Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Queretaro and Saitama

For one person, living is cheaper in Saitama: $1,003 a month against $1,417 in Queretaro, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

69

Cost of Living Index in Queretaro
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Queretaro Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Saitama
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Saitama Living Index

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Queretaro

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,417

/mo nomad

Saitama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,003

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Queretaro and in Saitama

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

A single person spends $1,417 per month in Queretaro vs $1,003 in Saitama, rent included.

Queretaro $1,417
Saitama $1,003

A couple spends around $2,165 per month in Queretaro vs $1,327 in Saitama, rent included.

Queretaro $2,165
Saitama $1,327

A family of three spends $2,913 per month in Queretaro vs $1,650 in Saitama, rent included.

Queretaro $2,913
Saitama $1,650

Queretaro costs about 41% more than Saitama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Queretaro sits 5% above the global median, while Saitama is 26% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.14 MX$206

$5.50 ¥869

102.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.1 MX$1,148

$31.36 ¥4,955

98.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 MX$176

$4.80 ¥758

97.92%

Cappuccino

$3.66 MX$67.7

$2.92 ¥461

25.34%

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

$1.59 MX$29.35

$0.70 ¥111

127.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$19.97

$0.58 ¥92.0

86.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 MX$60.6

$2.51 ¥396

30.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.41 MX$100

$3.23 ¥511

67.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 MX$36.26

$1.39 ¥220

41.01%

White Bread (500g)

$2.74 MX$50.5

$1.64 ¥259

67.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.11

$2.76 ¥436

-27.17%

Eggs

$2.65 MX$48.95

$2.00 ¥315

32.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.64 MX$160

$10.18 ¥1,609

-15.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.82 MX$163

$5.44 ¥859

62.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.45 MX$249

$14.20 ¥2,243

-5.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.46 MX$64.0

$5.61 ¥887

-38.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 MX$30.31

$2.16 ¥342

-24.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.45

$2.91 ¥459

-24.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 MX$36.36

$4.29 ¥678

-54.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.30

$2.50 ¥395

-25.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 MX$32.18

$1.61 ¥255

8.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.43

$1.30 ¥205

13.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.09

$0.72 ¥114

66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 MX$82.2

$3.89 ¥615

14.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.98 MX$332

$6.45 ¥1,018

178.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.16 MX$39.99

$1.80 ¥284

20.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.82 MX$70.6

$2.01 ¥318

90.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.58 MX$10.70

$3.32 ¥525

-82.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.87 MX$478

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 MX$59.1

$3.24 ¥512

-1.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.54 MX$46.95

$2.63 ¥416

-3.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.92 MX$202

$20.14 ¥3,181

-45.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.70

$1.10 ¥174

40.91%

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

$21.5K MX$397.5K

$21.4K ¥3.4M

0.34%

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

$23.6K MX$436.3K

$14.2K ¥2.2M

66.67%

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

$57.2 MX$1,057

$133 ¥21.0K

-56.91%

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

$26.92 MX$497

$18.15 ¥2,867

48.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.48 MX$452

$32.67 ¥5,162

-25.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.5 MX$1,063

$62.7 ¥9,909

-8.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.36 MX$450

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 MX$137

$11.09 ¥1,752

-33.00%

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

$263 MX$4,869

$634 ¥100.1K

-58.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,015 MX$92.7K

$14.5K ¥2.3M

-65.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.7 MX$956

$35.01 ¥5,531

47.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.24 MX$818

$25.25 ¥3,989

75.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.9 MX$1,847

$55.0 ¥8,686

81.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.7 MX$1,843

$62.6 ¥9,891

59.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$836 MX$15.4K

$413 ¥65.3K

102.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$554 MX$10.2K

$233 ¥36.8K

137.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,463 MX$27.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$824 MX$15.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,253 MX$41.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,275 MX$23.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$910 MX$16.8K

$1,550 ¥244.9K

-41.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.99

2.06

482.04%

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

Last update for Queretaro: October 12, 2026

Last update for Saitama: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Queretaro

$554 39.1%

Saitama

$233 23.2% 57.9% $321

Groceries & Markets

Queretaro

$305 21.6%

Saitama

$274 27.4% 10.2% $31

Eating Out

Queretaro

$199 14.1%

Saitama

$118 11.7% 41.1% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Queretaro

$133 9.4%

Saitama

$80 8% 39.8% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Queretaro

$109 7.7%

Saitama

$184 18.3% 69% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Queretaro

$72 5.1%

Saitama

$85 8.5% 17.3% $13

Getting Around

Queretaro

$44 3.1%

Saitama

$30 * 3% 32.7% $14

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $836 in Queretaro versus $413 in Saitama. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 70% higher in Saitama, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62.0 in Queretaro versus $31.00 in Saitama. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $305 vs $274 – making Saitama the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Queretaro

🇯🇵 Saitama

🕒 Local time

07:57 7:57 AM

22:57 10:57 PM

15 h ahead of Queretaro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

804,663

1,182,115

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 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 October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Queretaro Saitama 11,110 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Queretaro
Saitama

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

Queretaro vs Saitama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Queretaro costs about 41% more than Saitama, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,125 per month in Queretaro and $1,504 in Saitama. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Saitama, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62.0 in Queretaro and $31.00 in Saitama. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 11% more in Queretaro, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Saitama, where all-in costs run around $1,003, than in Queretaro at $1,417. In Saitama it covers expenses comfortably, while in Queretaro it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Saitama costs $1,003 versus $1,417 in Queretaro. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Saitama. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Queretaro makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.