Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Nishinomiya

For one person, living is cheaper in Nishinomiya: $1,257 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 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
61

Cost of Living Index in Nishinomiya
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Nishinomiya Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Nishinomiya

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,257

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $1,257 in Nishinomiya.

Mexico City $1,548
Nishinomiya $1,257

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $2,020 in Nishinomiya.

Mexico City $2,436
Nishinomiya $2,020

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $2,783 in Nishinomiya.

Mexico City $3,323
Nishinomiya $2,783

Living in Mexico City is roughly 23% more expensive than in Nishinomiya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Nishinomiya is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$8.71 ¥1,377

26.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$31.81 ¥5,025

53.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$5.02 ¥794

117.13%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.26 ¥358

62.83%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$1.17 ¥185

39.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$0.63 ¥99.4

98.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$2.09 ¥331

55.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$2.23 ¥353

147.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.49 ¥236

14.09%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.49 ¥236

102.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$5.61 ¥886

-65.78%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.14 ¥338

27.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$12.69 ¥2,005

-7.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$9.42 ¥1,489

1.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$31.74 ¥5,015

-54.60%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$5.13 ¥810

-41.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.81 ¥286

4.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$3.04 ¥480

-34.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$6.01 ¥949

-63.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.62 ¥256

18.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$2.53 ¥400

-26.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.13 ¥179

27.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$0.94 ¥149

35.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$3.41 ¥538

53.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$9.56 ¥1,511

69.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$2.35 ¥371

-19.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$1.52 ¥240

177.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$1.50 ¥237

-77.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

$53.1 ¥8,392

-63.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$3.23 ¥510

-38.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$2.81 ¥444

-81.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$15.51 ¥2,450

-65.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.10 ¥174

38.18%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$19.8K ¥3.1M

11.58%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$15.0K ¥2.4M

63.02%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$117 ¥18.4K

-47.66%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$23.12 ¥3,653

23.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$30.51 ¥4,819

12.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$62.2 ¥9,820

-9.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$11.49 ¥1,816

-42.04%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$323 ¥51.0K

32.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$6,082 ¥960.9K

91.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$49.33 ¥7,793

37.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$25.09 ¥3,964

107.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$46.56 ¥7,356

127.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$64.4 ¥10.2K

74.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$523 ¥82.6K

96.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$328 ¥51.9K

99.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$1,114 ¥175.9K

107.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$751 ¥118.6K

65.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$4,265 ¥673.9K

-15.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$1,735 ¥274.1K

11.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$1,977 ¥312.4K

-51.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

2.02

459.41%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Nishinomiya: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Nishinomiya

$328 26.1% 49.8% $326

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Nishinomiya

$380 30.2% 19.3% $61

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Nishinomiya

$134 10.7% 34.2% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Nishinomiya

$83 6.6% 45.2% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Nishinomiya

$170 13.5% 37.2% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Nishinomiya

$85 6.8% 22.2% $15

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Nishinomiya

$76 6.1% 198% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $523 in Nishinomiya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nishinomiya pays 105% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $32.00 in Nishinomiya. Groceries flip the comparison at $318 vs $380, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇯🇵 Nishinomiya

🕒 Local time

21:18 9:18 PM

12:18 12:18 PM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

488,873

💱 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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Mexico City Nishinomiya 11,690 km ≈ 15 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 Nishinomiya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Nishinomiya differ by about 23% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $1,257 including rent). Nishinomiya is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 105% lower in Nishinomiya. 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $523 in Nishinomiya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Nishinomiya runs roughly 170% 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 $323 in Nishinomiya. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,257 in Nishinomiya versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Nishinomiya but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Nishinomiya 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.

Safety-wise, Mexico City and Nishinomiya are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Nishinomiya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.