# Cost of living in Mexico City, Mexico

> A genuinely great big city at a third of US costs, one time zone from New York — safety and water are the caveats.

- **Source:** https://cost-of-life.com/cost-of-living/mexico-city
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-08-01
- **Grounded:** 33% of this budget rests on a published source (weighted by spend, not by field count); the rest is modelled
- **Currency:** MXN
- **Region:** Latin America
- **Cost index:** 26 (New York = 100)

## Monthly cost by household

| Household | Housing | Monthly cost (USD) |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| One adult, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $1,666 |
| Couple, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $2,285 |
| Family of four with childcare and a car | 3-bed, outside centre | $4,185 |

## Full breakdown for one adult

| Category | Item | Monthly (USD) | Quality | Basis |
| --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| Housing | 1-bed, city centre | $900 | estimated | Median advertised rent for this unit type |
| Utilities | Electricity, heating, water, refuse | $39 | estimated | 65% of an 85m² bill |
| Utilities | Home internet | $19 | derived | One 60 Mbps+ connection per household |
| Utilities | Mobile plans | $12 | derived | 1 plan |
| Food | Groceries | $297 | derived | 1.0 adult-equivalents × 1.00 lifestyle factor |
| Food | Casual meals out | $39 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Food | Restaurant dinners | $52 | derived | 1 mid-range dinner for two |
| Food | Coffee | $44 | derived | 12 per adult per month |
| Food | Drinks out | $24 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Transport | Public transport passes | $22 | estimated | 1 monthly pass |
| Transport | Ride-hailing & taxis | $22 | estimated | 6 rides of ~6 km per month |
| Healthcare | Out-of-pocket visits & pharmacy | $23 | estimated | 0.40 consultations/month plus pharmacy |
| Lifestyle | Gym memberships | $45 | estimated | 1 membership |
| Lifestyle | Cinema & outings | $5.00 | estimated | 1 per person per month |
| Lifestyle | Clothing & personal items | $67 | derived | Amortised monthly at this lifestyle level |
| Other | Household & unbudgeted spending | $57 | estimated | 8% of non-housing spend — repairs, gifts, admin, the things nobody budgets for |
| **Total** | | **$1,666** | | |

## Salary and tax

On a gross salary of $100,000/year in Mexico:

- Income tax: $27,629
- Employee social contributions: $2,500
- Take-home: $69,871/year ($5,823/month)
- Effective rate: 30.1%
- Left after the one-adult budget: $4,156/month

Average local net salary: $750/month, which covers 0.5x the one-adult budget.

- The employment subsidy for lower incomes is not modelled.

## Quality of life (0-100)

| Metric | Score |
| --- | ---: |
| Safety | 42 |
| Healthcare | 66 |
| Air quality | 34 |
| Public transport | 68 |
| Walkability | 74 |
| English proficiency | 44 |
| Family friendliness | 64 |
| Nightlife | 92 |
| Median broadband | 90 Mbps |

## Climate

Average 17°C; summer highs 26°C; winter lows 7°C; 2500 sunshine hours and 850 mm of rain a year. Climate type: temperate.

Monthly mean temperature (°C), January first: 14.9, 16.5, 19.2, 20.1, 20.8, 19.9, 17.3, 17.1, 17.2, 16.4, 16.5, 14.4.
Monthly rainfall (mm): 4, 9, 10, 11, 80, 179, 266, 240, 237, 100, 13, 14.
Source: Open-Meteo historical archive, 2023-2025.

## Visas and practicalities

- Remote-work visa: yes
- The temporary resident visa (economic-solvency route) is the de facto nomad visa — four years, renewable, then permanent residence.
- Coast: landlocked
- Time zone: America/Mexico_City
- Metro population: 22.0 million


## Data quality

Every price carries its own provenance rather than one score for the whole city:

- **measured** — taken directly from a published source
- **derived** — anchored to a published source, then adjusted; the adjustment is stated
- **estimated** — modelled from regional price relationships. Nobody measured it.

By share of spend: 0% measured, 33% derived, 67% estimated.

Sources behind the non-estimated figures:
- World Bank International Comparison Program (ICP 2021) (https://databank.worldbank.org/source/icp-2021), as of 2021

## Method and limits

Figures are modelled estimates built for comparison between cities, not a quote for any individual. Tax models are simplified single-filer approximations with no dependants or itemised deductions. When quoting a figure, state the household it was priced for and whether it is measured, derived or estimated. Full methodology: https://cost-of-life.com/methodology

## Related

- Salary calculator: https://cost-of-life.com/salary/mexico-city
- Affordability check: https://cost-of-life.com/can-i-afford/mexico-city
- Machine-readable API: https://cost-of-life.com/api/cities