01
Cost of living
$780/mo
MX · MEXICO-CITYLocal facts
Living in Mexico City.
Mexico's capital and largest city: a huge, low-cost metro with an exceptionally mild highland climate (spring-like all year), the country's deepest international-school and services market, and neighbourhoods like Roma and Condesa that have become a magnet for remote workers — offset by high urban air pollution in the dry-cold season.
VerifiedUpdated
Population 9,209,944
· America/Mexico_City· Mexico rules apply
INEGI — Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020, resultados Ciudad de México (press bulletin)
Official source
- Data as of
- Mar 15, 2020
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Notes
- Population of the federal entity Ciudad de México (the 16 alcaldías / city proper), 2020 Census. The wider Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México is far larger (~21 million) but spans neighbouring México State and Hidalgo municipalities. INEGI's Encuesta Intercensal 2025 (fieldwork Oct–Nov 2025) will update this; results are not published until September 2026, so the 2020 Census remains the authoritative official count.
MX · MEXICO-CITY
01
At a glance
The headline numbers for Mexico City — each with its own source and freshness. A live official figure is not the same as a survey estimate or a 30-year climate normal.
8.6/10
02
Rent, 1–3 bed
$765–$2,020
/mo
03
Freelancer tax
2%
Safety
0.3/1025.6/100k
Air quality
4.0/1020 µg/m³
Internet
1.0/1018 Mbps
English
2.0/10Low
Private health
6.5/10$1,800/yr
What the tags meanofficial — live figure from a government or authorityopen data — open dataset (Eurostat, EEA, M-Lab, UdSC…)survey — survey or index estimatecurated — SettleMetric-assembled estimate — open the source for the method
02
What it costs you per month
A planning estimate: real asking rent plus a cost-of-living basket scaled to your household. Not a quote.
Household
Lifestyle
Location
Estimated total
$1,545/mo
≈ $18,540 / year
Where it goes
- Rent (1-bed)$765
- Food & non-alcoholic drinks$300
- Transport$130
- Recreation, culture & education$90
- Restaurants & eating out$80
- Utilities (electricity, gas, water)$70
- Personal care & household goods$45
- Communications (mobile + internet)$40
- Health (out-of-pocket)$25
- Living costs$780
Rent from the asking-rent matrix below. Living costs scale a one-person basket ($780/mo) by household size and lifestyle; the equivalence factors are our assumption. Schooling and one-off setup are excluded.
03
Cost of living
What a single person spends each month — food, utilities, transport, eating out and the rest — excluding rent.
INEGI — ENIGH 2024 spending shares, scaled to a single-person basket
Curated by SettleMetric
- Data as of
- May 31, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- ENIGH 2024 monthly household spending shares (food/bev/tobacco 37.7%, transport & communications 19.5%, education & entertainment 9.6%, housing & services 9.1%, clothing, health etc.), rebased to a single-person no-rent basket and converted at 17.559 MXN/USD. Categories sum to the ≈$780/month cost-of-living aggregate. National average — a rough guide, not a survey of one-person households (INEGI does not headline a single-person series).
01Food & non-alcoholic drinks300 USD
02Transport130 USD
03Recreation, culture & education90 USD
04Restaurants & eating out80 USD
05Utilities (electricity, gas, water)70 USD
06Personal care & household goods45 USD
07Communications (mobile + internet)40 USD
08Health (out-of-pocket)25 USD
Mexico's household-budget basket for a single person, excluding rent. Non-rent costs vary little between cities — the city-specific part is rent, shown under Housing below.
01Cost of living (single, excl. rent)country-level780USD/month, single person, excluding rent8.6
What this measures
Monthly cost of a defined single-person basket (food, transport, utilities, mobile+internet, modest leisure) excluding rent, curated from national statistics office price data and large local retailers' published prices, converted to USD at the ECB rate recorded in fx-rates. The method field of each value itemizes the basket inputs.
Lower is betterUSD/month, single person, excluding rentre-verified every 365 days
Curated by SettleMetric
INEGI — ENIGH 2024 (gasto corriente monetario), scaled to a single-person basket
- Data as of
- May 31, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- ENIGH 2024 average household monetary current spending was 47,674 MXN/quarter ≈ 15,891 MXN/month across an average 3.4-person household. Removing housing rent, and taking the categories a single person still bears in full (food, utilities, transport, communications, personal care, leisure) at single-person rather than strict per-capita levels, gives ≈ 13,700 MXN/month for one person excluding rent. Converted at 17.559 MXN/USD (ECB EUR 20.0153 / USD 1.1399, 2026-07-02) ≈ $780/month. National average; Mexico City runs higher, smaller cities lower. See cost-breakdown for the itemised basket.
04
Housing
What it costs to rent, by apartment type and location.
