Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taichung and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Taichung: $1,112 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Taichung
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Taichung Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Taichung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,112

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,112 in Taichung versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Taichung $1,112
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,856 in Taichung versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Taichung $1,856
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,601 in Taichung versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Taichung $2,601
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Taichung costs roughly 31% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.69 NT$152

$10.62 MX$198

-55.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.30 NT$1,014

$48.35 MX$901

-35.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.64 NT$150

$10.35 MX$193

-55.17%

Cappuccino

$2.89 NT$93.8

$3.69 MX$68.8

-21.68%

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

$1.03 NT$33.31

$1.67 MX$31.07

-38.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 NT$24.47

$1.27 MX$23.59

-40.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.50 NT$48.52

$3.19 MX$59.5

-52.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 NT$86.3

$5.31 MX$98.9

-49.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.08 NT$99.9

$1.72 MX$32.15

79.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.65 NT$53.4

$3.04 MX$56.7

-45.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 NT$83.8

$1.94 MX$36.19

33.51%

Eggs

$2.54 NT$82.4

$2.89 MX$53.8

-12.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$28.53 NT$924

$10.97 MX$205

160.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.76 NT$251

$9.25 MX$172

-16.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.59 NT$537

$15.13 MX$282

9.65%

Apples (1kg)

$4.21 NT$137

$3.05 MX$56.8

38.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 NT$62.8

$1.94 MX$36.19

Oranges (1kg)

$3.01 NT$97.6

$2.03 MX$37.75

48.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 NT$69.1

$2.31 MX$43.15

-7.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 NT$39.28

$2.04 MX$37.94

-40.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 NT$62.6

$1.80 MX$33.55

7.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.25 NT$73.1

$1.48 MX$27.58

52.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 NT$28.87

$1.27 MX$23.63

-29.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.79 NT$123

$5.30 MX$98.9

-28.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.10 NT$489

$16.10 MX$300

-6.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 NT$51.7

$1.98 MX$36.97

-19.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 NT$78.6

$4.25 MX$79.3

-42.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 NT$20.46

$0.31 MX$5.69

103.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.67 NT$605

$19.73 MX$368

-5.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.58 NT$83.5

$1.84 MX$34.25

40.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 NT$29.11

$0.53 MX$9.94

69.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.19 NT$298

$5.30 MX$98.7

73.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 NT$33.71

$1.51 MX$28.16

-31.13%

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

$35.3K NT$1.1M

$21.8K MX$405.5K

62.19%

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

$22.2K NT$720.4K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

-7.30%

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

$122 NT$3,956

$63.0 MX$1,174

93.89%

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

$14.52 NT$470

$27.39 MX$511

-46.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.46 NT$663

$35.67 MX$665

-42.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.28 NT$1,013

$58.9 MX$1,099

-46.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.39 NT$369

$23.64 MX$441

-51.82%

Cinema Ticket

$10.22 NT$331

$6.40 MX$119

59.69%

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

$326 NT$10.6K

$432 MX$8,045

-24.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K NT$533.0K

$11.4K MX$212.9K

44.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.8 NT$2,325

$68.2 MX$1,272

5.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.78 NT$1,159

$53.1 MX$990

-32.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.7 NT$2,645

$108 MX$2,009

-24.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 NT$3,587

$117 MX$2,186

-5.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$382 NT$12.4K

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-65.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$266 NT$8,612

$710 MX$13.2K

-62.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,188 NT$38.5K

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-54.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$739 NT$23.9K

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-47.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,811 NT$188.3K

$3,631 MX$67.7K

60.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,266 NT$138.2K

$2,135 MX$39.8K

99.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,400 NT$45.3K

$946 MX$17.6K

47.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.27

11.35

-80.00%

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

Last update for Taichung: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Taichung

$368 33.1%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 13.1% $48

Accommodation & Living

Taichung

$266 23.9%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 167% $445

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taichung

$157 14.1%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 19.8% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Taichung

$135 12.1%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 15.5% $21

Eating Out

Taichung

$106 9.6%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 87.1% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Taichung

$52 4.7%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 38.7% $20

Getting Around

Taichung

$28 2.5%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 9.9% $2.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $382 in Taichung and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taichung pays 48% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31 in Taichung vs $48 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $368 vs $320, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Taichung

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

05:36 5:36 AM

15:36 3:36 PM

14 h behind Taichung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,767,239

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.09 USD

100 TWD = 2.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 32.4 TWD (100 TWD = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 36.07 TWD (100 TWD = 2.77 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Taichung Mexico City 13,530 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Taichung
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,112 in Taichung and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Taichung is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 48% higher in Taichung, 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: $382 in Taichung 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 Taichung runs roughly 5% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $326 in Taichung 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. Taichung 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.