Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Nagano

For one person, living is cheaper in Nagano: $1,231 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

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

Cost of Living Index in Nagano
Learn more

Nagano Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Nagano

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,231

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $1,231 in Nagano.

Mexico City $1,548
Nagano $1,231

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,891 in Nagano.

Mexico City $2,436
Nagano $1,891

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $2,550 in Nagano.

Mexico City $3,323
Nagano $2,550

Living in Mexico City is roughly 26% more expensive than in Nagano, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Nagano is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$6.45 ¥1,019

70.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$40.32 ¥6,370

20.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$5.13 ¥810

112.48%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.37 ¥532

9.20%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$1.06 ¥167

53.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$0.80 ¥126

56.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$2.59 ¥409

25.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$3.06 ¥483

80.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.45 ¥228

17.24%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.64 ¥260

84.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$3.57 ¥564

-46.22%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$1.99 ¥315

37.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$10.32 ¥1,630

14.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$6.17 ¥975

54.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$14.40 ¥2,275

0.07%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$5.82 ¥919

-48.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$2.69 ¥425

-29.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$2.84 ¥448

-29.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$4.06 ¥642

-46.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$2.50 ¥396

-23.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$2.54 ¥401

-26.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.25 ¥197

15.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$0.76 ¥121

67.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$3.68 ¥582

41.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$6.21 ¥982

160.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.82 ¥287

4.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$2.01 ¥317

109.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$1.31 ¥207

-74.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

$51.2 ¥8,082

-61.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$3.17 ¥501

-36.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$2.70 ¥427

-80.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$20.17 ¥3,187

-73.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.05 ¥166

44.76%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$21.6K ¥3.4M

2.22%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$15.5K ¥2.4M

58.39%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$130 ¥20.6K

-53.08%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$23.91 ¥3,778

19.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$12.76 ¥2,016

170.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$53.1 ¥8,387

6.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$12.71 ¥2,008

-47.60%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$622 ¥98.3K

-31.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$14.9K ¥2.4M

-22.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$61.8 ¥9,759

9.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$36.29 ¥5,733

43.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$62.0 ¥9,797

70.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$100 ¥15.8K

12.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$557 ¥88.0K

83.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$375 ¥59.2K

74.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$1,142 ¥180.4K

102.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$648 ¥102.4K

91.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$4,188 ¥661.7K

-13.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$1,974 ¥311.9K

-1.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$627 ¥99.0K

53.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

2.64

328.03%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Nagano: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Nagano

$375 30.4% 42.7% $279

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Nagano

$287 23.3% 9.7% $31

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Nagano

$134 10.9% 34.3% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Nagano

$117 9.5% 23.1% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Nagano

$167 13.6% 34.4% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Nagano

$79 6.4% 12.7% $8.8

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Nagano

$73 5.9% 185% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $557 in Nagano. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 54% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $40.00 in Nagano for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $287 per month, with Nagano cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇯🇵 Nagano

🕒 Local time

21:53 9:53 PM

12:53 12:53 PM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

372,760

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 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 October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Mexico City Nagano 11,350 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
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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 Nagano: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Nagano differ by about 26% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $1,231 including rent). Nagano is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 54% higher in Mexico City, 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $557 in Nagano. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Nagano runs roughly 160% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $622 in Nagano. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,231 in Nagano versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nagano but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Nagano 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.

Expats usually find Nagano gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.