Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Van and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Van: $956 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Van
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Van Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Van

🇹🇷 Turkey

$956

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $956 in Van versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Van $956
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,536 in Van versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Van $1,536
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,116 in Van versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Van $2,116
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Van costs roughly 41% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Van is 30% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.48 ₺373

$10.62 MX$199

-29.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.59 ₺1,723

$48.35 MX$904

-28.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.93 ₺395

$10.35 MX$193

-23.38%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₺178

$3.69 MX$69.0

-3.25%

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

$1.14 ₺56.6

$1.67 MX$31.14

-31.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.42 ₺21.17

$1.27 MX$23.65

-66.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 ₺166

$3.19 MX$59.7

4.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 ₺154

$5.31 MX$99.2

-41.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.96 ₺47.67

$1.72 MX$32.23

-44.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 ₺49.80

$3.04 MX$56.8

-67.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 ₺112

$1.94 MX$36.27

15.98%

Eggs

$1.48 ₺73.9

$2.89 MX$54.0

-48.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.99 ₺448

$10.97 MX$205

-18.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.07 ₺203

$9.25 MX$173

-56.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.62 ₺1,127

$15.13 MX$283

49.50%

Apples (1kg)

$1.82 ₺90.9

$3.05 MX$57.0

-40.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 ₺91.1

$1.94 MX$36.27

-5.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.09 ₺54.3

$2.03 MX$37.85

-46.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.15 ₺57.4

$2.31 MX$43.25

-50.22%

Potato (1kg)

$0.52 ₺25.73

$2.04 MX$38.03

-74.51%

Onion (1kg)

$0.35 ₺17.44

$1.80 MX$33.63

-80.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 ₺36.87

$1.48 MX$27.64

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 ₺30.53

$1.27 MX$23.69

-51.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.16 ₺108

$5.30 MX$99.1

-59.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.36 ₺516

$16.10 MX$301

-35.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 ₺99.9

$1.98 MX$37.06

1.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ₺139

$4.25 MX$79.5

-34.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.73 ₺36.59

$0.31 MX$5.70

135.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$369

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.30 ₺64.6

$1.84 MX$34.34

-29.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 ₺37.85

$0.53 MX$9.97

43.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.21 ₺359

$5.30 MX$99.0

36.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 ₺64.0

$1.51 MX$28.23

-15.23%

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

$42.2K ₺2.1M

$21.8K MX$406.5K

94.17%

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

$38.9K ₺1.9M

$24.0K MX$448.2K

62.21%

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

$79.9 ₺3,981

$63.0 MX$1,177

26.87%

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

$10.46 ₺521

$27.39 MX$512

-61.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.39 ₺667

$35.67 MX$666

-62.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.0 ₺2,841

$58.9 MX$1,101

-3.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$442

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ₺324

$6.40 MX$120

1.41%

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

$624 ₺31.1K

$432 MX$8,065

44.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K ₺566.1K

$11.4K MX$213.5K

-0.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.86 ₺2,285

$68.2 MX$1,275

-32.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.35 ₺1,661

$53.1 MX$993

-37.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 ₺3,969

$108 MX$2,014

-26.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.8 ₺4,425

$117 MX$2,191

-24.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$469 ₺23.4K

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-57.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$278 ₺13.9K

$710 MX$13.3K

-60.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$816 ₺40.6K

$2,588 MX$48.4K

-68.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$586 ₺29.2K

$1,406 MX$26.3K

-58.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,491 ₺74.3K

$3,631 MX$67.8K

-58.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$968 ₺48.2K

$2,135 MX$39.9K

-54.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

41.33

11.35

264.14%

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

Last update for Van: 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

Van

$278 29.1%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 155% $432

Groceries & Markets

Van

$229 23.9%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 39.7% $91

Eating Out

Van

$156 16.3%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 27.7% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Van

$111 11.7%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 39.9% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Van

$104 10.9%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 21.5% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Van

$70 7.3%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 2.5% $1.7

Getting Around

Van

$8 * 0.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 217% $17

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 $469 in Van and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35 in Van vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $229 vs $320 per month, with Van cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Van

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

08:40 8:40 AM

23:40 11:40 PM

9 h behind Van

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,141,015

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.01 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 49.82 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.45 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Van Mexico City 12,480 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Van
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

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

Van and Mexico City differ by about 68% in total monthly costs ($956 vs $1,608 including rent). Van is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,434 in Van and $2,412 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: $469 in Van versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $624 in Van 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 Van – a meal for two runs $35 versus $48 in Mexico City. 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.