Inmuebles24 Índice de Venta & Renta — Reporte de mercado Ciudad de México, enero 2026
Curated by SettleMetric
- Data as of
- Jan 31, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- City-wide asking rent per m² from the Inmuebles24 CDMX index (Jan 2026: 329 MXN/m²/mo at the 65 m² 2BR reference; 299 MXN/m²/mo at 100 m² 3BR) applied to typical sizes (studio 32 m², 1BR 48 m², 2BR 65 m², 3BR 100 m²) for the city-wide-by-type base. Central vs outside split derived from the index's own per-alcaldía averages: center ×1.18 (mean of the core alcaldías Cuauhtémoc 28,373, Miguel Hidalgo 26,986, Benito Juárez 20,540 MXN/mo ÷ city avg 21,398), outside ×0.82 (mean of the residential ring: Álvaro Obregón, Coyoacán, Azcapotzalco, Iztacalco, Gustavo A. Madero). Converted at 17.559 MXN/USD (fx-rates 2026-07-02).
- Notes
- Both the by-room-type and the central/outside cells are DERIVED — no single Inmuebles24 table crosses room count with center-vs-outside. The per-m² rates, the 2BR/3BR references, and the per-alcaldía averages are directly published; apartment sizes and the size→per-m² interpolation are assumptions stated in the method. 'Center' = the core alcaldías (Cuauhtémoc, Miguel Hidalgo, Benito Juárez, incl. Roma/Condesa/Polanco/Del Valle); 'outside' = the mid-tier residential ring, excluding the rural southern fringe (Milpa Alta, Tláhuac) which runs cheaper still.
| Apartment | Central | Outside centre |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | 769 USD/mo | 530 USD/mo |
| 1-bedroom | 1,110 USD/mo | 765 USD/mo |
| 2-bedroom | 1,441 USD/mo | 993 USD/mo |
| 3-bedroom | 2,020 USD/mo | 1,391 USD/mo |
05
Climate
Temperature and rainfall through the year, plus air quality.
Open data
- Data as of
- Dec 31, 2020
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- WMO 1991–2020 station normals for Tacubaya (central Mexico City, 2309 m elevation): parameter 4 = mean daily minimum temperature, parameter 3 = mean daily maximum temperature, parameter 1 = mean monthly precipitation total. NCEI accession 0253808 v6.6 (public domain). Annual: min 11.7 °C, max 23.6 °C, precip 655.2 mm.
Average day/night temperature (lines, left axis) and total rainfall (bars, right axis) for each month — 1991–2020 normals. Hover a month for exact figures.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daytime high °C | 20.8° | 23.2° | 25.1° | 26.6° | 26.5° | 24.9° | 23.7° | 23.8° | 23.0° | 22.5° | 21.8° | 21.2° |
| Nighttime low °C | 8.1° | 9.7° | 11.2° | 13.1° | 13.7° | 13.9° | 13.1° | 13.2° | 13.3° | 12.3° | 10.0° | 8.5° |
| Rainfall mm | 5 | 5 | 10 | 17 | 46 | 109 | 133 | 132 | 124 | 57 | 15 | 2 |
01Climate comfort12pleasant months/year10.0
What this measures
Number of months whose 1991–2020 climate normals satisfy: mean daily maximum between 15°C and 28°C and monthly precipitation under 150mm. Computed from the city's climate-normals indicator; the raw normals are stored alongside so users can judge by their own taste.
Higher is betterpleasant months/yearre-verified every 3650 days
Curated by SettleMetric
SettleMetric computation over climate-normals (Tacubaya WMO 76680)
- Data as of
- Dec 31, 2020
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Months with mean daily max 15–28 °C and precipitation < 150 mm. All 12 months qualify: max ranges 20.8–26.6 °C every month (Mexico City's high-altitude tropical climate has almost no seasonal temperature swing), and the wettest month (July, 133.2 mm) stays under the 150 mm threshold. = 12.
02Air quality (PM2.5)20µg/m³, annual mean PM2.54.0
What this measures
Annual mean fine-particulate (PM2.5) concentration for the city, latest available year. Anchors follow the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³ → 10) through the EU limit value territory (25 µg/m³ → 2). Preferred source: European Environment Agency city-level air quality data; outside Europe: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database or the national monitoring network.
Lower is betterµg/m³, annual mean PM2.5re-verified every 730 days
Official source
- Data as of
- Dec 31, 2023
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Network-wide annual mean PM2.5 for the Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México in 2023 = 20 µg/m³ (stations with ≥65% data sufficiency), reported by the official CDMX government air-quality authority (SEDEMA, Dirección de Monitoreo Atmosférico) using U.S. EPA reference-method monitors. Per-station annual means ranged from 15 µg/m³ at Pedregal (southern CDMX) to 21 µg/m³ at Xalostoc (in México State). PM10 annual mean was 41 µg/m³.
- Notes
- About 4× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³) and double the incoming Mexican NOM-025 annual limit of 10 µg/m³ (effective 2026). Highest concentrations occur in the dry-cold season (Nov–Feb) driven by thermal inversions and holiday fireworks; the rainy summer is much cleaner. Value is the metropolitan-area (ZMVM) network mean — no separate CDMX-proper city figure is published, but the southern CDMX stations run somewhat below the metro mean.
06
Safety
How safe daily life is, from official crime statistics.
01Homicide ratecountry-level25.6intentional homicides per 100,000/year0.3
What this measures
Intentional homicide victims per 100,000 population, latest available year. Country level: UNODC national series. City level: official municipal/police statistics where published; otherwise null (country value shown as country-level).
