Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Tsukuba

For one person, living is cheaper in Tsukuba: $1,111 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 Tsukuba
Learn more

Tsukuba Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Tsukuba

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,111

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,111 in Tsukuba.

Mexico City $1,608
Tsukuba $1,111

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,773 in Tsukuba.

Mexico City $2,549
Tsukuba $1,773

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,434 in Tsukuba.

Mexico City $3,490
Tsukuba $2,434

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$6.49 ¥1,023

63.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$33.75 ¥5,316

43.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$5.13 ¥808

101.75%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$2.63 ¥415

40.30%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$0.96 ¥151

73.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.80 ¥126

58.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$2.11 ¥332

51.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$3.13 ¥493

69.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$1.39 ¥219

23.74%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.67 ¥264

82.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$3.25 ¥511

-40.31%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$2.09 ¥329

38.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$10.46 ¥1,648

4.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$6.03 ¥949

53.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$14.40 ¥2,268

5.07%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$5.63 ¥887

-45.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$2.75 ¥433

-29.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$2.83 ¥445

-28.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$4.23 ¥666

-45.39%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$2.52 ¥396

-19.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$2.67 ¥420

-32.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$0.82 ¥129

80.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$0.76 ¥119

67.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$3.71 ¥584

42.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$6.52 ¥1,027

146.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$1.74 ¥274

13.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$2.08 ¥327

104.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$1.43 ¥225

-78.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$55.8 ¥8,788

-64.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$3.20 ¥503

-42.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$2.76 ¥435

-80.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$20.77 ¥3,271

-74.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$1.11 ¥174

36.04%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$22.2K ¥3.5M

-2.10%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$15.7K ¥2.5M

53.22%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$131 ¥20.7K

-52.09%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$24.64 ¥3,881

11.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$31.74 ¥5,000

12.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$56.0 ¥8,827

5.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$13.27 ¥2,091

-51.77%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$96.3 ¥15.2K

348.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$15.1K ¥2.4M

-24.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$47.58 ¥7,494

43.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$36.56 ¥5,759

45.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$38.69 ¥6,095

178.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$41.36 ¥6,515

183.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$465 ¥73.3K

139.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$280 ¥44.2K

153.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$1,086 ¥171.1K

138.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$645 ¥101.6K

118.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$4,791 ¥754.7K

-24.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$2,181 ¥343.5K

-2.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$1,458 ¥229.7K

-35.12%

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 Tsukuba: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Tsukuba

$280 25.3% 60.5% $430

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Tsukuba

$285 25.6% 10.8% $35

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Tsukuba

$123 11.1% 38.2% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Tsukuba

$74 6.7% 52.6% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Tsukuba

$188 16.9% 49% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Tsukuba

$83 7.4% 15.1% $11

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Tsukuba

$79 7.1% 208% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $465 in Tsukuba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tsukuba pays 54% 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 $34 in Tsukuba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $285 per month, with Tsukuba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇯🇵 Tsukuba

🕒 Local time

07:43 7:43 AM

22:43 10:43 PM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

230,398

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Tsukuba 11,250 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Tsukuba

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 Tsukuba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,111 in Tsukuba, so Tsukuba is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 35% 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 $465 in Tsukuba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 65% less than in Tsukuba. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $96 in Tsukuba. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Tsukuba gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.