Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Taichung

For one person, living is cheaper in Taichung: $1,112 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Taichung
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Taichung Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Taichung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,112

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,112 in Taichung.

Mexico City $1,608
Taichung $1,112

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,856 in Taichung.

Mexico City $2,549
Taichung $1,856

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,601 in Taichung.

Mexico City $3,490
Taichung $2,601

Living in Mexico City is roughly 45% more expensive than in Taichung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$4.69 NT$152

126.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$31.30 NT$1,014

54.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$4.64 NT$150

123.06%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$2.89 NT$93.8

27.68%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$1.03 NT$33.31

62.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.76 NT$24.47

67.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.50 NT$48.52

112.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$2.66 NT$86.3

99.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$3.08 NT$99.9

-44.16%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.65 NT$53.4

84.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$2.59 NT$83.8

-25.10%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.54 NT$82.4

13.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$28.53 NT$924

-61.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$7.76 NT$251

19.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$16.59 NT$537

-8.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$4.21 NT$137

-27.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.94 NT$62.8

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$3.01 NT$97.6

-32.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$2.13 NT$69.1

8.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.21 NT$39.28

68.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.93 NT$62.6

-6.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$2.25 NT$73.1

-34.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.89 NT$28.87

42.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$3.79 NT$123

39.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$15.10 NT$489

6.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$1.60 NT$51.7

23.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$2.43 NT$78.6

74.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$0.63 NT$20.46

-50.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$18.67 NT$605

5.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$2.58 NT$83.5

-28.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.90 NT$29.11

-41.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$9.19 NT$298

-42.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$1.04 NT$33.71

45.19%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$35.3K NT$1.1M

-38.34%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$22.2K NT$720.4K

7.88%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$122 NT$3,956

-48.42%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$14.52 NT$470

88.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$20.46 NT$663

74.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$31.28 NT$1,013

88.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$11.39 NT$369

107.55%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$10.22 NT$331

-37.38%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$326 NT$10.6K

32.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$16.5K NT$533.0K

-30.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$71.8 NT$2,325

-4.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$35.78 NT$1,159

48.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$81.7 NT$2,645

32.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$111 NT$3,587

5.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$382 NT$12.4K

191.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$266 NT$8,612

167.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$1,188 NT$38.5K

117.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$739 NT$23.9K

90.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$5,811 NT$188.3K

-37.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$4,266 NT$138.2K

-49.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$1,400 NT$45.3K

-32.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

2.27

400.00%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Taichung: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Taichung

$266 23.9% 62.6% $445

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Taichung

$368 33.1% 15% $48

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Taichung

$106 9.6% 46.6% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Taichung

$135 12.1% 13.4% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Taichung

$157 14.1% 24.6% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Taichung

$52 4.7% 27.9% $20

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Taichung

$28 2.5% 11% $2.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $382 in Taichung. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taichung pays 48% 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 $31 in Taichung. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $368, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇹🇼 Taichung

🕒 Local time

16:20 4:20 PM

06:20 6:20 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

2,767,239

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 TWD = 3.09 USD

100 TWD = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 32.4 TWD (100 TWD = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 36.07 TWD (100 TWD = 2.77 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Taichung 13,530 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Taichung

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 Taichung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,112 in Taichung, so Taichung is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 32% 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 $382 in Taichung. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Taichung runs roughly 5% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $326 in Taichung. 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. Taichung 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.