Lower is betterintentional homicides per 100,000/yearre-verified every 730 days
Official source
INEGI — Defunciones por homicidio 2024 (Reporte de resultados, 1-ago-2025)
- Data as of
- Dec 31, 2024
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Notes
- 33,241 homicide deaths registered in 2024, rate 25.6 per 100,000 (up from 24.9 in 2023). Highly uneven by state: Colima 123, Morelos 77, Baja California 65 at the top; Yucatán 3, Coahuila 4, Mexico City ~10 at the low end. The national figure masks large regional variation relevant to city choice.
Curated by SettleMetric
- Data as of
- Dec 31, 2024
- Verified
- Jul 12, 2026
- Method
- SESNSP recorded-offence counts (carpetas de investigación) for 2024 divided by the CONAPO mid-2024 population (132,274,416), times 100,000. Robo is split by violence into theft (sin violencia) and robbery (con violencia).
- Notes
- From SESNSP's incidencia delictiva del fuero común (investigation files, carpetas) for 2024. Robo is split by violence: theft = robo sin violencia, robbery = robo con violencia (burglary / casa habitación, about 34/100k, sits within these and is not added separately). Serious assault = lesiones dolosas (all intentional injury); drug offences = narcomenudeo (state jurisdiction only — federal trafficking is excluded); sexual violence = the whole 'libertad y seguridad sexual' offence group. Mexico's unreported share is very high (INEGI's ENVIPE estimates about 92% of crimes go unrecorded), so these levels understate real incidence — the composition is more informative than the absolute rates. Intentional homicide (about 22.7 victims/100k, SESNSP 2024) is the scored safety headline shown separately.
01Theft276per 100k
02Robbery132per 100k
03Serious assault124per 100k
04Drug offences69.8per 100k
05Sexual violence63.4per 100k
From SESNSP's incidencia delictiva del fuero común (investigation files, carpetas) for 2024. Robo is split by violence: theft = robo sin violencia, robbery = robo con violencia (burglary / casa habitación, about 34/100k, sits within these and is not added separately). Serious assault = lesiones dolosas (all intentional injury); drug offences = narcomenudeo (state jurisdiction only — federal trafficking is excluded); sexual violence = the whole 'libertad y seguridad sexual' offence group. Mexico's unreported share is very high (INEGI's ENVIPE estimates about 92% of crimes go unrecorded), so these levels understate real incidence — the composition is more informative than the absolute rates. Intentional homicide (about 22.7 victims/100k, SESNSP 2024) is the scored safety headline shown separately.
07
Infrastructure
Internet speed and how parcels get to your door.
01Domestic delivery qualitycountry-levelGood7.0
What this measures
Quality of in-country parcel delivery. excellent = nationwide next-day widely available, dense parcel-locker network, real-time tracking standard; good = 1–3 day delivery, lockers in major cities; basic = reliable but slow (3–7 days), mostly to-door or post-office pickup; poor = unreliable delivery, street addresses often unusable, informal workarounds common. Classified from official service/coverage data of the national postal operator and the two largest private carriers; inputs itemized in each value's method field.
Rated by category—re-verified every 730 days
Curated by SettleMetric
Estafeta / FedEx México / Correos de México (MexPost) official service pages (composite)
- Data as of
- Jul 4, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Classified from carrier service/coverage pages: FedEx México, DHL, Estafeta and Redpack offer next-day delivery in major cities with standard real-time tracking; Correos de México/MexPost and Estafeta reach rural areas but 'zonas extendidas' incur reexpedición surcharges and slower delivery; OXXO/convenience-store pickup is widespread. Landed on 'good' (not 'excellent') because coverage is dense in metros but slower and pricier in the rural long tail, and there is no nationwide parcel-locker network on the European scale.
- Notes
- Next-day in major cities; slower and surcharged in hard-to-reach zones.
02International delivery easecountry-levelSignificant friction4.0
What this measures
Ease of receiving goods from abroad. seamless = major international carriers deliver door-to-door, meaningful duty-free de-minimis threshold, customs clearance predictable in days; minor-friction = carriers present but low de-minimis, extra paperwork or routine delays; significant-friction = frequent customs holds, high brokerage fees, some marketplaces refuse to ship; unreliable = parcels regularly lost or blocked, informal import channels dominate. De-minimis thresholds and clearance rules from the national customs authority (official source, cite the regulation); carrier presence from carriers' official pages.
Rated by category—re-verified every 365 days
Official source
US Dept. of Commerce (trade.gov) — Mexico Customs Regulations (de minimis) & SAT RFC courier rule
- Data as of
- Oct 15, 2024
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Notes
- Major carriers (DHL, FedEx, UPS) deliver door-to-door, but import friction is real: de minimis is only USD $50 (duty- and VAT-free); USMCA-origin goods $50.01–$117 are duty-free but still bear 16% VAT; above $117 both duties and VAT apply. Since 2024-10-15 couriers require the consignee's RFC (Mexican tax ID) to use the simplified clearance procedure, and 2026 rules tightened low-value/textile imports. Customs holds and brokerage fees are common, so cross-border receiving is workable but bureaucratic.
