Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Ichihara

For one person, living is cheaper in Ichihara: $1,264 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Ichihara
Learn more

Ichihara Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Ichihara

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,264

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,264 in Ichihara.

Mexico City $1,608
Ichihara $1,264

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $2,001 in Ichihara.

Mexico City $2,549
Ichihara $2,001

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,738 in Ichihara.

Mexico City $3,490
Ichihara $2,738

Living in Mexico City is roughly 27% more expensive than in Ichihara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Ichihara is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$6.46 ¥1,019

64.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$41.72 ¥6,579

15.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$5.19 ¥818

99.42%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$3.47 ¥547

6.34%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$1.06 ¥167

57.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.78 ¥123

62.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$2.50 ¥394

27.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$3.12 ¥492

70.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.43 ¥226

20.28%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.72 ¥271

76.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$3.56 ¥561

-45.51%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$2.00 ¥315

44.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$10.21 ¥1,611

7.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$6.17 ¥973

49.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$14.69 ¥2,317

3.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$5.67 ¥894

-46.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$2.83 ¥446

-31.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$2.81 ¥442

-27.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$4.11 ¥648

-43.80%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$2.56 ¥404

-20.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$2.65 ¥418

-32.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$1.28 ¥202

15.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.76 ¥120

67.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$3.74 ¥590

41.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$6.26 ¥987

157.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$1.75 ¥276

13.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$2.10 ¥332

102.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$1.24 ¥196

-75.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$50.1 ¥7,895

-60.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$3.12 ¥492

-41.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$2.63 ¥415

-79.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$20.56 ¥3,242

-74.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.12 ¥176

34.82%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$21.6K ¥3.4M

0.94%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$15.9K ¥2.5M

51.28%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$134 ¥21.2K

-53.06%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$24.21 ¥3,818

13.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$31.75 ¥5,007

12.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$48.44 ¥7,639

21.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$12.87 ¥2,029

-50.27%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$837 ¥131.9K

-48.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$15.0K ¥2.4M

-24.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$63.3 ¥9,974

7.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$36.37 ¥5,735

46.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$62.8 ¥9,905

71.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$102 ¥16.1K

14.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$501 ¥79.0K

122.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$385 ¥60.7K

84.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$878 ¥138.5K

194.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$806 ¥127.1K

74.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$4,196 ¥661.6K

-13.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$2,521 ¥397.5K

-15.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

2.64

329.92%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ichihara: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Ichihara

$385 30.4% 45.9% $326

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Ichihara

$289 22.9% 9.5% $30

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Ichihara

$135 10.7% 32% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Ichihara

$119 9.4% 23.6% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Ichihara

$190 15.1% 50.9% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Ichihara

$74 5.9% 3.4% $2.4

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Ichihara

$71 5.6% 180% $46

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $501 in Ichihara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $42 in Ichihara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $289 per month, with Ichihara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇯🇵 Ichihara

🕒 Local time

09:11 9:11 AM

00:11 12:11 AM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

269,524

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Mexico City
Ichihara

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

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

Ichihara is about 21% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $1,896 in Ichihara 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $501 in Ichihara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $837 in Ichihara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,264 in Ichihara versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ichihara but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Ichihara 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.