Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Otsu and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Otsu: $1,297 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Otsu
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Otsu Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Otsu

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,297

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Otsu and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,297 in Otsu versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Otsu $1,297
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,890 in Otsu versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Otsu $1,890
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,482 in Otsu versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Otsu $2,482
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Otsu costs roughly 19% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Otsu is 5% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.43 ¥1,331

$10.62 MX$199

-20.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.93 ¥5,043

$48.35 MX$906

-33.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.13 ¥810

$10.35 MX$194

-50.43%

Cappuccino

$3.12 ¥494

$3.69 MX$69.2

-15.45%

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

$1.18 ¥187

$1.67 MX$31.23

-29.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 ¥142

$1.27 MX$23.71

-29.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 ¥504

$3.19 MX$59.8

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.51 ¥712

$5.31 MX$99.5

-15.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 ¥242

$1.72 MX$32.32

-11.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 ¥245

$3.04 MX$57.0

-49.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.52 ¥714

$1.94 MX$36.38

132.99%

Eggs

$2.14 ¥338

$2.89 MX$54.1

-25.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.67 ¥2,475

$10.97 MX$206

42.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.88 ¥1,086

$9.25 MX$173

-25.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.21 ¥2,718

$15.13 MX$283

13.75%

Apples (1kg)

$4.95 ¥782

$3.05 MX$57.1

62.30%

Banana (1kg)

$2.49 ¥393

$1.94 MX$36.38

28.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.97 ¥785

$2.03 MX$37.95

144.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.42 ¥698

$2.31 MX$43.38

91.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 ¥348

$2.04 MX$38.14

7.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 ¥295

$1.80 MX$33.73

3.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ¥187

$1.48 MX$27.72

-19.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 ¥137

$1.27 MX$23.75

-31.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.97 ¥627

$5.30 MX$99.4

-25.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.69 ¥1,530

$16.10 MX$302

-39.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.06 ¥326

$1.98 MX$37.16

4.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 ¥345

$4.25 MX$79.7

-48.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 ¥235

$0.31 MX$5.72

380.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$57.5 ¥9,080

$19.73 MX$370

191.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.26 ¥514

$1.84 MX$34.44

77.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.85 ¥450

$0.53 MX$10.00

437.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.41 ¥4,486

$5.30 MX$99.2

436.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 ¥177

$1.51 MX$28.31

-25.83%

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

$22.2K ¥3.5M

$21.8K MX$407.7K

1.89%

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

$15.3K ¥2.4M

$24.0K MX$449.5K

-36.37%

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

$118 ¥18.6K

$63.0 MX$1,180

86.90%

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

$23.18 ¥3,661

$27.39 MX$513

-15.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.70 ¥4,849

$35.67 MX$668

-13.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ¥8,042

$58.9 MX$1,105

-13.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.46 ¥1,494

$23.64 MX$443

-59.98%

Cinema Ticket

$12.85 ¥2,029

$6.40 MX$120

100.78%

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

$700 ¥110.6K

$432 MX$8,088

62.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K ¥2.0M

$11.4K MX$214.1K

10.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.5 ¥8,766

$68.2 MX$1,278

-18.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.05 ¥5,693

$53.1 MX$996

-32.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.5 ¥11.0K

$108 MX$2,020

-35.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.1 ¥15.3K

$117 MX$2,198

-17.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$443 ¥69.9K

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-60.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$366 ¥57.9K

$710 MX$13.3K

-48.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$623 ¥98.4K

$2,588 MX$48.5K

-75.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$461 ¥72.9K

$1,406 MX$26.3K

-67.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,199 ¥663.1K

$3,631 MX$68.0K

15.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,274 ¥359.2K

$2,135 MX$40.0K

6.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,818 ¥287.0K

$946 MX$17.7K

92.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.1

11.35

-81.50%

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

Last update for Otsu: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Otsu

$366 28.3%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 93.9% $344

Groceries & Markets

Otsu

$332 25.6%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 3.7% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Otsu

$172 13.2%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 26.5% $46

Eating Out

Otsu

$154 11.8%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 29.3% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Otsu

$116 9%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 34.2% $40

Getting Around

Otsu

$81 6.2%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 68.5% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Otsu

$77 5.9%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 6.4% $4.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $443 in Otsu and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Otsu pays 92% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Otsu vs $48 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $332 vs $320, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Otsu

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

01:49 1:49 AM

10:49 10:49 AM

15 h behind Otsu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

341,314

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.67 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.67 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Otsu Mexico City 11,630 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Otsu
Mexico City

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

Otsu vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,297 in Otsu and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Otsu is about 19% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 92% higher in Otsu, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $443 in Otsu versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 66% less than in Otsu. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $700 in Otsu versus $432 in Mexico City. 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. Otsu 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.