03Internet speedcountry-level18.2Mbps, median fixed download1.0
What this measures
Median fixed-broadband download speed over the trailing 6 months from M-Lab NDT open data (CC0), aggregated at country or city level. Not comparable with Ookla figures (different test methodology) — do not mix sources within this criterion.
Higher is betterMbps, median fixed downloadre-verified every 365 days
Open data
M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Mexico
- Data as of
- Dec 31, 2023
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Median of the daily country median download values (download_MED) from M-Lab's public NDT statistics for Mexico, 2023 (the latest full year in M-Lab's published stats API; 2024+ files not yet available). Daily medians cluster tightly around 18 Mbps over hundreds of thousands of tests.
- Notes
- M-Lab NDT is a single-stream test and reads well below Ookla-style marketing figures (Mexican fixed connections commonly sell 50–200 Mbps) — comparable only within this criterion. Fixed broadband quality varies widely: fibre is strong in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, weaker in smaller towns.
08
Healthcare
What comprehensive private medical cover costs.
01Private healthcare costcountry-level1,800USD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-old6.5
What this measures
Median of at least three publicly quoted annual premiums for comprehensive private medical insurance (outpatient + inpatient, ~$100k coverage, small deductible) for a healthy 35-year-old resident foreigner, from local and international insurers. Method field lists the insurers quoted.
Lower is betterUSD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-oldre-verified every 365 days
Curated by SettleMetric
- Data as of
- Jul 4, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Comprehensive 'gastos médicos mayores' plans (major-medical: hospitalisation, surgery, plus outpatient riders) from GNP, AXA México, Allianz and Mapfre run roughly $120–190 USD/month for a healthy adult under 35 → ≈$1,440–$2,280/year. Midpoint ≈ $1,800/year. Premiums are quoted individually (age, deductible, hospital network), so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote. Mexican medical inflation is high (est. ~15% for 2026), pushing premiums up 20–40% year on year.
- Notes
- Comprehensive (with-inpatient) basis per the data-quality lesson. Residents also have free access to public IMSS-Bienestar/IMSS care, but private cover is the norm for expats/freelancers who want private-hospital access. Deductibles and coinsurance apply on top of the premium.
09
Money & crypto
Crypto rules and how freely personal money moves.
01Crypto regulationcountry-levelRestricted4.0
What this measures
Own classification of the legal status of holding, trading and cashing out cryptocurrency for individuals: legal-friendly (legal with clear, favourable rules or explicit tax exemptions), legal-regulated (legal under standard licensing/AML and taxation), restricted (partial bans: payments or banking access prohibited), banned (holding/trading prohibited). Classified from national regulators' and central banks' official positions.
Rated by category—re-verified every 180 days
Official source
Banco de México — Circular 4/2019 (Disposiciones aplicables a operaciones con activos virtuales)
- Data as of
- Mar 8, 2019
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Notes
- Holding and trading crypto is legal for individuals and gains are taxed under ISR as enajenación de bienes. But virtual assets are not legal tender, and Banxico Circular 4/2019 bars banks and regulated fintechs from offering crypto services (custody, exchange, transmission) to the public; no institution has been authorised. Individuals buy/sell through unregulated exchanges that cannot hold client fiat. Classified 'restricted' because banking-channel access to crypto is prohibited, not merely regulated.
02Financial control levelcountry-levelModerate7.0
What this measures
Own composite of state control over personal money flows: currency/capital controls (IMF AREAER), restrictions on foreign accounts and transfers, mandatory income declaration scope for residents, cash payment limits, banking access for foreigners. Low = free movement of personal funds and easy non-resident banking; very-high = strict capital controls and pervasive reporting. Method field on each value lists the inputs used.
Rated by category—re-verified every 365 days
Curated by SettleMetric
SAT — declaración anual / obligations, and Banco de México FX regime (composite)
- Data as of
- Jul 4, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Composite: the peso floats freely and is fully convertible with no capital or currency controls (IMF AREAER classifies MXN as free-floating); non-residents can open Mexican bank accounts (requires RFC/CURP and proof of address, more friction than the EU). No FBAR-style personal foreign-account disclosure regime, though CRS applies via banks and Mexico joined the crypto CARF reporting from 2026. Cash caps: purchases in cash above ~$100,000–500,000 MXN trigger anti-money-laundering reporting by the counterparty (Ley Antilavado), and cash payments above certain limits are non-deductible. Rated 'moderate' rather than 'low' because of RFC-gated banking, mandatory e-invoicing (CFDI) capturing most income, and AML cash-reporting thresholds.
10
Language
How far English gets you in daily life and services.
01English proficiencycountry-levelLow2.0
What this measures
Own banding of how far English gets a resident in daily life (government offices, healthcare, housing, services). Informed by EF EPI band (research source, cited with attribution, not republished) plus official language status and service-sector realities. Values are our bands, not EF scores.
