Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiayi and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiayi: $1,041 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Chiayi
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Chiayi Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Chiayi

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,041

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiayi and in Mexico City

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Chiayi and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,041 in Chiayi versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Chiayi $1,041
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,471 in Chiayi versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Chiayi $1,471
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,901 in Chiayi versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Chiayi $1,901
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Chiayi costs roughly 35% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiayi is 24% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.59 NT$150

$10.62 MX$200

-56.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.34 NT$1,511

$48.35 MX$909

-4.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.65 NT$184

$10.35 MX$194

-45.41%

Cappuccino

$3.29 NT$107

$3.69 MX$69.4

-10.84%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 NT$27.72

$1.67 MX$31.32

-49.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 NT$21.81

$1.27 MX$23.78

-47.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 NT$97.2

$3.19 MX$60.0

-6.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 NT$117

$5.31 MX$99.7

-32.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.95 NT$96.2

$1.72 MX$32.41

71.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.95 NT$63.5

$3.04 MX$57.1

-35.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.05 NT$99.5

$1.94 MX$36.48

57.22%

Eggs

$2.63 NT$85.8

$2.89 MX$54.3

-9.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.97 NT$619

$10.97 MX$206

72.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.89 NT$322

$9.25 MX$174

6.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.28 NT$694

$15.13 MX$284

40.65%

Apples (1kg)

$4.72 NT$154

$3.05 MX$57.3

54.75%

Banana (1kg)

$3.28 NT$107

$1.94 MX$36.48

69.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 NT$93.5

$2.03 MX$38.06

41.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.23 NT$138

$2.31 MX$43.50

83.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.65 NT$86.2

$2.04 MX$38.25

29.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.20 NT$71.6

$1.80 MX$33.83

22.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.72 NT$56.1

$1.48 MX$27.80

16.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 NT$36.48

$1.27 MX$23.82

-11.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.75 NT$122

$5.30 MX$99.7

-29.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.48 NT$146

$16.10 MX$303

-72.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 NT$51.4

$1.98 MX$37.27

-20.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 NT$69.5

$4.25 MX$79.9

-49.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.12 NT$395

$19.73 MX$371

-38.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 NT$82.8

$1.84 MX$34.53

38.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.45 NT$14.70

$0.53 MX$10.03

-15.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 NT$292

$5.30 MX$99.5

69.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 NT$32.62

$1.51 MX$28.39

-33.77%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.1K NT$1.1M

$21.8K MX$408.8K

56.61%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$23.5K NT$765.9K

$24.0K MX$450.8K

-2.07%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$64.7 NT$2,108

$63.0 MX$1,184

2.67%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$17.55 NT$572

$27.39 MX$515

-35.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.76 NT$872

$35.67 MX$670

-24.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.55 NT$996

$58.9 MX$1,108

-48.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

Cinema Ticket

$9.62 NT$314

$6.40 MX$120

50.31%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$712 NT$23.2K

$432 MX$8,111

65.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K NT$525.9K

$11.4K MX$214.7K

41.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.2 NT$2,027

$68.2 MX$1,282

-8.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.01 NT$1,272

$53.1 MX$999

-26.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 NT$2,698

$108 MX$2,026

-23.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 NT$3,317

$117 MX$2,204

-13.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$374 NT$12.2K

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-66.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$244 NT$7,940

$710 MX$13.4K

-65.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,070 NT$100.1K

$3,631 MX$68.2K

-15.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,843 NT$60.1K

$2,135 MX$40.1K

-13.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,038 NT$66.4K

$946 MX$17.8K

115.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.4

11.35

-78.85%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Chiayi: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Chiayi

$372 35.7%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 14% $52

Accommodation & Living

Chiayi

$244 23.4%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 192% $467

Clothing & Footwear

Chiayi

$129 12.4%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 21.3% $27

Eating Out

Chiayi

$121 11.7%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 63.7% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiayi

$109 10.5%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 15.7% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Chiayi

$50 4.8%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 44.1% $22

Getting Around

Chiayi

$17 * 1.6%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 50.5% $8.5

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $374 in Chiayi and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiayi pays about 2.2 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $46 in Chiayi vs $48 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $372 vs $320, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Chiayi

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

16:10 4:10 PM

02:10 2:10 AM

14 h behind Chiayi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

269,874

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.39 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiayi Mexico City 13,600 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiayi
Mexico City

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Chiayi vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiayi wins on cost – living expenses run 35% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiayi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Chiayi is about 2.2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $374 in Chiayi versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,041 per month in Chiayi versus $1,608 in Mexico City – Chiayi is about 35% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Chiayi runs roughly 39% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Chiayi is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.