Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Mexico instead of New York, you would:

Health

be 24.9% more likely to be obese

In New York, 29.9% of adults are obese as of 2022. In Mexico, that number is 37.4% of people as of 2024.

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Economy

be 39.3% less likely to be unemployed

In New York, 4.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Mexico, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.

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be 2.2 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In New York, 13.3% live below the poverty line as of 2023. In Mexico, however, that number is 29.6% as of 2024.

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make 84.9% less money

New York has a GDP per capita of $91,992 as of 2024, while in Mexico, the GDP per capita is $13,889 as of 2025.

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Sources: World Bank (2024–2025), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), World Health Organization (2024), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: New York vs. Mexico

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Mexico is 54.1% cheaper than New York
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Size Comparison · See true size
New York is about 16 times smaller than Mexico.
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Moving from New York to Mexico · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of New York City vs Mexico City
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Mexico: At a glance

Mexico is a sovereign country in North America, with a total land area of approximately 1,943,945 sq km. The site of several advanced Amerindian civilizations - including the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, and Aztec - Mexico was conquered and colonized by Spain in the early 16th century. Administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain for three centuries, it achieved its independence early in the 19th century. The global financial crisis beginning in late 2008 caused a massive economic downturn the following year, although growth returned quickly in 2010. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely indigenous population in the impoverished southern states. The elections held in 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that an opposition candidate - Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) - defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was succeeded in 2006 by another PAN candidate Felipe CALDERON, but Enrique PENA NIETO regained the presidency for the PRI in 2012. Since 2007, Mexico's powerful drug-trafficking organizations have engaged in bloody feuding, resulting in tens of thousands of drug-related homicides.
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How big is Mexico compared to New York? See an in-depth size comparison.

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