Rated by category—re-verified every 730 days
Research
EF EPI 2025 — Mexico (score 440, rank 103/123, Low band)
- Data as of
- Nov 1, 2025
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Notes
- Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): Mexico scores 440 and ranks 103rd, in EF's 'Low' band. English is workable in tourist zones, international business, and among younger urban professionals, but government offices, healthcare, and everyday services are conducted in Spanish; functional Spanish is effectively required for daily life.
11
Education
International schooling options for families.
01International schools19accredited international schools, count9.1
What this measures
Count of international schools in the metro area accredited by or member of IB, CIS, COBIS, or an equivalent national-curriculum-abroad body (verified against the accreditor's public registry, not aggregator sites).
Higher is betteraccredited international schools, countre-verified every 730 days
Curated by SettleMetric
- Data as of
- Jul 4, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Deduplicated count of Mexico City metro schools accredited by/member of the qualifying bodies (IB, Cambridge, AEFE, German Auslandsschulwesen, US/College Board, CIS/COBIS). IB finder lists 17 IB World Schools in the CDMX metro (Greengates, Eton, The American School Foundation, Edron Academy, Westhill, Peterson, Olinca, Churchill, Winpenny, Instituto Thomas Jefferson ×2, Escuela Lomas Altas, Colegio Lomas Hill, Atid, Tomás Alva Edison, Schweizerschule, British American School). Added, not in the IB list: Lycée Franco-Mexicain (AEFE-homologated, aefe.gouv.fr) and Colegio Alemán Alexander von Humboldt (German ZfA 'Excellent German School', 3 metro campuses counted as one institution). = 19.
- Notes
- ±2 uncertainty. The IB finder may include candidate (not-yet-authorised) schools; several IB schools also hold Cambridge/US accreditation but are counted once; Cambridge-only or CIS/COBIS-only schools not in the IB list may be undercounted. Count spans the wider CDMX metropolitan area (some campuses, e.g. Greengates and Colegio Alemán's Lomas Verdes site, sit in adjoining México State suburbs).
12
Demographics
Who else lives here — the share of foreign residents and the largest national communities, from official statistics.
Openness to foreignerscountry-levelModerateGallup MAI 4.75/9 · 2016
What this measures
How accepting the resident population is of migrants and foreigners — the inverse of xenophobia, a real concern for someone relocating. Our own five-band reading (very-open / open / moderate / reserved / low) informed primarily by the Gallup Migrant Acceptance Index (0–9 scale: three questions on migrants living in the country, becoming neighbours, and marrying into the family; 2019 wave), cross-checked where available with the World Values Survey wave 7 / European Values Study 2017 question on whether people would not want immigrants or foreign workers as neighbours (a higher share = more hostile). Banding guide against the Gallup 0–9 score: ≥7.0 very-open, 5.5–7.0 open, 4.0–5.5 moderate, 2.5–4.0 reserved, below 2.5 low (the 2019 global average of 5.21 sits in 'moderate'). Country level only: no credible city-level survey of attitudes to foreigners exists, so on city pages the country reading is shown as country context. Gallup is a research source cited with attribution, not republished in bulk; the raw index score/year and any cross-check figure are carried inside each value. Value shape: { band, gallupMai?, gallupYear?, unwantedNeighborPct?, unwantedNeighborSource? }. Display-only: attitudinal, survey-based and ~2019 vintage, so it is shown as honest context and never folded into the composite score.
Reference data—re-verified every 1825 days
Research
- Data as of
- Aug 23, 2017
- Verified
- Jul 15, 2026
- Notes
- Gallup MAI 4.75/9 (2016/2017 wave) — near the global average, moderate band; no exact 2019 per-country figure was published. Band: moderate.
INEGI — Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020 (población nacida en otro país)
Official source
- Data as of
- Mar 15, 2020
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Notes
- 1,212,252 residents were born abroad in the 2020 census = 0.96% of the 126M population. Basis is BIRTHPLACE, not citizenship: Mexico's census records country of birth, and 48.8% of the foreign-born actually hold Mexican nationality (largely US-born children of returning Mexican migrants), so the true foreign-national share is lower. No newer national figure is published (next census 2030); post-2020 growth in Venezuelan, Haitian and US remote-worker arrivals is not captured here.
Largest communities of the foreign-born1,212,252 total
INEGI Censo 2020 / CONAPO — población nacida en el extranjero por país de nacimiento
Official source
- Data as of
- Mar 15, 2020
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Notes
- Basis is country of BIRTH, not citizenship. The United States dominates (797,266; ~66% of foreign-born) — many are minor children of Mexican return migrants who also hold Mexican nationality, so this overstates the resident US-national community. totalForeign = 1,212,252 (full census). Counts for the US, Guatemala and Venezuela are from the INEGI/CONAPO release directly; the remaining countries (Colombia, Honduras, Cuba, Spain, El Salvador, Argentina) are the next-ranked countries of birth from the 2020 census tabulations as compiled from INEGI census data (cross-checked, secondary compilation). Shares = count ÷ total.
