Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Anshan

For one person, living is cheaper in Anshan: $626 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Anshan
Learn more

Anshan Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Anshan

🇨🇳 China

$626

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $626 in Anshan.

Mexico City $1,548
Anshan $626

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,011 in Anshan.

Mexico City $2,436
Anshan $1,011

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $1,396 in Anshan.

Mexico City $3,323
Anshan $1,396

Living in Mexico City is roughly 147% more expensive than in Anshan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Anshan is 54% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$2.94 ¥19.67

274.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$18.46 ¥123

163.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$4.59 ¥30.70

137.47%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.49 ¥16.65

47.79%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$0.36 ¥2.38

352.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$0.21 ¥1.40

495.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$0.73 ¥4.89

345.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$1.61 ¥10.79

243.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.77 ¥11.80

-3.95%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.26 ¥8.42

139.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$0.39 ¥2.59

392.31%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$1.06 ¥7.07

157.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$9.06 ¥60.6

29.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$1.83 ¥12.24

420.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$8.93 ¥59.7

61.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.02 ¥6.83

196.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.17 ¥7.80

61.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$1.17 ¥7.83

70.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$1.19 ¥7.95

84.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$0.31 ¥2.08

519.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$0.92 ¥6.14

103.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$0.29 ¥1.93

396.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$0.44 ¥2.92

188.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$3.78 ¥25.28

38.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$7.39 ¥49.42

118.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$0.72 ¥4.79

163.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$1.09 ¥7.29

287.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$0.29 ¥1.92

17.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

$18.04 ¥121

8.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$1.03 ¥6.90

94.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$0.14 ¥0.90

271.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$2.93 ¥19.59

82.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.05 ¥7.05

44.76%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$19.5K ¥130.4K

13.23%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$15.1K ¥101.2K

61.92%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$29.47 ¥197

107.23%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$7.37 ¥49.28

287.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$14.66 ¥98.0

135.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$41.48 ¥277

35.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$14.78 ¥98.9

68.34%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$5.93 ¥39.63

12.31%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$226 ¥1,514

88.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$21.4K ¥143.1K

-45.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$36.77 ¥246

84.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$32.89 ¥220

57.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$60.6 ¥405

74.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$69.9 ¥468

60.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$295 ¥1,971

247.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$182 ¥1,217

259.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$629 ¥4,209

266.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$377 ¥2,518

229.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$3,509 ¥23.5K

2.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$1,923 ¥12.9K

0.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$926 ¥6,194

4.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

465.00%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Anshan: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Anshan

$182 29.1% 72.2% $472

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Anshan

$152 24.2% 52.3% $167

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Anshan

$76 12.2% 62.6% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Anshan

$90 14.4% 40.8% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Anshan

$52 8.2% 58.5% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Anshan

$53 8.5% 23.5% $16

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Anshan

$21 3.3% 18.5% $4.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $295 in Anshan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 4% 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: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $18.00 in Anshan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $152 per month, with Anshan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇳 Anshan

🕒 Local time

14:30 2:30 PM

04:30 4:30 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,543,696

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 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 MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Anshan 12,000 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
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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

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

Anshan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 147% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 4% higher in Mexico City, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $295 in Anshan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Anshan – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,548 per month in Mexico City versus $626 in Anshan – a 147% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $626 in Anshan versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Anshan but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Anshan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Anshan 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 Anshan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 147% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.