Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Ichikawa

For one person, living is cheaper in Ichikawa: $1,245 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Ichikawa
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Ichikawa Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Ichikawa

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,245

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Ichikawa actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,245 in Ichikawa.

Mexico City $1,608
Ichikawa $1,245

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,888 in Ichikawa.

Mexico City $2,549
Ichikawa $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,531 in Ichikawa.

Mexico City $3,490
Ichikawa $2,531

Living in Mexico City is roughly 29% more expensive than in Ichikawa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Ichikawa is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$5.21 ¥823

103.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$906

$32.08 ¥5,067

50.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$4.32 ¥682

139.58%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$2.21 ¥349

66.97%

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

$1.67 MX$31.23

$0.72 ¥114

131.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.71

$0.39 ¥61.4

225.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.8

$2.49 ¥394

28.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$3.25 ¥514

63.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$1.39 ¥219

23.74%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$1.66 ¥262

83.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$3.68 ¥581

-47.28%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$1.99 ¥314

45.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$10.53 ¥1,664

4.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$6.11 ¥965

51.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$14.23 ¥2,247

6.32%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.1

$5.77 ¥912

-47.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$2.80 ¥442

-30.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.95

$2.80 ¥443

-27.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.38

$4.13 ¥652

-44.07%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.14

$2.58 ¥407

-20.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.73

$2.59 ¥409

-30.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.72

$1.26 ¥199

17.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.75

$0.76 ¥120

67.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$3.84 ¥607

38.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$6.29 ¥994

155.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.16

$1.74 ¥275

13.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$2.12 ¥334

100.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

$1.60 ¥252

-80.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

$63.2 ¥9,974

-68.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.44

$3.22 ¥508

-42.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$2.71 ¥429

-80.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.2

$20.75 ¥3,278

-74.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.31

$1.12 ¥177

34.82%

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

$21.8K MX$407.7K

$21.7K ¥3.4M

0.03%

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

$24.0K MX$449.5K

$16.0K ¥2.5M

49.83%

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

$63.0 MX$1,180

$134 ¥21.2K

-53.01%

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

$27.39 MX$513

$24.14 ¥3,812

13.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$668

$32.17 ¥5,081

10.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$45.56 ¥7,195

29.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$12.91 ¥2,039

-50.43%

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

$432 MX$8,088

$812 ¥128.2K

-46.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.1K

$14.9K ¥2.4M

-23.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,278

$61.9 ¥9,782

10.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$36.85 ¥5,819

44.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,020

$62.8 ¥9,910

71.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,198

$103 ¥16.3K

13.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$615 ¥97.1K

81.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$385 ¥60.9K

84.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

$1,022 ¥161.5K

153.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$686 ¥108.4K

104.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

$4,163 ¥657.4K

-12.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

$2,124 ¥335.4K

0.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

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 Ichikawa: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Ichikawa

$385 31% 45.7% $325

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Ichikawa

$288 23.1% 9.8% $31

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Ichikawa

$105 8.4% 47.4% $94

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Ichikawa

$119 9.6% 23.6% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Ichikawa

$190 15.3% 51% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Ichikawa

$71 5.7% 0.5% $0.4

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Ichikawa

$86 6.9% 239% $61

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $615 in Ichikawa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $32 in Ichikawa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $288 per month, with Ichikawa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇯🇵 Ichikawa

🕒 Local time

08:30 8:30 AM

23:30 11:30 PM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

496,676

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.67 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 = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.67 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Mexico City
Ichikawa

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 Ichikawa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,245 in Ichikawa, so Ichikawa is about 23% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $1,868 in Ichikawa 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 $615 in Ichikawa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% 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 $32 versus $48 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 Ichikawa 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.