Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Okayama

For one person, living is cheaper in Okayama: $979 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Okayama
Learn more

Okayama Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Okayama

🇯🇵 Japan

$979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $979 in Okayama.

Mexico City $1,608
Okayama $979

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,575 in Okayama.

Mexico City $2,549
Okayama $1,575

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,171 in Okayama.

Mexico City $3,490
Okayama $2,171

Living in Mexico City is roughly 64% more expensive than in Okayama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Okayama is 28% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$5.97 ¥943

77.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$906

$25.17 ¥3,976

92.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$5.04 ¥796

105.36%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$1.74 ¥275

112.07%

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

$1.67 MX$31.23

$0.69 ¥109

142.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.71

$0.69 ¥109

84.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.8

$1.94 ¥306

64.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$1.93 ¥305

175.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$1.36 ¥216

26.47%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$0.62 ¥97.6

390.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$4.09 ¥646

-52.57%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$1.55 ¥245

86.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$15.16 ¥2,394

-27.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$6.43 ¥1,015

43.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$17.03 ¥2,690

-11.16%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.1

$5.05 ¥798

-39.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$3.10 ¥489

-37.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.95

$5.02 ¥792

-59.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.38

$4.38 ¥691

-47.26%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.14

$2.17 ¥342

-5.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.73

$1.93 ¥304

-6.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.72

$1.18 ¥186

25.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.75

$0.67 ¥106

89.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$3.77 ¥596

40.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$9.29 ¥1,467

73.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.16

$1.89 ¥298

4.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$1.86 ¥294

128.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

$1.42 ¥224

-78.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

$57.3 ¥9,050

-65.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.44

$3.20 ¥505

-42.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$2.60 ¥410

-79.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.2

$21.53 ¥3,400

-75.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.31

$1.00 ¥158

51.00%

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

$21.8K MX$407.7K

$21.9K ¥3.5M

-0.73%

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

$24.0K MX$449.5K

$15.4K ¥2.4M

55.81%

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

$63.0 MX$1,180

$71.5 ¥11.3K

-11.95%

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

$27.39 MX$513

$13.73 ¥2,168

99.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$668

$25.75 ¥4,066

38.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$52.2 ¥8,247

12.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$11.29 ¥1,783

-43.31%

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

$432 MX$8,088

$708 ¥111.8K

-39.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.1K

$14.5K ¥2.3M

-21.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,278

$50.2 ¥7,930

35.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$35.57 ¥5,618

49.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,020

$61.0 ¥9,636

76.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,198

$97.0 ¥15.3K

20.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$332 ¥52.4K

235.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$190 ¥30.0K

274.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

$641 ¥101.2K

304.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$430 ¥67.9K

227.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

$3,651 ¥576.6K

-0.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

$2,539 ¥401.0K

-15.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

$1,366 ¥215.7K

-30.73%

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 Okayama: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Okayama

$190 19.4% 73.3% $521

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Okayama

$312 31.8% 2.4% $7.8

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Okayama

$103 10.5% 48.2% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Okayama

$110 11.2% 29.6% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Okayama

$111 11.3% 11.9% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Okayama

$75 7.6% 4.3% $3.1

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Okayama

$79 8.1% 211% $54

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $332 in Okayama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Okayama pays 44% 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 $25 in Okayama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $312 per month, with Okayama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇯🇵 Okayama

🕒 Local time

11:36 11:36 AM

02:36 2:36 AM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

719,474

💱 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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Mexico City Okayama 11,800 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 Okayama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $979 in Okayama, so Okayama is about 39% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 31% 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 $332 in Okayama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $708 in Okayama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Okayama – a meal for two runs $25 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $979 in Okayama versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Okayama but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Okayama 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.