Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Almaty and Hohhot

For one person, living is cheaper in Hohhot: $725 a month against $1,363 in Almaty, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Almaty
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Almaty Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Hohhot
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Hohhot Living Index

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Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,363

/mo nomad

Hohhot

🇨🇳 China

$725

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Almaty and in Hohhot

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

A single person spends $1,363 per month in Almaty vs $725 in Hohhot, rent included.

Almaty $1,363
Hohhot $725

A couple spends around $2,131 per month in Almaty vs $1,133 in Hohhot, rent included.

Almaty $2,131
Hohhot $1,133

A family of three spends $2,900 per month in Almaty vs $1,542 in Hohhot, rent included.

Almaty $2,900
Hohhot $1,542

Almaty costs about 88% more than Hohhot, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Almaty sits 1% above the global median, while Hohhot is 47% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.05 ₸5,899

$3.43 ¥22.90

280.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.44 ₸19.6K

$22.14 ¥148

96.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ₸3,962

$8.61 ¥57.5

1.74%

Cappuccino

$3.32 ₸1,501

$3.67 ¥24.57

-9.54%

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

$1.34 ₸607

$0.46 ¥3.05

191.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 ₸374

$0.30 ¥2.02

176.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.36 ₸1,518

$1.22 ¥8.17

175.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.02 ₸1,818

$2.07 ¥13.82

94.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 ₸747

$2.31 ¥15.41

-28.57%

White Bread (500g)

$0.93 ₸421

$1.28 ¥8.59

-27.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 ₸927

$1.17 ¥7.81

75.21%

Eggs

$2.46 ₸1,113

$1.46 ¥9.79

68.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.49 ₸5,646

$13.43 ¥89.8

-7.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.71 ₸3,035

$3.13 ¥20.91

114.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.85 ₸4,905

$12.81 ¥85.6

-15.30%

Apples (1kg)

$1.78 ₸807

$2.02 ¥13.52

-11.88%

Banana (1kg)

$2.25 ₸1,018

$1.22 ¥8.18

84.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 ₸1,299

$1.75 ¥11.67

64.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 ₸1,227

$0.74 ¥4.97

266.22%

Potato (1kg)

$0.80 ₸362

$0.54 ¥3.63

48.15%

Onion (1kg)

$0.55 ₸249

$0.88 ¥5.89

-37.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.62 ₸732

$0.59 ¥3.94

174.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 ₸453

$0.46 ¥3.04

117.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.58 ₸1,167

$5.56 ¥37.17

-53.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.15 ₸5,039

$7.68 ¥51.4

45.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 ₸572

$0.94 ¥6.30

34.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 ₸1,120

$1.83 ¥12.24

35.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 ₸128

$0.17 ¥1.15

64.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.05 ₸9,970

$17.58 ¥118

25.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.34 ₸607

$1.17 ¥7.80

14.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₸288

$0.23 ¥1.54

178.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.04 ₸4,993

$3.20 ¥21.39

245.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.72 ₸326

$1.26 ¥8.42

-42.86%

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

$28.1K ₸12.7M

$15.7K ¥105.3K

78.69%

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

$31.8K ₸14.4M

$15.9K ¥106.6K

99.52%

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

$90.5 ₸40.9K

$54.9 ¥367

64.79%

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

$10.63 ₸4,805

$6.29 ¥42.08

69.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.12 ₸8,190

$11.07 ¥74.0

63.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.0 ₸31.2K

$34.07 ¥228

102.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.98 ₸12.2K

$17.17 ¥115

57.13%

Cinema Ticket

$6.77 ₸3,062

$5.12 ¥34.21

32.23%

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

$444 ₸200.6K

$409 ¥2,735

8.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K ₸5.4M

$24.3K ¥162.4K

-50.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.9 ₸41.5K

$60.7 ¥406

51.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.80 ₸21.6K

$26.14 ¥175

82.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 ₸63.0K

$83.2 ¥556

67.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 ₸59.4K

$74.1 ¥496

77.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$777 ₸351.2K

$205 ¥1,371

278.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$494 ₸223.4K

$163 ¥1,090

203.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,439 ₸650.4K

$333 ¥2,225

332.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$905 ₸409.2K

$267 ¥1,788

238.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,470 ₸1.1M

$1,696 ¥11.3K

45.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,517 ₸685.7K

$1,105 ¥7,386

37.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$857 ₸387.2K

$933 ¥6,235

-8.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.65

3.75

450.67%

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

Last update for Almaty: October 18, 2026

Last update for Hohhot: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Almaty

$494 36.3%

Hohhot

$163 22.5% 67% $331

Groceries & Markets

Almaty

$251 18.4%

Hohhot

$204 28.1% 18.6% $47

Eating Out

Almaty

$204 15%

Hohhot

$111 15.3% 45.8% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Almaty

$185 13.6%

Hohhot

$110 15.2% 40.5% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Almaty

$119 8.8%

Hohhot

$72 10% 39.4% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Almaty

$83 6.1%

Hohhot

$44 6.1% 46.3% $38

Getting Around

Almaty

$28 2%

Hohhot

$21 2.8% 25.7% $7.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $777 in Almaty versus $205 in Hohhot. 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 9% higher in Hohhot, 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 $43.00 in Almaty versus $22.00 in Hohhot. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $251 vs $204 – making Hohhot the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇿 Almaty

🇨🇳 Hohhot

🕒 Local time

07:28 7:28 AM

09:28 9:28 AM

2 h ahead of Almaty

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,475,400

3,446,100

💱 Currency

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to KZT – Kazakhstani Tenge Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇿 Kazakhstani Tenge (₸)

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 452 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD). 1 EUR = 508 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to KZT in detail →

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Almaty Hohhot 2,870 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

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Almaty
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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

Almaty vs Hohhot: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Almaty is pricier by about 88%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,044 per month in Almaty and $1,087 in Hohhot. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hohhot, 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 $43.00 in Almaty and $22.00 in Hohhot. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,363 in Almaty and $725 in Hohhot. That's a gap of about 88%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Hohhot, where all-in costs run around $725, than in Almaty at $1,363. In Hohhot it covers expenses comfortably, while in Almaty it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Hohhot – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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