Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Nara, Japan

For one person, living is cheaper in Nara: $1,233 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Nara
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Nara Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Nara

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,233

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,233 in Nara.

Mexico City $1,608
Nara $1,233

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,851 in Nara.

Mexico City $2,549
Nara $1,851

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,468 in Nara.

Mexico City $3,490
Nara $2,468

Living in Mexico City is roughly 30% more expensive than in Nara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Nara is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$6.33 ¥997

67.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$32.27 ¥5,089

49.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$4.99 ¥786

107.41%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$2.50 ¥394

47.60%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$1.26 ¥198

32.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.71 ¥112

78.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$3.21 ¥507

-0.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$3.10 ¥489

71.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.57 ¥248

9.55%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.30 ¥205

133.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$4.12 ¥649

-52.91%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$2.23 ¥352

29.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$9.75 ¥1,538

12.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$7.07 ¥1,115

30.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$18.13 ¥2,858

-16.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$3.30 ¥521

-7.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.93 ¥304

0.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$2.12 ¥334

-4.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$4.08 ¥643

-43.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$1.50 ¥236

36.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$1.14 ¥179

57.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$1.13 ¥179

30.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.88 ¥138

44.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$3.88 ¥612

36.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$9.54 ¥1,504

68.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$1.87 ¥295

5.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$2.15 ¥339

97.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$1.48 ¥234

-79.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$74.3 ¥11.7K

-73.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$3.15 ¥497

-41.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$2.92 ¥461

-81.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$15.66 ¥2,469

-66.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.08 ¥170

39.81%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$21.8K ¥3.4M

-0.04%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$15.3K ¥2.4M

56.61%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$118 ¥18.6K

-46.58%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$24.81 ¥3,913

10.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$30.74 ¥4,848

16.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$83.2 ¥13.1K

-29.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$7.58 ¥1,196

211.87%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$12.57 ¥1,982

-49.09%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$693 ¥109.2K

-37.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$13.3K ¥2.1M

-14.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$47.11 ¥7,428

44.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$30.96 ¥4,882

71.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$61.8 ¥9,738

74.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$89.9 ¥14.2K

30.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$411 ¥64.8K

170.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$340 ¥53.6K

109.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$832 ¥131.2K

211.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$547 ¥86.2K

157.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$2,671 ¥421.1K

35.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$2,040 ¥321.7K

4.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$1,123 ¥177.0K

-15.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

2.02

461.88%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Nara: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Nara

$340 27.6% 52.2% $371

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Nara

$285 23.1% 10.9% $35

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Nara

$126 10.2% 36.7% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Nara

$103 8.4% 33.7% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Nara

$173 14.1% 37.6% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Nara

$108 8.8% 51% $37

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Nara

$98 8% 285% $73

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $411 in Nara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nara pays 19% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $32 in Nara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $285 per month, with Nara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇯🇵 Nara

🕒 Local time

19:07 7:07 PM

10:07 10:07 AM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

355,280

💱 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 = 20.98 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

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Between locations

Mexico City Nara 11,660 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Nara

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 Nara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,233 in Nara, so Nara is about 23% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 16% lower in Mexico City. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $411 in Nara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 73% less than in Nara. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $693 in Nara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,233 in Nara versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Nara but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Nara 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.