Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Datong and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Datong: $709 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Datong
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Datong Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Datong

🇨🇳 China

$709

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Datong 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 Datong and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $709 in Datong versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Datong $709
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,127 in Datong versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Datong $1,127
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,545 in Datong versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Datong $1,545
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Datong costs roughly 56% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Datong is 48% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.74 ¥18.23

$10.62 MX$198

-74.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.65 ¥144

$48.35 MX$901

-55.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.98 ¥33.15

$10.35 MX$193

-51.88%

Cappuccino

$2.95 ¥19.65

$3.69 MX$68.8

-20.05%

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

$0.46 ¥3.08

$1.67 MX$31.07

-72.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.77

$1.27 MX$23.59

-78.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.88 ¥5.88

$3.19 MX$59.5

-72.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ¥13.50

$5.31 MX$98.9

-61.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 ¥11.99

$1.72 MX$32.15

4.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 ¥10.28

$3.04 MX$56.7

-49.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.96 ¥6.36

$1.94 MX$36.19

-50.52%

Eggs

$1.61 ¥10.71

$2.89 MX$53.8

-44.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.09 ¥87.1

$10.97 MX$205

19.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.23 ¥21.48

$9.25 MX$172

-65.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.09 ¥67.1

$15.13 MX$282

-33.31%

Apples (1kg)

$1.81 ¥12.01

$3.05 MX$56.8

-40.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.20 ¥8.01

$1.94 MX$36.19

-38.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.50 ¥9.98

$2.03 MX$37.75

-26.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.14 ¥7.57

$2.31 MX$43.15

-50.65%

Potato (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.87

$2.04 MX$37.94

-64.22%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.12

$1.80 MX$33.55

-48.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 ¥3.70

$1.48 MX$27.58

-62.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ¥3.42

$1.27 MX$23.63

-59.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.10 ¥20.62

$5.30 MX$98.9

-41.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.40 ¥69.2

$16.10 MX$300

-35.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ¥5.05

$1.98 MX$36.97

-61.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 ¥10.91

$4.25 MX$79.3

-61.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 ¥1.77

$0.31 MX$5.69

-12.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.53 ¥110

$19.73 MX$368

-16.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.41 ¥9.35

$1.84 MX$34.25

-23.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 ¥2.35

$0.53 MX$9.94

-33.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.70 ¥44.57

$5.30 MX$98.7

26.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 ¥7.80

$1.51 MX$28.16

-22.52%

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

$19.4K ¥129.2K

$21.8K MX$405.5K

-10.78%

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

$17.2K ¥114.2K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

-28.47%

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

$45.68 ¥304

$63.0 MX$1,174

-27.47%

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

$9.63 ¥64.1

$27.39 MX$511

-64.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.68 ¥77.8

$35.67 MX$665

-67.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.21 ¥274

$58.9 MX$1,099

-30.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.73 ¥91.4

$23.64 MX$441

-41.92%

Cinema Ticket

$5.87 ¥39.05

$6.40 MX$119

-8.28%

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

$337 ¥2,242

$432 MX$8,045

-21.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.0K ¥113.2K

$11.4K MX$212.9K

48.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.28 ¥288

$68.2 MX$1,272

-36.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.52 ¥203

$53.1 MX$990

-42.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.2 ¥480

$108 MX$2,009

-33.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.7 ¥484

$117 MX$2,186

-37.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$274 ¥1,821

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-75.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$189 ¥1,257

$710 MX$13.2K

-73.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$594 ¥3,955

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-77.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$358 ¥2,383

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-74.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,019 ¥20.1K

$3,631 MX$67.7K

-16.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,019 ¥13.4K

$2,135 MX$39.8K

-5.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.89

11.35

-65.73%

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

Last update for Datong: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Datong

$198 27.9%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 61.7% $122

Accommodation & Living

Datong

$189 26.6%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 276% $522

Clothing & Footwear

Datong

$98 13.9%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 58.4% $57

Eating Out

Datong

$84 11.8%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 137% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Datong

$67 9.5%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 88.1% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Datong

$53 7.5%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 35.5% $19

Getting Around

Datong

$21 2.9%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 22.6% $4.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $274 in Datong and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $22 in Datong vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $320 per month, with Datong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Datong

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

06:26 6:26 AM

16:26 4:26 PM

14 h behind Datong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,318,057

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

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Datong Mexico City 12,590 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Datong
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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

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

Datong wins on cost – living expenses run 56% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Datong the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,064 in Datong and $2,412 in Mexico City to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $274 in Datong versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $337 in Datong versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 62% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $709 in Datong versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $800 budget is realistic in Datong but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Datong the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Datong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.