Cost pair · Numbeo 2026 · real USD

New York, NY vs Mexico City: Cost of Living Compared

Mexico City is ~65% cheaper for a single person including rent: $1,566/month vs $4,521 in New York, NY (Numbeo 2026, ±15% band).

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New York, NY — monthly total

$4,521

single, incl. 1-bed rent outside centre

Mexico City — monthly total

$1,566

single, incl. 1-bed rent outside centre

The gap

$2,955

every month — 65% in Mexico City's favour

Side by side

New York, NY vs Mexico City: the numbers

Metric	New York, NY	Mexico City
Cost index (NYC=100)	100.0	45.9
Single, excl. rent	$1,660	$762
1-bed outside centre	$2,861	$804
1-bed city centre	$4,215	$1,184
Monthly total (single)	$4,521	$1,566
Family of 4, excl. rent	$6,163	$2,829
Groceries index	100.0	49.9
Restaurants index	100.0	48.6
Purchasing power index	100.0	48.6

The single biggest line item is rent: a one-bed outside the centre costs $2,861 in New York, NY vs $804 in Mexico City — a $2,057/month gap on housing alone. Day-to-day prices follow the same direction: groceries index 100.0 vs 49.9, restaurants 100.0 vs 48.6 (NYC = 100).

The caveat is the last row. New York, NY's local purchasing power index is 100.0 vs 48.6 in Mexico City — if you keep a foreign income (remote work, retirement, savings), the 65% discount is real; if you plan to earn a local salary, weigh what local wages buy, not just what things cost.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is Mexico City cheaper than New York, NY?

Mexico City is about 65% cheaper. A single person including one-bed rent outside the centre runs $1,566/month in Mexico City vs $4,521 in New York, NY (Numbeo 2026, ±15%).

What salary do I need in Mexico City to keep a $3,000 New York, NY lifestyle?

Roughly $1,039/month. Equivalent spend scales with the monthly totals: $3,000 × ($1,566 ÷ $4,521) = $1,039.

What does the monthly total include?

Numbeo's single-person monthly costs excluding rent (New York, NY $1,660, Mexico City $762) plus the median one-bedroom rent outside the city centre ($2,861 vs $804).

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About the data: GeoRank is built by a small team that thinks moving abroad shouldn't be guesswork. Every figure on this page is computed from the same public dataset that powers the interactive tools (cities-tools.json, CC-BY-4.0), with accuracy bands stated instead of false precision. See the methodology for source-by-source detail.

Sources: Numbeo 2026 (12,743 cities, 9.8M prices) · OECD Purchasing Power Parities 2026 · GeoRank cities-tools dataset (CC-BY-4.0). Methodology and accuracy bounds at methodology.