Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Almaty and Liaocheng

For one person, living is cheaper in Liaocheng: $650 a month against $1,363 in Almaty, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Almaty
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
$1,363
/mo nomad
Liaocheng
🇨🇳 China
$650
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Almaty and in Liaocheng

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 Liaocheng actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,363 per month in Almaty vs $650 in Liaocheng, rent included.

  • Almaty $1,363
  • Liaocheng $650

A couple spends around $2,131 per month in Almaty vs $1,036 in Liaocheng, rent included.

  • Almaty $2,131
  • Liaocheng $1,036

A family of three spends $2,900 per month in Almaty vs $1,422 in Liaocheng, rent included.

  • Almaty $2,900
  • Liaocheng $1,422

Almaty costs about 110% more than Liaocheng, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Almaty sits 1% above the global median, while Liaocheng is 52% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Almaty
Liaocheng
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$13.05 ₸5,899
$2.56 ¥17.11
409.77%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$43.44 ₸19.6K
$13.71 ¥91.7
216.85%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.76 ₸3,962
$4.89 ¥32.69
79.14%
Cappuccino
$3.32 ₸1,501
$1.89 ¥12.66
75.66%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.34 ₸607
$0.37 ¥2.46
262.16%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.83 ₸374
$0.21 ¥1.40
295.24%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.36 ₸1,518
$0.79 ¥5.27
325.32%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.02 ₸1,818
$1.94 ¥12.94
107.22%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Almaty
Liaocheng
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.65 ₸747
$1.52 ¥10.17
8.55%
White Bread (500g)
$0.93 ₸421
$1.41 ¥9.45
-34.04%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.05 ₸927
$0.92 ¥6.18
122.83%
Eggs
$2.46 ₸1,113
$1.08 ¥7.21
127.78%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$12.49 ₸5,646
$11.62 ¥77.7
7.49%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.71 ₸3,035
$2.91 ¥19.46
130.58%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.85 ₸4,905
$11.01 ¥73.6
-1.45%
Apples (1kg)
$1.78 ₸807
$1.39 ¥9.30
28.06%
Banana (1kg)
$2.25 ₸1,018
$1.00 ¥6.71
125.00%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.87 ₸1,299
$1.42 ¥9.52
102.11%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.71 ₸1,227
$1.13 ¥7.58
139.82%
Potato (1kg)
$0.80 ₸362
$0.58 ¥3.85
37.93%
Onion (1kg)
$0.55 ₸249
$0.74 ¥4.94
-25.68%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.62 ₸732
$0.58 ¥3.85
179.31%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.00 ₸453
$0.63 ¥4.19
58.73%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.58 ₸1,167
$2.20 ¥14.71
17.27%
Wine (Bottle)
$11.15 ₸5,039
$9.84 ¥65.8
13.31%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.26 ₸572
$0.72 ¥4.79
75.00%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.48 ₸1,120
$1.35 ¥9.06
83.70%
🚌 Getting Around
Almaty
Liaocheng
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.28 ₸128
$0.29 ¥1.94
-3.45%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$22.05 ₸9,970
$18.03 ¥121
22.30%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.34 ₸607
$1.22 ¥8.13
9.84%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.64 ₸288
$0.27 ¥1.82
137.04%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$11.04 ₸4,993
$4.56 ¥30.51
142.11%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.72 ₸326
$1.10 ¥7.38
-34.55%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$28.1K ₸12.7M
$19.8K ¥132.2K
42.35%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.8K ₸14.4M
$14.9K ¥99.6K
113.48%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Almaty
Liaocheng
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$90.5 ₸40.9K
$45.39 ¥304
99.43%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$10.63 ₸4,805
$5.88 ¥39.31
80.78%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$18.12 ₸8,190
$5.15 ¥34.46
251.84%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Almaty
Liaocheng
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$69.0 ₸31.2K
$41.26 ¥276
67.23%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$26.98 ₸12.2K
$14.79 ¥98.9
82.42%
Cinema Ticket
$6.77 ₸3,062
$4.43 ¥29.64
52.82%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Almaty
Liaocheng
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$444 ₸200.6K
$216 ¥1,444
105.53%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$12.0K ₸5.4M
$19.9K ¥133.3K
-39.98%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Almaty
Liaocheng
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$91.9 ₸41.5K
$34.21 ¥229
168.55%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$47.80 ₸21.6K
$29.89 ¥200
59.92%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$139 ₸63.0K
$70.7 ¥473
96.96%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$131 ₸59.4K
$59.1 ¥395
122.34%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Almaty
Liaocheng
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$777 ₸351.2K
$304 ¥2,035
155.27%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$494 ₸223.4K
$183 ¥1,224
169.96%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,439 ₸650.4K
$639 ¥4,275
125.03%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$905 ₸409.2K
$383 ¥2,563
136.08%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,470 ₸1.1M
$3,543 ¥23.7K
-30.29%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,517 ₸685.7K
$1,302 ¥8,708
16.48%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Almaty
Liaocheng
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$857 ₸387.2K
$590 ¥3,945
45.18%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
20.65
3.13
559.74%

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

Last update for Almaty: October 18, 2026

Last update for Liaocheng: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Almaty
$494
Liaocheng
$183 63% $311
Groceries & Markets
Almaty
$251
Liaocheng
$183 26.9% $67
Eating Out
Almaty
$204
Liaocheng
$68 66.7% $136
Clothing & Footwear
Almaty
$185
Liaocheng
$87 52.7% $97
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Almaty
$119
Liaocheng
$56 52.7% $63
Sport & Entertainment
Almaty
$83
Liaocheng
$50 39.3% $32
Getting Around
Almaty
$28
Liaocheng
$22 21.4% $5.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $777 in Almaty versus $304 in Liaocheng. 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 45% higher in Almaty, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Almaty versus $14.00 in Liaocheng. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $251 vs $183 – making Liaocheng the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇰🇿 Almaty
🇨🇳 Liaocheng
🕒 Local time
18:28 6:28 PM
20:28 8:28 PM
2 h ahead of Almaty
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,475,400
1,230,000
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to KZT – Kazakhstani Tenge Converter

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 20, 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Almaty Liaocheng 3,380 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Almaty
  • Liaocheng

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 Liaocheng: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Liaocheng cheaper than Almaty?
Yes – Almaty is pricier by about 110%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,044 per month in Almaty and $975 in Liaocheng. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Liaocheng, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
Is eating out cheaper in Almaty or in Liaocheng?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Almaty and $14.00 in Liaocheng. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
What are total monthly expenses in Almaty and in Liaocheng?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,363 in Almaty and $650 in Liaocheng. That's a gap of about 110%.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Almaty or in Liaocheng?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Liaocheng, where all-in costs run around $650, than in Almaty at $1,363. In Liaocheng it covers expenses comfortably, while in Almaty it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Almaty or Liaocheng more family-friendly?
Families tend to lean toward Liaocheng – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Liaocheng. 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.

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