Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Almaty and Luoyang

For one person, living is cheaper in Luoyang: $659 a month against $1,363 in Almaty, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Luoyang
Learn more

Luoyang Living Index

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Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,363

/mo nomad

Luoyang

🇨🇳 China

$659

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Almaty and in Luoyang

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

A single person spends $1,363 per month in Almaty vs $659 in Luoyang, rent included.

Almaty $1,363
Luoyang $659

A couple spends around $2,131 per month in Almaty vs $1,067 in Luoyang, rent included.

Almaty $2,131
Luoyang $1,067

A family of three spends $2,900 per month in Almaty vs $1,475 in Luoyang, rent included.

Almaty $2,900
Luoyang $1,475

Almaty costs about 107% more than Luoyang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Almaty sits 1% above the global median, while Luoyang is 51% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.05 ₸5,899

$3.69 ¥24.67

253.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.44 ₸19.6K

$29.56 ¥198

46.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ₸3,962

$5.74 ¥38.40

52.61%

Cappuccino

$3.32 ₸1,501

$3.69 ¥24.68

-10.03%

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

$1.34 ₸607

$0.46 ¥3.11

191.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 ₸374

$0.27 ¥1.82

207.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.36 ₸1,518

$1.26 ¥8.41

166.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.02 ₸1,818

$3.04 ¥20.35

32.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 ₸747

$1.93 ¥12.89

-14.51%

White Bread (500g)

$0.93 ₸421

$2.26 ¥15.08

-58.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 ₸927

$1.04 ¥6.94

97.12%

Eggs

$2.46 ₸1,113

$1.42 ¥9.53

73.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.49 ₸5,646

$13.38 ¥89.5

-6.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.71 ₸3,035

$3.43 ¥22.95

95.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.85 ₸4,905

$9.18 ¥61.4

18.19%

Apples (1kg)

$1.78 ₸807

$0.96 ¥6.41

85.42%

Banana (1kg)

$2.25 ₸1,018

$1.31 ¥8.79

71.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 ₸1,299

$1.50 ¥10.02

91.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 ₸1,227

$1.26 ¥8.44

115.08%

Potato (1kg)

$0.80 ₸362

$0.73 ¥4.90

9.59%

Onion (1kg)

$0.55 ₸249

$0.87 ¥5.85

-36.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.62 ₸732

$0.43 ¥2.90

276.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 ₸453

$0.83 ¥5.56

20.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.58 ₸1,167

$1.68 ¥11.20

53.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.15 ₸5,039

$13.35 ¥89.3

-16.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 ₸572

$0.44 ¥2.92

186.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 ₸1,120

$2.13 ¥14.23

16.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 ₸128

$0.29 ¥1.93

-3.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.05 ₸9,970

$17.84 ¥119

23.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.34 ₸607

$1.23 ¥8.22

8.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₸288

$0.36 ¥2.38

77.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.04 ₸4,993

$7.04 ¥47.06

56.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.72 ₸326

$1.29 ¥8.60

-44.19%

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

$28.1K ₸12.7M

$19.6K ¥131.0K

43.66%

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

$31.8K ₸14.4M

$17.5K ¥117.0K

81.81%

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

$90.5 ₸40.9K

$43.38 ¥290

108.67%

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

$10.63 ₸4,805

$5.90 ¥39.43

80.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.12 ₸8,190

$10.57 ¥70.7

71.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.0 ₸31.2K

$22.85 ¥153

201.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.98 ₸12.2K

$11.74 ¥78.5

129.81%

Cinema Ticket

$6.77 ₸3,062

$5.53 ¥36.96

22.42%

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

$444 ₸200.6K

$197 ¥1,315

125.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K ₸5.4M

$17.6K ¥117.7K

-32.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.9 ₸41.5K

$49.15 ¥329

86.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.80 ₸21.6K

$30.13 ¥201

58.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 ₸63.0K

$66.0 ¥441

111.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 ₸59.4K

$78.9 ¥527

66.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$777 ₸351.2K

$188 ¥1,258

312.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$494 ₸223.4K

$126 ¥840

293.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,439 ₸650.4K

$439 ¥2,936

227.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$905 ₸409.2K

$225 ¥1,507

301.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,470 ₸1.1M

$2,154 ¥14.4K

14.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,517 ₸685.7K

$1,409 ¥9,422

7.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$857 ₸387.2K

$637 ¥4,259

34.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.65

4.45

364.04%

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

Last update for Almaty: October 18, 2026

Last update for Luoyang: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Almaty

$494 36.3%

Luoyang

$126 19.1% 74.6% $368

Groceries & Markets

Almaty

$251 18.4%

Luoyang

$210 31.9% 16.1% $40

Eating Out

Almaty

$204 15%

Luoyang

$106 16.1% 47.9% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Almaty

$185 13.6%

Luoyang

$101 15.3% 45.4% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Almaty

$119 8.8%

Luoyang

$60 9.1% 49.8% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Almaty

$83 6.1%

Luoyang

$34 5.2% 58.9% $49

Getting Around

Almaty

$28 2%

Luoyang

$22 3.3% 20.6% $5.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $777 in Almaty versus $188 in Luoyang. 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 34% 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 $30.00 in Luoyang. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $251 vs $210 – making Luoyang the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇿 Almaty

🇨🇳 Luoyang

🕒 Local time

17:34 5:34 PM

19:34 7:34 PM

2 h ahead of Almaty

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,475,400

1,926,000

💱 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 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).

USD to KZT in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Almaty Luoyang 3,190 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Almaty
Luoyang

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 Luoyang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Almaty is pricier by about 107%, 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 $988 in Luoyang. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Luoyang, 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 $30.00 in Luoyang. 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 $659 in Luoyang. That's a gap of about 107%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Luoyang, where all-in costs run around $659, than in Almaty at $1,363. In Luoyang it covers expenses comfortably, while in Almaty it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Luoyang – 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 Luoyang. 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.