Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saitama and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Saitama: $1,007 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Saitama
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Saitama Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Saitama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,007

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Saitama 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 Saitama and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,007 in Saitama versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Saitama $1,007
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,330 in Saitama versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Saitama $1,330
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,653 in Saitama versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Saitama $1,653
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Saitama costs roughly 35% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Saitama is 26% below, Mexico City is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.55 ¥876

$11.02 MX$204

-49.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.14 ¥4,920

$48.68 MX$900

-36.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.86 ¥768

$10.90 MX$201

-55.41%

Cappuccino

$3.07 ¥486

$3.68 MX$68.1

-16.58%

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

$0.72 ¥114

$1.63 MX$30.18

-55.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 ¥103

$1.25 MX$23.07

-48.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.46 ¥389

$3.25 MX$60.1

-24.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 ¥503

$5.53 MX$102

-42.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 ¥229

$1.70 MX$31.50

-14.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 ¥260

$3.02 MX$55.8

-45.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 ¥423

$1.92 MX$35.53

39.58%

Eggs

$2.00 ¥316

$2.73 MX$50.5

-26.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.14 ¥1,601

$11.77 MX$218

-13.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.45 ¥861

$9.53 MX$176

-42.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 ¥2,281

$14.41 MX$266

0.21%

Apples (1kg)

$5.58 ¥882

$3.02 MX$55.8

84.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.25 ¥355

$1.89 MX$35.01

19.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 ¥449

$1.99 MX$36.70

42.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.19 ¥662

$2.19 MX$40.38

91.32%

Potato (1kg)

$2.61 ¥412

$1.92 MX$35.43

35.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 ¥247

$1.87 MX$34.49

-16.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 ¥197

$1.44 MX$26.62

-13.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 ¥126

$1.27 MX$23.39

-37.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.70 ¥585

$5.22 MX$96.4

-29.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 ¥999

$16.17 MX$299

-60.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ¥274

$1.90 MX$35.03

-8.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 ¥333

$4.22 MX$78.0

-50.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.45 ¥545

$0.34 MX$6.30

914.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 ¥492

$2.00 MX$36.90

55.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.70 ¥427

$0.52 MX$9.67

419.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.19 ¥3,190

$5.34 MX$98.7

278.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ¥174

$1.52 MX$28.13

-27.63%

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

$21.9K ¥3.5M

$22.1K MX$408.0K

-0.72%

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

$14.4K ¥2.3M

$24.5K MX$452.9K

-41.28%

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

$131 ¥20.7K

$61.1 MX$1,129

114.57%

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

$17.62 ¥2,784

$28.58 MX$528

-38.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.87 ¥5,036

$34.47 MX$637

-7.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.5 ¥9,721

$56.4 MX$1,042

9.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

Cinema Ticket

$11.12 ¥1,757

$6.66 MX$123

66.97%

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

$620 ¥97.9K

$427 MX$7,891

45.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ¥2.3M

$11.6K MX$215.0K

27.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$34.90 ¥5,514

$67.8 MX$1,253

-48.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.61 ¥4,047

$52.0 MX$960

-50.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$55.5 ¥8,772

$106 MX$1,959

-47.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$61.9 ¥9,773

$113 MX$2,080

-45.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$414 ¥65.3K

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-59.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$237 ¥37.4K

$654 MX$12.1K

-63.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,505 ¥237.7K

$964 MX$17.8K

56.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.06

11.3

-81.77%

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

Last update for Saitama: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Saitama

$275 27.4%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 15.6% $43

Accommodation & Living

Saitama

$237 23.5%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 177% $418

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saitama

$181 17.9%

Mexico City

$124 8% 31.3% $56

Eating Out

Saitama

$120 11.9%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 69.9% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Saitama

$84 8.3%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 16.8% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Saitama

$80 8%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 90.2% $72

Getting Around

Saitama

$30 * 3%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 15.7% $4.8

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $414 in Saitama and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saitama pays 56% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31.00 in Saitama vs $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $318 per month, with Saitama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Saitama

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

01:12 1:12 AM

10:12 10:12 AM

15 h behind Saitama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,182,115

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Saitama Mexico City 11,300 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Saitama
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

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

Saitama and Mexico City differ by about 54% in total monthly costs ($1,007 vs $1,548 including rent). Saitama is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 56% higher in Saitama, 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: $414 in Saitama versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $620 in Saitama versus $427 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Saitama – a meal for two runs $31.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,007 in Saitama versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Saitama but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Saitama 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.

Safety-wise, Saitama and Mexico City are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Saitama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.