Cost of living comparison

Mexico

compared to

Japan

Kobe vs. Monterrey Cost of Living Summary

Kobe is 14.6% cheaper than Monterrey.

Restaurants: pay 47.9% less in Kobe
Groceries: pay 27.6% more in Kobe
Transportation: pay 12.7% more in Kobe
Housing: pay 23.1% less in Kobe
Childcare: pay 50.5% less in Kobe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.8% more in Kobe
Clothing: pay 45.3% less in Kobe

The cost of groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Kobe are more expensive than in Monterrey. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, clothing, and housing are lower in Kobe.

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Kobe vs. Monterrey Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kobe instead of Monterrey, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.9% less for restaurants

	Monterrey	Kobe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.91 MX$257.20	$7.59 ¥1,200	-45.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.13 MX$205.76	$4.87 ¥770	-56.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.68 MX$30.99	$1.17 ¥184	-30.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 MX$19.03	$0.60 ¥95	-41.6%
Average			-47.9%

Monterrey vs. Kobe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 27.6% more for groceries

	Monterrey	Kobe
Bread 1 loaf	$2.95 MX$54.63	$1.29 ¥204	-56.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.13 MX$113.44	$6.33 ¥1,000	+3.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.20 MX$133.19	$5.78 ¥913	-19.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 MX$47.39	$2.05 ¥325	-19.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.28 MX$79.19	$3.16 ¥499	-26.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 MX$28.05	$3.53 ¥558	+132.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 MX$13.19	$1.36 ¥215	+91.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.98 MX$18.19	$2.28 ¥360	+131.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.12 MX$20.72	$3.54 ¥559	+215.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.06 MX$19.52	$1.72 ¥272	+63.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.23 MX$22.77	$1.58 ¥249	+28.2%
Average			+27.6%

Monterrey vs. Kobe - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.7% more for transportation

	Monterrey	Kobe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.91 MX$109.36	$4.10 ¥648	-30.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$32.04 MX$592.58	$63.27 ¥9,997	+97.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,528.95 MX$398K	$20,061.49 ¥3M	-6.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.57 MX$195.47	$28.47 ¥4,499	+169.3%
Average			+12.7%

Monterrey vs. Kobe - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.1% less for housing

	Monterrey	Kobe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.79 MX$495.42	$31.16 ¥4,923	+16.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$981.90 MX$18,158.20	$687.49 ¥109K	-30.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$685.94 MX$12,685.02	$463.95 ¥73,311	-32.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$91.91 MX$1,699.66	$111.27 ¥17,583	+21.1%
Average			-23.1%

Monterrey vs. Kobe - Cost of housing

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pay 50.5% less for childcare

	Monterrey	Kobe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$703.26 MX$13,005.38	$322.65 ¥50,984	-54.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,496.80 MX$213K	$6,149.41 ¥972K	-46.5%
Average			-50.5%

Monterrey vs. Kobe - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Monterrey	Kobe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.36 MX$43.72	$2.06 ¥326	-12.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.04 MX$74.68	$2.34 ¥370	-42.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.90 MX$90.53	$3.48 ¥550	-28.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.22 MX$577.27	$46.39 ¥7,331	+48.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.29 MX$97.74	$11.39 ¥1,799	+115.5%
Average			+12.8%

Monterrey vs. Kobe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 45.3% less for clothing

	Monterrey	Kobe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$73.56 MX$1,360.29	$50.30 ¥7,948	-31.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$42.76 MX$790.75	$25.31 ¥3,999	-40.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.51 MX$2,080.57	$45.97 ¥7,264	-59.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$120.67 MX$2,231.48	$65.37 ¥10,330	-45.8%
Average			-45.3%

Monterrey vs. Kobe - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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