Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Nanchong

For one person, living is cheaper in Nanchong: $685 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Nanchong
Learn more

Nanchong Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Nanchong

🇨🇳 China

$685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $685 in Nanchong.

Mexico City $1,608
Nanchong $685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,106 in Nanchong.

Mexico City $2,549
Nanchong $1,106

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,527 in Nanchong.

Mexico City $3,490
Nanchong $1,527

Living in Mexico City is roughly 135% more expensive than in Nanchong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Nanchong is 50% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$1.77 ¥11.75

500.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$22.40 ¥149

115.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$2.91 ¥19.34

255.67%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$2.09 ¥13.87

76.56%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$0.43 ¥2.86

288.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.29 ¥1.92

337.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$1.18 ¥7.82

170.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$1.85 ¥12.28

187.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$2.02 ¥13.44

-14.85%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.64 ¥10.88

85.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$0.61 ¥4.03

218.03%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$2.16 ¥14.37

33.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$17.80 ¥118

-38.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$3.41 ¥22.67

171.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$10.11 ¥67.2

49.65%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$1.54 ¥10.26

98.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.30 ¥8.64

49.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$1.20 ¥8.00

69.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$1.27 ¥8.45

81.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$0.66 ¥4.42

209.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$1.00 ¥6.66

80.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$0.84 ¥5.55

76.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.61 ¥4.08

108.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$3.06 ¥20.33

73.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$9.05 ¥60.1

77.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$0.83 ¥5.49

138.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$1.71 ¥11.35

148.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.32 ¥2.10

-3.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$17.36 ¥115

13.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$1.48 ¥9.84

24.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$0.29 ¥1.92

82.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$2.98 ¥19.79

77.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.26 ¥8.38

19.84%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$19.2K ¥127.4K

13.46%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$17.1K ¥113.9K

39.99%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$44.65 ¥297

41.05%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$7.13 ¥47.35

284.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$7.28 ¥48.34

389.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$42.05 ¥279

40.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$13.76 ¥91.4

71.80%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$6.07 ¥40.34

5.44%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$293 ¥1,949

47.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$25.0K ¥166.2K

-54.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$39.28 ¥261

73.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$30.15 ¥200

76.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$66.1 ¥439

63.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$63.6 ¥422

84.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$288 ¥1,914

286.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$185 ¥1,230

283.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$614 ¥4,080

321.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$365 ¥2,427

284.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$3,027 ¥20.1K

19.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$1,984 ¥13.2K

7.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.34

239.82%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Nanchong: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Nanchong

$185 27% 74% $525

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Nanchong

$216 31.5% 32.6% $104

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Nanchong

$60 8.8% 69.6% $138

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Nanchong

$90 13.1% 42.5% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Nanchong

$59 8.6% 53.1% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Nanchong

$54 7.9% 24.5% $18

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Nanchong

$22 3.1% 15.4% $3.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $288 in Nanchong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $22 in Nanchong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $216 per month, with Nanchong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇳 Nanchong

🕒 Local time

04:48 4:48 AM

18:48 6:48 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

5,607,565

💱 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

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Between locations

Mexico City Nanchong 13,810 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Nanchong

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 Nanchong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $685 in Nanchong, so Nanchong is about 57% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $1,028 in Nanchong 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $288 in Nanchong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Nanchong runs roughly 12% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $293 in Nanchong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $685 in Nanchong versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Nanchong but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Nanchong 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 Nanchong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 57% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.