Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Narita

For one person, living is cheaper in Narita: $1,203 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 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 Narita
Learn more

Narita Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Narita

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,203

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,203 in Narita.

Mexico City $1,608
Narita $1,203

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,912 in Narita.

Mexico City $2,549
Narita $1,912

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,620 in Narita.

Mexico City $3,490
Narita $2,620

Living in Mexico City is roughly 34% more expensive than in Narita, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Narita is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$5.73 ¥905

85.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$906

$41.80 ¥6,602

15.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$4.42 ¥698

134.16%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$3.25 ¥513

13.54%

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

$1.67 MX$31.23

$0.78 ¥124

114.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.71

$0.73 ¥116

73.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.8

$2.07 ¥327

54.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$3.22 ¥509

64.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$1.25 ¥197

37.60%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$1.72 ¥272

76.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$3.63 ¥574

-46.56%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$1.98 ¥313

45.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$10.31 ¥1,629

6.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$6.13 ¥968

50.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$14.34 ¥2,265

5.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.1

$5.83 ¥920

-47.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$2.73 ¥432

-28.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.95

$2.91 ¥460

-30.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.38

$4.16 ¥657

-44.47%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.14

$2.64 ¥417

-22.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.73

$2.69 ¥424

-33.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.72

$1.30 ¥206

13.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.75

$0.82 ¥129

54.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$3.78 ¥597

40.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$6.22 ¥982

158.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.16

$1.79 ¥283

10.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$2.09 ¥330

103.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

$1.48 ¥235

-79.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

$64.9 ¥10.3K

-69.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.44

$3.25 ¥513

-43.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$1.62 ¥255

-67.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.2

$20.95 ¥3,308

-74.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.31

$1.03 ¥163

46.60%

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

$21.8K MX$407.7K

$21.8K ¥3.4M

-0.15%

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

$24.0K MX$449.5K

$16.1K ¥2.5M

49.21%

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

$63.0 MX$1,180

$131 ¥20.6K

-51.82%

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

$28.35 ¥4,477

25.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$52.3 ¥8,267

12.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$11.49 ¥1,814

-44.30%

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

$432 MX$8,088

$828 ¥130.8K

-47.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.1K

$14.8K ¥2.3M

-23.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,278

$62.3 ¥9,833

9.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$36.42 ¥5,751

45.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,020

$61.0 ¥9,635

76.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,198

$105 ¥16.6K

11.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$540 ¥85.3K

106.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$334 ¥52.7K

112.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

$901 ¥142.4K

187.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$700 ¥110.5K

100.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

$3,825 ¥604.1K

-5.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

$2,316 ¥365.8K

-7.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

$1,258 ¥198.6K

-24.78%

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 Narita: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Narita

$334 27.7% 53% $377

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Narita

$289 24% 9.7% $31

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Narita

$121 10.1% 39.1% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Narita

$119 9.9% 23.6% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Narita

$183 15.2% 45.3% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Narita

$75 6.3% 5% $3.6

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Narita

$82 6.8% 223% $57

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $540 in Narita. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Narita pays 33% 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 $42 in Narita for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $289 per month, with Narita cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇯🇵 Narita

🕒 Local time

07:53 7:53 AM

22:53 10:53 PM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

131,613

💱 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 →

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Between locations

Mexico City Narita 11,250 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 Narita: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,203 in Narita, so Narita is about 25% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 25% 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 $540 in Narita. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 70% less than in Narita. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $828 in Narita. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,203 in Narita versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Narita but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Narita 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.