Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Wakayama

For one person, living is cheaper in Wakayama: $1,265 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Wakayama
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Wakayama Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Wakayama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,265

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,265 in Wakayama.

Mexico City $1,608
Wakayama $1,265

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $2,078 in Wakayama.

Mexico City $2,549
Wakayama $2,078

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,890 in Wakayama.

Mexico City $3,490
Wakayama $2,890

Living in Mexico City is roughly 27% more expensive than in Wakayama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Wakayama is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$6.32 ¥996

68.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$32.23 ¥5,082

50.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$5.22 ¥823

98.28%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$2.61 ¥411

41.38%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$1.30 ¥205

28.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.95 ¥149

33.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$3.12 ¥492

2.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$1.89 ¥298

180.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.52 ¥240

13.16%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.54 ¥243

97.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$4.06 ¥640

-52.22%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$2.21 ¥348

30.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$15.58 ¥2,457

-29.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$6.93 ¥1,093

33.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$16.97 ¥2,676

-10.84%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$8.61 ¥1,357

-64.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$2.99 ¥472

-35.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$5.15 ¥812

-60.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$7.67 ¥1,210

-69.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$3.91 ¥617

-47.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$4.57 ¥720

-60.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$1.18 ¥185

25.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.94 ¥148

35.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$3.87 ¥610

36.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$9.65 ¥1,522

66.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$2.52 ¥397

-21.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$2.11 ¥332

101.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$1.61 ¥254

-80.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$63.7 ¥10.0K

-69.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$3.22 ¥508

-42.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$2.93 ¥462

-81.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$15.82 ¥2,495

-66.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.10 ¥174

37.27%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$22.2K ¥3.5M

-1.86%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$15.0K ¥2.4M

59.71%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$118 ¥18.6K

-46.67%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$23.84 ¥3,759

14.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$31.84 ¥5,021

12.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$49.43 ¥7,794

19.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$12.61 ¥1,988

-49.25%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$685 ¥108.1K

-37.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$15.0K ¥2.4M

-23.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$50.3 ¥7,931

35.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$35.61 ¥5,615

49.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$60.8 ¥9,581

77.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$99.4 ¥15.7K

18.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$475 ¥74.9K

134.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$311 ¥49.1K

128.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$1,147 ¥180.8K

125.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$810 ¥127.6K

73.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$4,633 ¥730.6K

-21.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$2,252 ¥355.1K

-5.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$3,949 ¥622.7K

-76.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

1.67

579.64%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Wakayama: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Wakayama

$311 24.6% 56.2% $399

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Wakayama

$381 30.1% 19.2% $61

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Wakayama

$126 10% 36.6% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Wakayama

$111 8.8% 29% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Wakayama

$174 13.7% 37.9% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Wakayama

$75 5.9% 4% $2.9

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Wakayama

$88 7% 246% $63

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $475 in Wakayama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wakayama pays about 4.2 times 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 $32 in Wakayama. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $381, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇯🇵 Wakayama

🕒 Local time

20:55 8:55 PM

11:55 11:55 AM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

362,163

💱 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 Wakayama 11,730 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Wakayama

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 Wakayama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,265 in Wakayama, so Wakayama is about 21% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 76% 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 $475 in Wakayama. 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 Wakayama. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $685 in Wakayama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,265 in Wakayama versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Wakayama but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Wakayama 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.