Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ichikawa and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Ichikawa: $1,167 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Ichikawa
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Ichikawa Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Ichikawa

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,167

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,167 in Ichikawa versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Ichikawa $1,167
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,876 in Ichikawa versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Ichikawa $1,876
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,585 in Ichikawa versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Ichikawa $2,585
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Ichikawa costs roughly 26% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ichikawa is 14% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.13 ¥811

$10.75 MX$199

-52.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.09 ¥4,912

$50.3 MX$929

-38.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.30 ¥680

$11.10 MX$205

-61.26%

Cappuccino

$2.23 ¥352

$3.68 MX$68.1

-39.40%

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

$0.72 ¥113

$1.65 MX$30.42

-56.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.35 ¥55.7

$1.30 MX$24.08

-73.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.50 ¥395

$3.32 MX$61.3

-24.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 ¥502

$5.54 MX$102

-42.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 ¥218

$1.77 MX$32.68

-22.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.65 ¥261

$3.05 MX$56.4

-45.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.66 ¥578

$2.01 MX$37.20

82.09%

Eggs

$1.97 ¥311

$2.77 MX$51.1

-28.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.53 ¥1,663

$11.91 MX$220

-11.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.86 ¥926

$9.33 MX$172

-37.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.38 ¥2,272

$15.02 MX$278

-4.26%

Apples (1kg)

$5.53 ¥874

$3.08 MX$56.8

79.55%

Banana (1kg)

$2.80 ¥442

$1.95 MX$35.97

43.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.81 ¥444

$2.03 MX$37.54

38.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.26 ¥673

$2.21 MX$40.92

92.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.61 ¥413

$2.02 MX$37.41

29.21%

Onion (1kg)

$2.56 ¥404

$1.82 MX$33.67

40.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 ¥202

$1.52 MX$28.07

-15.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ¥118

$1.28 MX$23.65

-41.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.73 ¥590

$5.27 MX$97.4

-29.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.38 ¥1,007

$16.12 MX$298

-60.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ¥281

$1.95 MX$36.05

-8.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 ¥320

$4.25 MX$78.6

-52.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 ¥213

$0.31 MX$5.82

335.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$59.9 ¥9,457

$19.85 MX$367

201.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 ¥494

$2.00 MX$36.93

56.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.73 ¥432

$0.53 MX$9.86

415.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.59 ¥3,253

$5.62 MX$104

266.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 ¥166

$1.52 MX$28.07

-30.92%

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

$21.2K ¥3.4M

$21.0K MX$388.7K

0.83%

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

$18.5K ¥2.9M

$25.2K MX$465.3K

-26.42%

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

$132 ¥20.8K

$62.5 MX$1,155

110.98%

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

$23.97 ¥3,788

$28.77 MX$532

-16.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.98 ¥5,052

$34.45 MX$637

-7.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.04 ¥7,431

$57.1 MX$1,055

-17.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$12.80 ¥2,022

$6.67 MX$123

91.90%

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

$642 ¥101.4K

$431 MX$7,964

48.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K ¥2.3M

$11.7K MX$216.9K

23.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.0 ¥9,801

$70.8 MX$1,308

-12.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.27 ¥5,889

$51.8 MX$958

-28.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.5 ¥9,559

$109 MX$2,011

-44.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 ¥16.1K

$112 MX$2,076

-9.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$495 ¥78.3K

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-52.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$317 ¥50.1K

$665 MX$12.3K

-52.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,186 ¥187.3K

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-49.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$763 ¥120.5K

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-37.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,455 ¥703.9K

$3,554 MX$65.7K

25.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,881 ¥297.2K

$1,977 MX$36.5K

-4.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.64

11.3

-76.64%

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

Last update for Ichikawa: October 13, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ichikawa

$317 27.1%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 110% $348

Groceries & Markets

Ichikawa

$287 24.6%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 12.6% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ichikawa

$188 16.1%

Mexico City

$126 8% 33.1% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Ichikawa

$118 10.1%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 31.4% $37

Eating Out

Ichikawa

$104 8.9%

Mexico City

$203 13% 95.5% $99

Getting Around

Ichikawa

$82 7%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 68.6% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Ichikawa

$73 6.2%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 3% $2.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $495 in Ichikawa and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $31.00 in Ichikawa vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $323 per month, with Ichikawa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Ichikawa

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

20:10 8:10 PM

05:10 5:10 AM

15 h behind Ichikawa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

496,676

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Ichikawa Mexico City 11,290 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Ichikawa
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

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

Ichikawa and Mexico City differ by about 34% in total monthly costs ($1,167 vs $1,567 including rent). Ichikawa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,751 in Ichikawa and $2,351 in Mexico City to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $495 in Ichikawa versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Ichikawa – a meal for two runs $31.00 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,167 in Ichikawa versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ichikawa but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Ichikawa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Ichikawa and Mexico City are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Ichikawa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 34% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.