Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Setagaya-ku

For one person, living is cheaper in Setagaya-ku: $1,181 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 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 Setagaya-ku
Learn more

Setagaya-ku Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Setagaya-ku

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,181

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Setagaya-ku

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 Setagaya-ku actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,181 in Setagaya-ku.

Mexico City $1,608
Setagaya-ku $1,181

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,896 in Setagaya-ku.

Mexico City $2,549
Setagaya-ku $1,896

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,612 in Setagaya-ku.

Mexico City $3,490
Setagaya-ku $2,612

Living in Mexico City is roughly 36% more expensive than in Setagaya-ku, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Setagaya-ku is 13% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$6.34 ¥999

67.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$25.75 ¥4,060

87.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$4.54 ¥716

127.97%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$2.99 ¥472

23.41%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$1.07 ¥169

56.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.66 ¥104

92.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$2.18 ¥343

46.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$3.08 ¥486

72.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.23 ¥195

39.84%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.68 ¥265

80.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$3.68 ¥580

-47.28%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$1.19 ¥187

142.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$10.58 ¥1,669

3.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$6.03 ¥951

53.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$14.29 ¥2,253

5.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$5.74 ¥906

-46.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$2.73 ¥430

-28.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$2.80 ¥442

-27.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$4.32 ¥681

-46.53%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$2.55 ¥402

-20.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$2.61 ¥411

-31.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$1.25 ¥197

18.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.55 ¥86.9

130.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$3.70 ¥583

43.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$6.44 ¥1,016

150.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$1.76 ¥278

12.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$2.01 ¥317

111.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$1.29 ¥204

-75.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$64.1 ¥10.1K

-69.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$3.18 ¥502

-42.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$2.74 ¥432

-80.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$20.65 ¥3,257

-74.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.07 ¥168

41.12%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$22.2K ¥3.5M

-2.13%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$15.7K ¥2.5M

52.85%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$134 ¥21.2K

-53.16%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$24.08 ¥3,797

13.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$32.71 ¥5,159

9.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$48.13 ¥7,590

22.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$11.31 ¥1,783

-43.41%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$835 ¥131.7K

-48.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$14.6K ¥2.3M

-21.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$62.1 ¥9,794

9.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$37.00 ¥5,834

43.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$62.8 ¥9,906

71.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$105 ¥16.5K

12.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$560 ¥88.3K

98.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$307 ¥48.4K

131.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$1,100 ¥173.4K

135.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$774 ¥122.1K

81.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$4,023 ¥634.4K

-9.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$1,996 ¥314.8K

6.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

467.50%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Setagaya-ku: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Setagaya-ku

$307 26% 56.8% $403

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Setagaya-ku

$281 23.8% 11.9% $38

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Setagaya-ku

$124 10.5% 37.5% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Setagaya-ku

$120 10.2% 23.1% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Setagaya-ku

$191 16.2% 51.7% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Setagaya-ku

$71 6% 1.4% $1

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Setagaya-ku

$86 7.3% 238% $61

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $560 in Setagaya-ku. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $26 in Setagaya-ku for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $281 per month, with Setagaya-ku cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇯🇵 Setagaya-ku

🕒 Local time

00:34 12:34 AM

15:34 3:34 PM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

943,664

💱 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 →

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Between locations

Mexico City Setagaya-ku 11,310 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

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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 Setagaya-ku: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,181 in Setagaya-ku, so Setagaya-ku is about 27% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $1,771 in Setagaya-ku to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $560 in Setagaya-ku. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 69% less than in Setagaya-ku. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $835 in Setagaya-ku. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Setagaya-ku is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.