Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Yilan

For one person, living is cheaper in Yilan: $984 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Yilan
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Yilan Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Yilan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$984

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $984 in Yilan.

Mexico City $1,608
Yilan $984

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,699 in Yilan.

Mexico City $2,549
Yilan $1,699

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,413 in Yilan.

Mexico City $3,490
Yilan $2,413

Living in Mexico City is roughly 63% more expensive than in Yilan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Yilan is 28% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$3.43 NT$112

209.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$29.68 NT$968

62.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$4.84 NT$158

113.84%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$2.86 NT$93.2

29.02%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$0.99 NT$32.29

68.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.69 NT$22.42

84.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$1.47 NT$47.96

117.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$2.57 NT$83.7

106.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$3.07 NT$100

-43.97%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.74 NT$56.7

74.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$2.65 NT$86.4

-26.79%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$2.52 NT$82.0

14.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$28.23 NT$920

-61.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$7.94 NT$259

16.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$16.10 NT$525

-6.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$4.31 NT$140

-29.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$1.83 NT$59.8

6.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$2.95 NT$96.2

-31.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$2.13 NT$69.5

8.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$1.20 NT$39.13

70.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$1.94 NT$63.4

-7.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$2.35 NT$76.5

-37.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$0.88 NT$28.81

44.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$3.74 NT$122

41.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$15.68 NT$511

2.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$1.36 NT$44.45

45.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$2.50 NT$81.7

70.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.76 NT$24.75

-59.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$33.33 NT$1,087

-40.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$2.69 NT$87.6

-31.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$0.95 NT$31.09

-44.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$9.33 NT$304

-43.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$0.95 NT$30.96

58.95%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$25.1K NT$817.2K

-13.20%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$19.1K NT$621.9K

25.75%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$45.67 NT$1,489

37.90%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$14.60 NT$476

87.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$20.72 NT$676

72.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$30.18 NT$984

95.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$7.76 NT$253

-17.53%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$329 NT$10.7K

31.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$16.1K NT$525.0K

-29.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$54.4 NT$1,773

25.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$30.53 NT$995

74.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$84.1 NT$2,742

28.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$61.7 NT$2,013

89.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$264 NT$8,607

321.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$247 NT$8,066

187.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$1,047 NT$34.1K

147.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$722 NT$23.5K

94.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$7,590 NT$247.5K

-52.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$4,807 NT$156.7K

-55.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$1,016 NT$33.1K

-6.90%

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 Yilan: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Yilan

$247 25.1% 65.2% $463

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Yilan

$367 37.3% 14.9% $48

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Yilan

$95 9.7% 51.9% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Yilan

$104 10.6% 33.4% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Yilan

$81 8.2% 35.7% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Yilan

$46 4.6% 36.3% $26

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Yilan

$44 4.5% 72.1% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $264 in Yilan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Yilan pays 7% 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 $30 in Yilan. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $367, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇹🇼 Yilan

🕒 Local time

20:46 8:46 PM

10:46 10:46 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

95,907

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.41 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Yilan 13,400 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Yilan

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 Yilan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $984 in Yilan, so Yilan is about 39% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 7% 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 $264 in Yilan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 41% less than in Yilan. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $329 in Yilan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.