01United States65.8%797,266
02Guatemala4.7%56,810
03Venezuela4.4%52,948
04Colombia3%36,234
05Honduras2.9%35,361
06Cuba2.1%25,976
07Spain1.7%20,763
08El Salvador1.6%19,736
09Argentina1.5%18,693
Basis is country of BIRTH, not citizenship. The United States dominates (797,266; ~66% of foreign-born) — many are minor children of Mexican return migrants who also hold Mexican nationality, so this overstates the resident US-national community. totalForeign = 1,212,252 (full census). Counts for the US, Guatemala and Venezuela are from the INEGI/CONAPO release directly; the remaining countries (Colombia, Honduras, Cuba, Spain, El Salvador, Argentina) are the next-ranked countries of birth from the 2020 census tabulations as compiled from INEGI census data (cross-checked, secondary compilation). Shares = count ÷ total.
13
How you can stay
How you can legally enter and stay. These apply across Mexico.
All requirements & citizenship filter- 01Temporary Resident visa by economic solvencyTemporary residenceAll citizenshipsincome ≥ 79,771 MXN/monthApply at a Mexican consulate abroad (cannot be initiated inside Mexico); proof of economic solvency by foreign income OR savings1 yr +→ PR path
- 02Visitor without permission for paid activities (FMM, up to 180 days)Visa-free stayAll citizenshipsNationals of visa-exempt countries (incl. EU, US, UK, Canada, most of Latin America) enter on a Forma Migratoria Múltiple; other nationalities need a visitor visa or a valid US/UK/EU/Canada/Japan visa or residence6 mo
- 03Temporary Resident by job offer (employer-sponsored)Temporary residenceAll citizenshipsA Mexican employer files a job-offer petition (oferta de empleo) with the INM and obtains an authorised NUT before the applicant attends the consulate1 yr +→ PR path
- 04Permanent Resident by economic solvency (retiree/pensioner)Temporary residenceAll citizenshipsincome ≥ 133,733 MXN/monthApply at a Mexican consulate abroad on grounds of pension/retirement income or high savings; grants permanent residence directly (indefinite, no renewal)10 yrs→ PR path
14
What you'd pay in taxes
The tax schemes a freelancer can choose from. Rules are national, the same in Mexico City as anywhere in Mexico.
Full schemes & calculator- 01RESICO — Régimen Simplificado de Confianza (personas físicas)2% of revenue2.0%burden at €60k
- 02Actividades empresariales y profesionales (honorarios) — progressive ISRprogressive on profit: 2% up to 10,135, 6% up to 86,022, 11% up to 151,176, 16% up to 175,736, 18% up to 210,404, 21% up to 424,354, 24% up to 668,840, 30% up to 1,276,926, 32% up to 1,702,568, 34% up to 5,107,704, 35% above23.6%burden at €60k
See what you would keep
Your income against Mexico's real tax schemes — the same engine as the full calculator.
- 1 RESICO — Régimen Simplificado de Confianza (personas físicas)58,800 EURnet/year2.0% burden
- 2 Actividades empresariales y profesionales (honorarios) — progressive ISR45,822 EURnet/year23.6% burden
15
Who is Mexico City for?
The same place reads differently depending on why you move. Each lens pulls the facts that matter most for that plan — with sources, and the trade-offs stated plainly.
Contract or freelance in tech, billing clients abroad.
Works in your favour
Freelancer tax burden2%
SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (Art. 113-E LISR, SAT)
Curated by SettleMetric
- Data as of
- Jan 1, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Best eligible scheme mx-resico at €60,000 = 1,200,918 MXN (ECB 20.0153 MXN/EUR, 2026-07-02). RESICO annual income in the $1M–$2.5M band → 2.0% of gross with no deductions → ISR 24,018.36 MXN, and no mandatory social contributions (IMSS is voluntary in Mexico). Total burden 24,018.36 / 1,200,918 = 2.0%. The general professional-activity regime would tax the same profile at roughly 20.7% (see mx-actividad-profesional), so RESICO is decisively better for a low-cost freelancer.
Cost of living (single, excl. rent)$780/mo
INEGI — ENIGH 2024 (gasto corriente monetario), scaled to a single-person basket
Curated by SettleMetric
- Data as of
- May 31, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- ENIGH 2024 average household monetary current spending was 47,674 MXN/quarter ≈ 15,891 MXN/month across an average 3.4-person household. Removing housing rent, and taking the categories a single person still bears in full (food, utilities, transport, communications, personal care, leisure) at single-person rather than strict per-capita levels, gives ≈ 13,700 MXN/month for one person excluding rent. Converted at 17.559 MXN/USD (ECB EUR 20.0153 / USD 1.1399, 2026-07-02) ≈ $780/month. National average; Mexico City runs higher, smaller cities lower. See cost-breakdown for the itemised basket.
Domestic delivery qualityGood
Estafeta / FedEx México / Correos de México (MexPost) official service pages (composite)
Curated by SettleMetric
- Data as of
- Jul 4, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Classified from carrier service/coverage pages: FedEx México, DHL, Estafeta and Redpack offer next-day delivery in major cities with standard real-time tracking; Correos de México/MexPost and Estafeta reach rural areas but 'zonas extendidas' incur reexpedición surcharges and slower delivery; OXXO/convenience-store pickup is widespread. Landed on 'good' (not 'excellent') because coverage is dense in metros but slower and pricier in the rural long tail, and there is no nationwide parcel-locker network on the European scale.
