Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Saitama

For one person, living is cheaper in Saitama: $1,007 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Saitama
Learn more

Saitama Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Saitama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,007

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $1,007 in Saitama.

Mexico City $1,548
Saitama $1,007

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,330 in Saitama.

Mexico City $2,436
Saitama $1,330

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $1,653 in Saitama.

Mexico City $3,323
Saitama $1,653

Living in Mexico City is roughly 54% more expensive than in Saitama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Saitama is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$5.55 ¥876

98.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$31.14 ¥4,920

56.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$4.86 ¥768

124.28%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.07 ¥486

19.87%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$0.72 ¥114

126.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$0.65 ¥103

92.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$2.46 ¥389

32.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$3.18 ¥503

73.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.45 ¥229

17.24%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.64 ¥260

84.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$2.68 ¥423

-28.36%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.00 ¥316

36.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$10.14 ¥1,601

16.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$5.45 ¥861

74.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$14.44 ¥2,281

-0.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$5.58 ¥882

-45.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$2.25 ¥355

-16.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$2.84 ¥449

-29.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$4.19 ¥662

-47.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$2.61 ¥412

-26.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.56 ¥247

19.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.25 ¥197

15.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$0.80 ¥126

58.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$3.70 ¥585

41.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$6.32 ¥999

155.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.74 ¥274

9.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$2.11 ¥333

100.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$3.45 ¥545

-90.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$3.11 ¥492

-35.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$2.70 ¥427

-80.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$20.19 ¥3,190

-73.55%

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

$21.9K ¥3.5M

0.73%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$14.4K ¥2.3M

70.29%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$131 ¥20.7K

-53.40%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$17.62 ¥2,784

62.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$31.87 ¥5,036

8.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$61.5 ¥9,721

-8.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$11.12 ¥1,757

-40.11%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$620 ¥97.9K

-31.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$14.8K ¥2.3M

-21.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$34.90 ¥5,514

94.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$25.61 ¥4,047

102.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$55.5 ¥8,772

90.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$61.9 ¥9,773

81.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$414 ¥65.3K

147.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$237 ¥37.4K

176.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$1,505 ¥237.7K

-35.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

2.06

448.54%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Saitama: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Saitama

$237 23.5% 63.8% $418

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Saitama

$275 27.4% 13.5% $43

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Saitama

$120 11.9% 41.1% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Saitama

$80 8% 47.4% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Saitama

$181 17.9% 45.5% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Saitama

$84 8.3% 20.2% $14

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Saitama

$30 * 3% 18.7% $4.8

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $414 in Saitama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saitama pays 56% 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 $31.00 in Saitama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $275 per month, with Saitama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇯🇵 Saitama

🕒 Local time

11:03 11:03 AM

02:03 2:03 AM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,182,115

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Saitama 11,300 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 Saitama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Saitama differ by about 54% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $1,007 including rent). Saitama is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 56% lower in Saitama. 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 $414 in Saitama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $620 in Saitama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Saitama – a meal for two runs $31.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,007 in Saitama versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Saitama but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Saitama 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 Saitama 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 Saitama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.