Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ulm and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,567 a month against $2,140 in Ulm, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

104

Cost of Living Index in Ulm
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Ulm Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Ulm

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,140

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,140 in Ulm versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Ulm $2,140
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,245 in Ulm versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Ulm $3,245
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,350 in Ulm versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Ulm $4,350
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Ulm is roughly 37% 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: Ulm 59% above, Mexico City 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.80 €14.94

$10.75 MX$199

56.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.6 €59.2

$50.3 MX$929

32.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.31 €11.84

$11.10 MX$205

19.91%

Cappuccino

$3.84 €3.42

$3.68 MX$68.1

4.35%

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

$4.64 €4.13

$1.65 MX$30.42

181.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 €1.71

$1.30 MX$24.08

47.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.62 €4.11

$3.32 MX$61.3

39.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 €3.92

$5.54 MX$102

-20.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 €1.30

$1.77 MX$32.68

-16.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 €1.83

$3.05 MX$56.4

-32.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.14 €3.68

$2.01 MX$37.20

105.97%

Eggs

$3.64 €3.24

$2.77 MX$51.1

31.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.34 €12.76

$11.91 MX$220

20.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.83 €8.74

$9.33 MX$172

5.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.54 €22.72

$15.02 MX$278

70.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.44 €3.06

$3.08 MX$56.8

11.69%

Banana (1kg)

$2.21 €1.96

$1.95 MX$35.97

13.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 €1.71

$2.03 MX$37.54

-5.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.91 €3.48

$2.21 MX$40.92

76.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$2.02 MX$37.41

-46.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.82 MX$33.67

-38.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.66 €1.48

$1.52 MX$28.07

9.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 €1.06

$1.28 MX$23.65

-6.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.59 €8.53

$5.27 MX$97.4

81.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$16.12 MX$298

-64.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.95 MX$36.05

-41.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.52 €1.35

$4.25 MX$78.6

-64.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.10 €2.76

$0.31 MX$5.82

900.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$64.4 €57.3

$19.85 MX$367

224.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.52 MX$28.07

40.13%

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

$32.2K €28.6K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

53.09%

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

$37.9K €33.7K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

50.37%

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

$377 €336

$62.5 MX$1,155

503.66%

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

$34.04 €30.28

$28.77 MX$532

18.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.9 €47.05

$34.45 MX$637

53.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.61 €29.89

$57.1 MX$1,055

-41.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.70 €20.19

$24.81 MX$458

-8.50%

Cinema Ticket

$13.44 €11.95

$6.67 MX$123

101.50%

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

$441 €393

$431 MX$7,964

2.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K €11.6K

$11.7K MX$216.9K

11.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.3 €80.3

$70.8 MX$1,308

27.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.2 €49.08

$51.8 MX$958

6.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.4 €79.6

$109 MX$2,011

-17.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$148 €131

$112 MX$2,076

31.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$931 €828

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-11.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$749 €666

$665 MX$12.3K

12.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,830 €1,628

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-21.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,471 €1,308

$1,227 MX$22.7K

19.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,901 €5,249

$3,554 MX$65.7K

66.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,961 €3,524

$1,977 MX$36.5K

100.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,737 €3,324

$975 MX$18.0K

283.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.97

11.3

-64.87%

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

Last update for Ulm: October 13, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ulm

$749 35%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 11.2% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ulm

$464 21.7%

Mexico City

$126 8% 72.9% $338

Groceries & Markets

Ulm

$339 15.9%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 4.9% $17

Eating Out

Ulm

$279 13%

Mexico City

$203 13% 27.1% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Ulm

$172 8%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 10.2% $17

Getting Around

Ulm

$77 * 3.6%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 66.4% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Ulm

$60 2.8%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 16.5% $10

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 $931 in Ulm and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ulm pays 283% 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: $67.0 in Ulm vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $339 vs $323 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Ulm

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

23:29 11:29 PM

15:29 3:29 PM

8 h behind Ulm

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

121,648

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Ulm Mexico City 9,730 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Ulm
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

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

Ulm and Mexico City differ by about 37% in total monthly costs ($2,140 vs $1,567 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 283% higher in Ulm, 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: $931 in Ulm versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 224% less than in Ulm. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $441 in Ulm versus $431 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,567 in Mexico City versus $2,140 in Ulm, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Ulm. 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, Ulm 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 37% less than in Ulm. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.