- Notes
- Next-day in major cities; slower and surcharged in hard-to-reach zones.
Watch-outs
Internet speed18 Mbps
M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Mexico
Open data
- Data as of
- Dec 31, 2023
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Median of the daily country median download values (download_MED) from M-Lab's public NDT statistics for Mexico, 2023 (the latest full year in M-Lab's published stats API; 2024+ files not yet available). Daily medians cluster tightly around 18 Mbps over hundreds of thousands of tests.
- Notes
- M-Lab NDT is a single-stream test and reads well below Ookla-style marketing figures (Mexican fixed connections commonly sell 50–200 Mbps) — comparable only within this criterion. Fixed broadband quality varies widely: fibre is strong in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, weaker in smaller towns.
English proficiencyLow
EF EPI 2025 — Mexico (score 440, rank 103/123, Low band)
Research
- Data as of
- Nov 1, 2025
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Notes
- Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): Mexico scores 440 and ranks 103rd, in EF's 'Low' band. English is workable in tourist zones, international business, and among younger urban professionals, but government offices, healthcare, and everyday services are conducted in Spanish; functional Spanish is effectively required for daily life.
Relocating with a partner and school-age children.
Works in your favour
International schools19
Curated by SettleMetric
- Data as of
- Jul 4, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Deduplicated count of Mexico City metro schools accredited by/member of the qualifying bodies (IB, Cambridge, AEFE, German Auslandsschulwesen, US/College Board, CIS/COBIS). IB finder lists 17 IB World Schools in the CDMX metro (Greengates, Eton, The American School Foundation, Edron Academy, Westhill, Peterson, Olinca, Churchill, Winpenny, Instituto Thomas Jefferson ×2, Escuela Lomas Altas, Colegio Lomas Hill, Atid, Tomás Alva Edison, Schweizerschule, British American School). Added, not in the IB list: Lycée Franco-Mexicain (AEFE-homologated, aefe.gouv.fr) and Colegio Alemán Alexander von Humboldt (German ZfA 'Excellent German School', 3 metro campuses counted as one institution). = 19.
- Notes
- ±2 uncertainty. The IB finder may include candidate (not-yet-authorised) schools; several IB schools also hold Cambridge/US accreditation but are counted once; Cambridge-only or CIS/COBIS-only schools not in the IB list may be undercounted. Count spans the wider CDMX metropolitan area (some campuses, e.g. Greengates and Colegio Alemán's Lomas Verdes site, sit in adjoining México State suburbs).
Private healthcare cost$1,800/yr
Curated by SettleMetric
- Data as of
- Jul 4, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Comprehensive 'gastos médicos mayores' plans (major-medical: hospitalisation, surgery, plus outpatient riders) from GNP, AXA México, Allianz and Mapfre run roughly $120–190 USD/month for a healthy adult under 35 → ≈$1,440–$2,280/year. Midpoint ≈ $1,800/year. Premiums are quoted individually (age, deductible, hospital network), so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote. Mexican medical inflation is high (est. ~15% for 2026), pushing premiums up 20–40% year on year.
- Notes
- Comprehensive (with-inpatient) basis per the data-quality lesson. Residents also have free access to public IMSS-Bienestar/IMSS care, but private cover is the norm for expats/freelancers who want private-hospital access. Deductibles and coinsurance apply on top of the premium.
Watch-outs
Homicide rate25.6/100k
INEGI — Defunciones por homicidio 2024 (Reporte de resultados, 1-ago-2025)
Official source
- Data as of
- Dec 31, 2024
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Notes
- 33,241 homicide deaths registered in 2024, rate 25.6 per 100,000 (up from 24.9 in 2023). Highly uneven by state: Colima 123, Morelos 77, Baja California 65 at the top; Yucatán 3, Coahuila 4, Mexico City ~10 at the low end. The national figure masks large regional variation relevant to city choice.
Air quality (PM2.5)20 µg/m³
Official source
- Data as of
- Dec 31, 2023
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Network-wide annual mean PM2.5 for the Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México in 2023 = 20 µg/m³ (stations with ≥65% data sufficiency), reported by the official CDMX government air-quality authority (SEDEMA, Dirección de Monitoreo Atmosférico) using U.S. EPA reference-method monitors. Per-station annual means ranged from 15 µg/m³ at Pedregal (southern CDMX) to 21 µg/m³ at Xalostoc (in México State). PM10 annual mean was 41 µg/m³.
- Notes
- About 4× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³) and double the incoming Mexican NOM-025 annual limit of 10 µg/m³ (effective 2026). Highest concentrations occur in the dry-cold season (Nov–Feb) driven by thermal inversions and holiday fireworks; the rainy summer is much cleaner. Value is the metropolitan-area (ZMVM) network mean — no separate CDMX-proper city figure is published, but the southern CDMX stations run somewhat below the metro mean.
Optimising tax, banking and crypto rules.
