX$20.9K
74.64%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,864 £1,393
$710 MX$13.4K
162.38%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$3,308 £2,471
$2,588 MX$48.6K
27.80%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$3,400 £2,540
$1,406 MX$26.4K
141.81%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$3,631 MX$68.2K
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$7,255 £5,420
$2,135 MX$40.1K
239.83%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Surrey
Mexico City
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$4,565 £3,410
$946 MX$17.8K
382.49%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.4
11.35
-52.42%

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

Last update for Surrey: October 27, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Surrey
$1.9K
Mexico City
$710 61.9% $1.2K
Eating Out
Surrey
$334
Mexico City
$199 40.5% $135
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Surrey
$312
Mexico City
$126 59.6% $186
Groceries & Markets
Surrey
$293
Mexico City
$320 9.1% $27
Clothing & Footwear
Surrey
$123
Mexico City
$156 26.8% $33
Sport & Entertainment
Surrey
$79
Mexico City
$72 9.1% $7.2
Getting Around
Surrey
$21 *
Mexico City
$25 22.4% $4.7

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 $1,945 in Surrey and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Surrey pays about 4.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $59 in Surrey vs $48 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $293 vs $320, with Surrey cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇬🇧 Surrey
🇲🇽 Mexico City
🕒 Local time
12:33 12:33 PM
06:33 6:33 AM
6 h behind Surrey
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
585
9,209,944 Capital
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Surrey Mexico City 8,920 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Surrey
  • 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
Surrey vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Surrey and in Mexico City?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $3,025 in Surrey and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Mexico City is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Surrey or Mexico City?
Average pay in Surrey is about 4.8 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in Surrey and in Mexico City?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,945 in Surrey versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Surrey and Mexico City?
Childcare runs $2,137 in Surrey versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper restaurants?
Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $59 in Surrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Which city is more doable on $3,000 per month?
At $1,608 in Mexico City versus $3,025 in Surrey, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Surrey. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Surrey and Mexico City?
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.
How do I decide between Surrey and Mexico City?
It comes down to priorities – Mexico City wins on affordability, Surrey on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.

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