Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Changchun and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Changchun: $904 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Changchun
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Changchun Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Changchun

🇨🇳 China

$904

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Changchun and in Mexico City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $904 in Changchun versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Changchun $904
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,324 in Changchun versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Changchun $1,324
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,743 in Changchun versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Changchun $1,743
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Changchun costs roughly 42% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Changchun is 33% below, Mexico City is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.02 ¥20.22

$11.02 MX$204

-72.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.15 ¥148

$48.68 MX$900

-54.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.19 ¥34.68

$10.90 MX$201

-52.39%

Cappuccino

$2.40 ¥16.02

$3.68 MX$68.1

-34.78%

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

$0.47 ¥3.14

$1.63 MX$30.18

-71.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.10

$1.25 MX$23.07

-75.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.21 ¥8.12

$3.25 MX$60.1

-62.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 ¥12.74

$5.53 MX$102

-65.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.90 ¥12.70

$1.70 MX$31.50

11.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.22 ¥8.16

$3.02 MX$55.8

-59.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 ¥9.65

$1.92 MX$35.53

-25.00%

Eggs

$1.81 ¥12.12

$2.73 MX$50.5

-33.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$34.55 ¥231

$11.77 MX$218

193.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.71 ¥38.15

$9.53 MX$176

-40.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.36 ¥69.3

$14.41 MX$266

-28.11%

Apples (1kg)

$1.72 ¥11.51

$3.02 MX$55.8

-43.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ¥9.71

$1.89 MX$35.01

-23.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 ¥12.05

$1.99 MX$36.70

-9.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.89 ¥12.66

$2.19 MX$40.38

-13.70%

Potato (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.95

$1.92 MX$35.43

-53.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.58 ¥3.89

$1.44 MX$26.62

-59.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 ¥9.80

$1.27 MX$23.39

15.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.78 ¥25.28

$5.22 MX$96.4

-27.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.06 ¥141

$16.17 MX$299

30.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 ¥6.13

$1.90 MX$35.03

-51.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.10 ¥7.37

$4.22 MX$78.0

-73.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.44 ¥2.92

$0.34 MX$6.30

29.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.24 ¥8.26

$2.00 MX$36.90

-38.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 ¥2.09

$0.52 MX$9.67

-40.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ¥20.18

$5.34 MX$98.7

-43.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 ¥8.58

$1.52 MX$28.13

-15.79%

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

$19.3K ¥129.3K

$22.1K MX$408.0K

-12.39%

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

$17.8K ¥118.9K

$24.5K MX$452.9K

-27.45%

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

$76.7 ¥513

$61.1 MX$1,129

25.54%

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

$4.43 ¥29.63

$28.58 MX$528

-84.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.76 ¥98.7

$34.47 MX$637

-57.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.44 ¥250

$56.4 MX$1,042

-33.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.13 ¥27.59

$24.88 MX$460

-83.40%

Cinema Ticket

$6.64 ¥44.42

$6.66 MX$123

-0.30%

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

$553 ¥3,701

$427 MX$7,891

29.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.9K ¥146.1K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

87.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.7 ¥493

$67.8 MX$1,253

8.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.44 ¥297

$52.0 MX$960

-14.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.2 ¥402

$106 MX$1,959

-43.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.7 ¥466

$113 MX$2,080

-38.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$216 ¥1,446

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-78.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$246 ¥1,648

$654 MX$12.1K

-62.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$576 ¥3,848

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-75.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$308 ¥2,057

$1,242 MX$22.9K

-75.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,668 ¥11.2K

$3,613 MX$66.8K

-53.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,006 ¥6,728

$1,936 MX$35.8K

-48.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$961 ¥6,423

$964 MX$17.8K

-0.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.37

11.3

-61.33%

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

Last update for Changchun: October 20, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Changchun

$313 * 34.6%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 1.7% $5.2

Accommodation & Living

Changchun

$246 27.3%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 166% $408

Clothing & Footwear

Changchun

$112 12.4%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 36.4% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Changchun

$96 10.6%

Mexico City

$124 8% 29.5% $28

Eating Out

Changchun

$82 9%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 150% $122

Sport & Entertainment

Changchun

$51 5.6%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 37.4% $19

Getting Around

Changchun

$4.5 * 0.5%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 465% $21

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $216 in Changchun and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 0% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $22.00 in Changchun vs $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $313 vs $318 per month, with Changchun cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Changchun

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

23:04 11:04 PM

09:04 9:04 AM

14 h behind Changchun

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,066,906

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Changchun Mexico City 11,650 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Changchun
Mexico City

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

Changchun vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Changchun is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 71% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 0% lower in Mexico City. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $216 in Changchun versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $553 in Changchun versus $427 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Changchun – a meal for two runs $22.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $904 in Changchun versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Changchun but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Changchun the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Changchun is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Mexico City, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Changchun gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.