Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Nago, Okinawa

For one person, living is cheaper in Nago, Okinawa: $1,239 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Nago, Okinawa
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Nago, Okinawa Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Nago, Okinawa

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,239

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Nago, Okinawa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,239 in Nago, Okinawa.

Mexico City $1,674
Nago, Okinawa $1,239

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,920 in Nago, Okinawa.

Mexico City $2,606
Nago, Okinawa $1,920

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $2,601 in Nago, Okinawa.

Mexico City $3,537
Nago, Okinawa $2,601

Living in Mexico City is roughly 35% more expensive than in Nago, Okinawa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Nago, Okinawa is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$7.10 ¥1,125

49.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$34.07 ¥5,397

52.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$5.48 ¥869

95.80%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.7

$3.08 ¥488

23.38%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$1.09 ¥173

47.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.76 ¥121

59.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$2.07 ¥327

53.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$3.09 ¥490

76.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$1.59 ¥252

8.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$1.57 ¥249

89.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$4.65 ¥736

-58.49%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$2.23 ¥353

24.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$10.07 ¥1,595

15.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$6.32 ¥1,001

50.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$15.20 ¥2,407

1.12%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$5.37 ¥851

-42.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$2.56 ¥406

-23.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$3.90 ¥618

-49.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$4.69 ¥743

-50.11%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$3.35 ¥530

-39.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$2.54 ¥403

-28.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$1.40 ¥222

10.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$0.89 ¥140

47.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$4.21 ¥667

27.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$6.74 ¥1,068

140.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.98 ¥313

-1.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$2.28 ¥360

90.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$1.59 ¥251

-81.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

$55.4 ¥8,773

-64.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$3.39 ¥537

-43.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$2.91 ¥461

-83.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$20.70 ¥3,279

-73.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.24 ¥197

19.35%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$23.1K ¥3.7M

-7.32%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$17.0K ¥2.7M

39.99%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$139 ¥22.0K

-55.35%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$27.03 ¥4,281

5.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$33.62 ¥5,325

1.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$56.8 ¥8,994

2.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$13.96 ¥2,212

75.50%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$13.32 ¥2,111

-50.53%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$277 ¥43.8K

57.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$13.5K ¥2.1M

3.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$42.56 ¥6,742

60.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$28.99 ¥4,592

89.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$59.2 ¥9,370

87.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,159

$92.2 ¥14.6K

25.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$468 ¥74.2K

151.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$335 ¥53.0K

130.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$877 ¥139.0K

192.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$650 ¥102.9K

118.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$2,795 ¥442.8K

28.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$1,789 ¥283.4K

15.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

1.81

527.07%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Nago, Okinawa: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Nago, Okinawa

$335 27% 56.6% $436

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Nago, Okinawa

$307 24.8% 5.1% $16

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Nago, Okinawa

$134 10.8% 33.1% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Nago, Okinawa

$100 8.1% 36.3% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Nago, Okinawa

$199 16.1% 60.1% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Nago, Okinawa

$83 6.7% 16.6% $12

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Nago, Okinawa

$80 6.4% 219% $55

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $468 in Nago, Okinawa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $34 in Nago, Okinawa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $307 per month, with Nago, Okinawa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇯🇵 Nago, Okinawa

🕒 Local time

18:36 6:36 PM

09:36 9:36 AM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

63,554

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.61 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.61 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Mexico City Nago, Okinawa 12,800 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

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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 Nago, Okinawa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,239 in Nago, Okinawa, so Nago, Okinawa is about 26% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $1,858 in Nago, Okinawa 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: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $468 in Nago, Okinawa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 65% less than in Nago, Okinawa. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $277 in Nago, Okinawa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,239 in Nago, Okinawa versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Nago, Okinawa but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Nago, Okinawa 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.