Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ibaraki and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibaraki: $1,142 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Ibaraki
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Ibaraki Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Ibaraki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,142

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ibaraki 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 Ibaraki and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,142 in Ibaraki versus $1,674 in Mexico City.

Ibaraki $1,142
Mexico City $1,674

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,768 in Ibaraki versus $2,606 in Mexico City.

Ibaraki $1,768
Mexico City $2,606

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,395 in Ibaraki versus $3,537 in Mexico City.

Ibaraki $2,395
Mexico City $3,537

Living in Ibaraki costs roughly 32% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ibaraki is 16% below, Mexico City is 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.20 ¥977

$10.59 MX$199

-41.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.03 ¥4,888

$52.0 MX$976

-40.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.22 ¥822

$10.73 MX$201

-51.35%

Cappuccino

$3.15 ¥496

$3.80 MX$71.3

-17.11%

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

$1.15 ¥181

$1.61 MX$30.28

-28.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.79 ¥124

$1.21 MX$22.76

-34.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 ¥417

$3.18 MX$59.7

-16.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 ¥491

$5.44 MX$102

-42.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.73 ¥429

$1.72 MX$32.26

58.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 ¥247

$2.97 MX$55.7

-47.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.10 ¥646

$1.93 MX$36.17

112.44%

Eggs

$2.03 ¥319

$2.77 MX$52.1

-26.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.34 ¥1,628

$11.67 MX$219

-11.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.54 ¥1,031

$9.48 MX$178

-31.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 ¥2,638

$15.37 MX$289

8.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.71 ¥585

$3.10 MX$58.3

19.68%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 ¥359

$1.96 MX$36.82

16.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.95 ¥464

$1.98 MX$37.22

48.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.16 ¥655

$2.34 MX$43.86

77.78%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 ¥390

$2.02 MX$38.00

22.28%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 ¥410

$1.82 MX$34.26

42.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 ¥208

$1.54 MX$29.00

-14.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 ¥134

$1.31 MX$24.64

-35.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ¥676

$5.35 MX$100

-19.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 ¥1,035

$16.19 MX$304

-59.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 ¥293

$1.96 MX$36.79

-5.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 ¥327

$4.35 MX$81.7

-52.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 ¥258

$0.30 MX$5.72

446.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$57.8 ¥9,109

$19.49 MX$366

196.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.75 ¥749

$1.92 MX$36.01

147.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.93 ¥461

$0.47 MX$8.88

523.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.58 ¥4,028

$5.41 MX$102

372.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ¥172

$1.48 MX$27.86

-26.35%

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

$21.7K ¥3.4M

$21.4K MX$401.4K

1.58%

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

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$23.8K MX$446.1K

-35.27%

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

$138 ¥21.7K

$62.0 MX$1,164

121.97%

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

$24.35 ¥3,835

$28.47 MX$535

-14.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.52 ¥4,964

$34.11 MX$641

-7.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.6 ¥7,973

$58.4 MX$1,097

-13.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$460

Cinema Ticket

$12.49 ¥1,967

$6.59 MX$124

89.53%

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

$626 ¥98.6K

$434 MX$8,155

44.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$14.0K MX$263.6K

10.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.34 ¥4,148

$68.4 MX$1,284

-61.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.99 ¥5,039

$54.8 MX$1,029

-41.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.6 ¥10.6K

$111 MX$2,082

-39.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.0 ¥12.8K

$116 MX$2,178

-30.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$403 ¥63.4K

$1,179 MX$22.1K

-65.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$264 ¥41.6K

$771 MX$14.5K

-65.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 ¥161.9K

$2,570 MX$48.3K

-60.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 ¥83.0K

$1,420 MX$26.7K

-62.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,712 ¥742.1K

$3,586 MX$67.3K

31.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,384 ¥375.5K

$2,064 MX$38.8K

15.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,498 ¥393.4K

$1,003 MX$18.8K

149.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.21

11.35

-80.53%

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

Last update for Ibaraki: October 31, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ibaraki

$301 26.4%

Mexico City

$324 19.3% 7.5% $23

Accommodation & Living

Ibaraki

$264 23.2%

Mexico City

$771 46.1% 192% $507

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ibaraki

$193 17%

Mexico City

$125 7.4% 35.6% $69

Eating Out

Ibaraki

$130 11.4%

Mexico City

$201 12% 53.9% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Ibaraki

$93 8.2%

Mexico City

$158 9.4% 69.2% $64

Getting Around

Ibaraki

$84 7.3%

Mexico City

$25 1.5% 70.2% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Ibaraki

$76 6.6%

Mexico City

$72 4.3% 5.3% $4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $403 in Ibaraki and $1,179 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ibaraki pays about 2.5 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31 in Ibaraki vs $52 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $301 vs $324 per month, with Ibaraki cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Ibaraki

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

13:15 1:15 PM

22:15 10:15 PM

15 h behind Ibaraki

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

287,730

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.66 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 157 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.66 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.08 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Ibaraki Mexico City 11,670 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Ibaraki
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,142 in Ibaraki and $1,674 in Mexico City, so Ibaraki is about 32% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Ibaraki is about 2.5 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: $403 in Ibaraki versus $1,179 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Ibaraki – a meal for two runs $31 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Ibaraki gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.