Cost of living comparison

compared to

Japan vs. Mexico Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 22.7% more expensive than Mexico overall.

Restaurants: pay 30.9% less in Japan
Groceries: pay 33.2% more in Japan
Transportation: pay 29.4% more in Japan
Housing: pay 32.2% more in Japan
Childcare: pay 80.8% more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.3% more in Japan
Clothing: pay 19.1% less in Japan

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, housing, and transportation in Japan are more expensive than in Mexico. Expenses including restaurants and clothing are lower in Japan. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Japan.

Japan vs. Mexico Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Japan instead of Mexico, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 30.9% less for restaurants

	Mexico	Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.13 MX$184.20	$6.60 ¥1,026	-34.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.37 MX$152.09	$5.10 ¥792	-39.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.38 MX$25.01	$1.07 ¥166	-22.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.04 MX$18.95	$0.76 ¥118	-27.1%
Average			-30.9%

Mexico vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.2% more for groceries

	Mexico	Japan
Bread 1 loaf	$2.62 MX$47.57	$1.50 ¥233	-42.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.26 MX$77.45	$5.07 ¥787	+18.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.95 MX$108.11	$5.67 ¥880	-4.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.45 MX$44.52	$2.08 ¥323	-15.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.68 MX$66.80	$2.93 ¥455	-20.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.27 MX$23.03	$2.14 ¥332	+68.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.67 MX$12.23	$1.12 ¥174	+66.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 MX$16.84	$1.69 ¥263	+82.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 MX$15.00	$2.13 ¥331	+158.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.90 MX$16.32	$1.22 ¥189	+35.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.98 MX$17.79	$1.15 ¥179	+17.8%
Average			+33.2%

Mexico vs. Japan - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.4% more for transportation

	Mexico	Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.00 MX$90.92	$4.39 ¥682	-12.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$28.70 MX$521.62	$59.14 ¥9,189	+106.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,996.60 MX$436,128.57	$22,599.51 ¥3,511,060	-5.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.51 MX$354.62	$25.32 ¥3,934	+29.8%
Average			+29.4%

Mexico vs. Japan - Cost of transportation

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pay 32.2% more for housing

	Mexico	Japan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.35 MX$533.46	$33.91 ¥5,269	+15.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$587.67 MX$10,680.60	$543.18 ¥84,389	-7.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$443.50 MX$8,060.35	$353.61 ¥54,937	-20.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$49.22 MX$894.63	$118.72 ¥18,444	+141.2%
Average			+32.2%

Mexico vs. Japan - Cost of housing

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pay 80.8% more for childcare

	Mexico	Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$236.91 MX$4,305.75	$296.89 ¥46,124	+25.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,569.03 MX$101,214.91	$13,159.48 ¥2,044,457	+136.3%
Average			+80.8%

Mexico vs. Japan - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Mexico	Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.44 MX$44.28	$2.60 ¥405	+6.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.34 MX$60.69	$3.03 ¥470	-9.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.42 MX$80.27	$3.89 ¥604	-12.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.27 MX$713.67	$59.54 ¥9,250	+51.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.43 MX$98.75	$12.46 ¥1,936	+129.3%
Average			+33.3%

Mexico vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.1% less for clothing

	Mexico	Japan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.04 MX$963.95	$44.79 ¥6,959	-15.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.66 MX$738.90	$32.04 ¥4,978	-21.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$95.33 MX$1,732.66	$57.37 ¥8,913	-39.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$87.49 MX$1,590.07	$87.37 ¥13,574	-0.1%
Average			-19.1%

Mexico vs. Japan - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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