Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Kaifeng

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaifeng: $500 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
24

Cost of Living Index in Kaifeng
Learn more

Kaifeng Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Kaifeng

🇨🇳 China

$500

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $500 in Kaifeng.

Mexico City $1,608
Kaifeng $500

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $792 in Kaifeng.

Mexico City $2,549
Kaifeng $792

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,083 in Kaifeng.

Mexico City $3,490
Kaifeng $1,083

Living in Mexico City is roughly 222% more expensive than in Kaifeng, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Kaifeng is 63% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$1.85 ¥12.30

474.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$13.44 ¥89.3

259.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$4.12 ¥27.40

151.21%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$2.19 ¥14.54

68.49%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$0.39 ¥2.56

328.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.17 ¥1.14

647.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$0.89 ¥5.91

258.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$1.53 ¥10.16

247.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.57 ¥10.40

9.55%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.54 ¥10.21

97.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$0.81 ¥5.39

139.51%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$0.96 ¥6.39

201.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$6.67 ¥44.30

64.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$2.30 ¥15.25

302.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$10.21 ¥67.8

48.19%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$0.87 ¥5.78

250.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$0.97 ¥6.42

100.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$0.59 ¥3.94

244.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$0.64 ¥4.25

260.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$0.58 ¥3.84

251.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$0.67 ¥4.47

168.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$0.21 ¥1.39

604.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.55 ¥3.67

130.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$2.94 ¥19.56

80.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$14.88 ¥98.9

8.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$1.01 ¥6.70

96.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$2.01 ¥13.36

111.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.13 ¥0.87

138.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$1.17 ¥7.75

57.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$0.15 ¥0.99

253.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$3.69 ¥24.50

43.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.27 ¥8.44

18.90%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$19.2K ¥127.3K

13.52%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$14.9K ¥99.0K

61.06%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$45.22 ¥300

39.27%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$4.76 ¥31.62

475.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$5.28 ¥35.07

575.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$29.67 ¥197

98.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$10.55 ¥70.1

124.08%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$3.82 ¥25.36

67.54%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$388 ¥2,581

11.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$31.2K ¥207.3K

-63.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$43.81 ¥291

55.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$33.96 ¥226

56.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$71.9 ¥478

49.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$45.32 ¥301

158.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$121 ¥801

823.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$88.7 ¥589

701.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$225 ¥1,494

1051.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$180 ¥1,197

680.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$580 ¥3,852

63.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.1

266.13%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kaifeng: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Kaifeng

$89 17.7% 87.5% $622

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Kaifeng

$165 33.1% 48.3% $154

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Kaifeng

$63 12.6% 68.2% $135

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Kaifeng

$88 17.6% 43.7% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Kaifeng

$55 11.1% 56.2% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Kaifeng

$37 7.5% 48% $34

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Kaifeng

$2.4 * 0.5% 90.4% $23

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 $1,113 in Mexico City and $121 in Kaifeng. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 63% 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: $48 in Mexico City vs $13 in Kaifeng for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $165 per month, with Kaifeng cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇳 Kaifeng

🕒 Local time

04:10 4:10 AM

18:10 6:10 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

4,676,159

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Kaifeng 13,020 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Kaifeng

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 Kaifeng: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kaifeng wins on cost – living expenses run 69% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Kaifeng the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 63% 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $121 in Kaifeng. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 93% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $500 in Kaifeng – Kaifeng is about 69% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $500 in Kaifeng versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $800 budget is realistic in Kaifeng but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Kaifeng 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.

It comes down to priorities – Kaifeng wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.