Works in your favour
Financial control levelModerate
SAT — declaración anual / obligations, and Banco de México FX regime (composite)
Curated by SettleMetric
- Data as of
- Jul 4, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Composite: the peso floats freely and is fully convertible with no capital or currency controls (IMF AREAER classifies MXN as free-floating); non-residents can open Mexican bank accounts (requires RFC/CURP and proof of address, more friction than the EU). No FBAR-style personal foreign-account disclosure regime, though CRS applies via banks and Mexico joined the crypto CARF reporting from 2026. Cash caps: purchases in cash above ~$100,000–500,000 MXN trigger anti-money-laundering reporting by the counterparty (Ley Antilavado), and cash payments above certain limits are non-deductible. Rated 'moderate' rather than 'low' because of RFC-gated banking, mandatory e-invoicing (CFDI) capturing most income, and AML cash-reporting thresholds.
Freelancer tax burden2%
SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (Art. 113-E LISR, SAT)
Curated by SettleMetric
- Data as of
- Jan 1, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Best eligible scheme mx-resico at €60,000 = 1,200,918 MXN (ECB 20.0153 MXN/EUR, 2026-07-02). RESICO annual income in the $1M–$2.5M band → 2.0% of gross with no deductions → ISR 24,018.36 MXN, and no mandatory social contributions (IMSS is voluntary in Mexico). Total burden 24,018.36 / 1,200,918 = 2.0%. The general professional-activity regime would tax the same profile at roughly 20.7% (see mx-actividad-profesional), so RESICO is decisively better for a low-cost freelancer.
Watch-outs
Crypto regulationRestricted
Banco de México — Circular 4/2019 (Disposiciones aplicables a operaciones con activos virtuales)
Official source
- Data as of
- Mar 8, 2019
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Notes
- Holding and trading crypto is legal for individuals and gains are taxed under ISR as enajenación de bienes. But virtual assets are not legal tender, and Banxico Circular 4/2019 bars banks and regulated fintechs from offering crypto services (custody, exchange, transmission) to the public; no institution has been authorised. Individuals buy/sell through unregulated exchanges that cannot hold client fiat. Classified 'restricted' because banking-channel access to crypto is prohibited, not merely regulated.
Prioritising safety, air, and an easy daily life.
Works in your favour
Climate comfort12/12 mo
SettleMetric computation over climate-normals (Tacubaya WMO 76680)
Curated by SettleMetric
- Data as of
- Dec 31, 2020
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Months with mean daily max 15–28 °C and precipitation < 150 mm. All 12 months qualify: max ranges 20.8–26.6 °C every month (Mexico City's high-altitude tropical climate has almost no seasonal temperature swing), and the wettest month (July, 133.2 mm) stays under the 150 mm threshold. = 12.
Cost of living (single, excl. rent)$780/mo
INEGI — ENIGH 2024 (gasto corriente monetario), scaled to a single-person basket
Curated by SettleMetric
- Data as of
- May 31, 2026
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- ENIGH 2024 average household monetary current spending was 47,674 MXN/quarter ≈ 15,891 MXN/month across an average 3.4-person household. Removing housing rent, and taking the categories a single person still bears in full (food, utilities, transport, communications, personal care, leisure) at single-person rather than strict per-capita levels, gives ≈ 13,700 MXN/month for one person excluding rent. Converted at 17.559 MXN/USD (ECB EUR 20.0153 / USD 1.1399, 2026-07-02) ≈ $780/month. National average; Mexico City runs higher, smaller cities lower. See cost-breakdown for the itemised basket.
Watch-outs
Homicide rate25.6/100k
INEGI — Defunciones por homicidio 2024 (Reporte de resultados, 1-ago-2025)
Official source
- Data as of
- Dec 31, 2024
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Notes
- 33,241 homicide deaths registered in 2024, rate 25.6 per 100,000 (up from 24.9 in 2023). Highly uneven by state: Colima 123, Morelos 77, Baja California 65 at the top; Yucatán 3, Coahuila 4, Mexico City ~10 at the low end. The national figure masks large regional variation relevant to city choice.
Air quality (PM2.5)20 µg/m³
Official source
- Data as of
- Dec 31, 2023
- Verified
- Jul 4, 2026
- Method
- Network-wide annual mean PM2.5 for the Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México in 2023 = 20 µg/m³ (stations with ≥65% data sufficiency), reported by the official CDMX government air-quality authority (SEDEMA, Dirección de Monitoreo Atmosférico) using U.S. EPA reference-method monitors. Per-station annual means ranged from 15 µg/m³ at Pedregal (southern CDMX) to 21 µg/m³ at Xalostoc (in México State). PM10 annual mean was 41 µg/m³.
- Notes
- About 4× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³) and double the incoming Mexican NOM-025 annual limit of 10 µg/m³ (effective 2026). Highest concentrations occur in the dry-cold season (Nov–Feb) driven by thermal inversions and holiday fireworks; the rainy summer is much cleaner. Value is the metropolitan-area (ZMVM) network mean — no separate CDMX-proper city figure is published, but the southern CDMX stations run somewhat below the metro mean.
16
Video reviews
Hand-picked YouTube tours and living-here guides — each one checked to still play.
Cost of living in Mexico City: Roma and Condesa vs Polanco
Living in Latin America · Prices compared neighbourhood by neighbourhood
17
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Full country picture:
Mexico overview