Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Chenzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Chenzhou: $749 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Chenzhou
Learn more

Chenzhou Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Chenzhou

🇨🇳 China

$749

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,674 per month in Mexico City vs $749 in Chenzhou, rent included.

Mexico City $1,674
Chenzhou $749

A couple spends around $2,606 per month in Mexico City vs $1,189 in Chenzhou, rent included.

Mexico City $2,606
Chenzhou $1,189

A family of three spends $3,537 per month in Mexico City vs $1,629 in Chenzhou, rent included.

Mexico City $3,537
Chenzhou $1,629

Mexico City costs about 123% more than Chenzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Mexico City sits 24% above the global median, while Chenzhou is 45% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$3.08 ¥20.56

243.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$966

$22.56 ¥151

130.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$5.05 ¥33.67

112.48%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$1.47 ¥9.78

158.50%

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

$1.61 MX$29.99

$0.51 ¥3.41

215.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.54

$0.25 ¥1.65

384.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$1.26 ¥8.41

152.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$1.91 ¥12.77

184.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.94

$2.04 ¥13.60

-15.69%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$2.32 ¥15.48

28.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.82

$0.79 ¥5.25

144.30%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$1.76 ¥11.72

57.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$12.87 ¥85.9

-9.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$3.95 ¥26.35

140.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$11.75 ¥78.4

30.81%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.7

$0.59 ¥3.92

425.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.17 ¥7.79

67.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.86

$0.73 ¥4.89

171.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.43

$1.24 ¥8.24

88.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.63

$0.97 ¥6.50

108.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.93

$1.54 ¥10.28

18.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.72

$0.65 ¥4.32

136.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.40

$0.53 ¥3.53

147.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.5

$3.02 ¥20.14

77.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$12.83 ¥85.6

26.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.43

$1.09 ¥7.27

79.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.9

$1.58 ¥10.53

175.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$0.31 ¥2.07

-3.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

$18.05 ¥120

7.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.66

$1.53 ¥10.22

25.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.79

$0.31 ¥2.08

51.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$4.53 ¥30.23

19.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.59

$1.32 ¥8.79

12.12%

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

$21.4K MX$397.5K

$19.3K ¥128.9K

10.62%

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

$23.8K MX$441.8K

$17.6K ¥117.6K

34.72%

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

$62.0 MX$1,153

$55.7 ¥372

11.23%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$8.85 ¥59.0

221.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$634

$11.03 ¥73.6

209.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,086

$41.62 ¥278

40.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$14.88 ¥99.3

64.65%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$6.55 ¥43.69

0.61%

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

$434 MX$8,076

$324 ¥2,163

33.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.0K

$16.6K ¥110.6K

-15.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,271

$82.7 ¥552

-17.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,019

$35.51 ¥237

54.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,062

$87.7 ¥585

26.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,157

$61.0 ¥407

90.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$289 ¥1,929

307.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$190 ¥1,268

305.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$616 ¥4,107

317.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$363 ¥2,420

291.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$3,251 ¥21.7K

10.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$1,939 ¥12.9K

6.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.46

228.03%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Chenzhou: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Chenzhou

$190 25.4% 75.3% $581

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Chenzhou

$216 28.8% 33.4% $108

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Chenzhou

$71 9.4% 64.8% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Chenzhou

$120 16% 23.8% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Chenzhou

$76 10.1% 39.3% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Chenzhou

$55 7.3% 23.5% $17

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Chenzhou

$22 3% 10.4% $2.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,179 in Mexico City versus $289 in Chenzhou. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $52 in Mexico City versus $23 in Chenzhou. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $324 vs $216 – making Chenzhou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇳 Chenzhou

🕒 Local time

09:17 9:17 AM

23:17 11:17 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

4,667,134

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.83 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 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 November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 18.6 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.72 MXN (100 MXN = 4.83 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 6.67 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.43 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Chenzhou 13,910 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Chenzhou

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 Chenzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City, $749 in Chenzhou – Chenzhou comes out roughly 55% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,510 per month in Mexico City and $1,124 in Chenzhou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chenzhou, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $289 there versus $1,179 in Mexico City.

Public transport costs about 7% less in Chenzhou. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $434 per month in Mexico City and $324 in Chenzhou. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Chenzhou, where all-in costs run around $749, than in Mexico City at $1,674. In Chenzhou it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Chenzhou – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, Chenzhou is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 55% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.