Cost of living comparison

compared to

Mexico City vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Mexico City is 31.6% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 21.1% more in Mexico City
Groceries: pay 46.0% more in Mexico City
Transportation: pay 35.5% less in Mexico City
Housing: pay 24.2% more in Mexico City
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in Mexico City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.2% more in Mexico City
Clothing: pay 15.2% more in Mexico City

The cost of childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, and clothing in Mexico City are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Mexico City.

Mexico City vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mexico City instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 21.1% more for restaurants

	South Africa	Mexico City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.97 ZAR167.75	$9.93 MX$201.81	+10.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.77 ZAR89.19	$7.45 MX$151.36	+56.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.95 ZAR17.85	$1.08 MX$21.94	+13.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 ZAR13.85	$0.77 MX$15.71	+4.3%
Average			+21.1%

South Africa vs. Mexico City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 46.0% more for groceries

	South Africa	Mexico City
Bread 1 loaf	$0.99 ZAR18.52	$2.45 MX$49.84	+147.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.67 ZAR68.71	$4.87 MX$98.92	+32.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.20 ZAR78.50	$5.51 MX$111.94	+31.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 ZAR41.64	$2.18 MX$44.36	-2.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.03 ZAR37.92	$3.57 MX$72.58	+76.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR12.66	$1.22 MX$24.83	+80.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 ZAR11.54	$0.67 MX$13.60	+8.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR12.00	$0.80 MX$16.24	+24.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR13.06	$0.83 MX$16.82	+18.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 ZAR10.35	$0.85 MX$17.30	+53.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 ZAR11.38	$0.83 MX$16.82	+35.9%
Average			+46.0%

South Africa vs. Mexico City - Cost of groceries

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pay 35.5% less for transportation

	South Africa	Mexico City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.99 ZAR93.27	$4.64 MX$94.26	-7.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$52.31 ZAR978.04	$17.87 MX$363.26	-65.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,607.77 ZAR385,297.34	$18,615.02 MX$378,391.19	-9.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.55 ZAR159.84	$3.47 MX$70.63	-59.4%
Average			-35.5%

South Africa vs. Mexico City - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.2% more for housing

	South Africa	Mexico City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$41.37 ZAR773.47	$24.38 MX$495.56	-41.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$382.55 ZAR7,152.49	$893.52 MX$18,162.78	+133.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$326.35 ZAR6,101.62	$544.24 MX$11,062.78	+66.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$80.40 ZAR1,503.18	$30.31 MX$616.14	-62.3%
Average			+24.2%

South Africa vs. Mexico City - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	South Africa	Mexico City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$174.12 ZAR3,255.40	$381.33 MX$7,751.29	+119.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,033.53 ZAR75,413.67	$8,426.99 MX$171,297.09	+108.9%
Average			+114.0%

South Africa vs. Mexico City - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.2% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Mexico City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.11 ZAR39.41	$2.73 MX$55.50	+29.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.88 ZAR35.20	$3.01 MX$61.11	+59.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.90 ZAR54.30	$3.92 MX$79.71	+35.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.50 ZAR551.56	$53.69 MX$1,091.31	+82.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.62 ZAR123.79	$4.96 MX$100.90	-25.0%
Average			+36.2%

South Africa vs. Mexico City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.2% more for clothing

	South Africa	Mexico City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.72 ZAR892.12	$56.36 MX$1,145.55	+18.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.06 ZAR599.40	$41.06 MX$834.62	+28.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.39 ZAR1,689.97	$91.99 MX$1,869.95	+1.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.37 ZAR1,521.29	$91.93 MX$1,868.67	+13.0%
Average			+15.2%

South Africa vs. Mexico City - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: January 2025

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