Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Shenyang

For one person, living is cheaper in Shenyang: $718 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Shenyang
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Shenyang Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Shenyang

🇨🇳 China

$718

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $718 in Shenyang.

Mexico City $1,567
Shenyang $718

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $1,071 in Shenyang.

Mexico City $2,450
Shenyang $1,071

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $1,424 in Shenyang.

Mexico City $3,333
Shenyang $1,424

Living in Mexico City is roughly 118% more expensive than in Shenyang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, Shenyang is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$3.00 ¥20.04

258.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$22.24 ¥148

125.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$5.08 ¥33.93

118.50%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.46 ¥16.43

49.59%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$0.47 ¥3.16

251.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$0.38 ¥2.54

242.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$0.87 ¥5.79

281.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$1.82 ¥12.15

204.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$1.89 ¥12.65

-6.35%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$2.46 ¥16.43

23.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$1.08 ¥7.18

86.11%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$1.03 ¥6.87

168.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$11.99 ¥80.0

25.27%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$1.78 ¥11.89

73.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.19 ¥7.93

63.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$1.53 ¥10.21

44.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$0.61 ¥4.07

149.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$0.64 ¥4.27

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$3.77 ¥25.14

39.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$16.53 ¥110

-2.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$0.66 ¥4.40

195.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$1.09 ¥7.26

289.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$0.38 ¥2.57

-18.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$12.91 ¥86.2

53.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$1.35 ¥9.03

48.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$0.31 ¥2.09

70.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$2.96 ¥19.76

89.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.29 ¥8.64

17.83%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$19.1K ¥127.5K

10.16%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$18.3K ¥122.3K

37.48%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$75.4 ¥503

-17.10%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$15.87 ¥106

81.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$14.87 ¥99.3

131.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$22.27 ¥149

156.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

$10.79 ¥72.0

129.94%

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$6.09 ¥40.69

9.52%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$539 ¥3,601

-20.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$21.3K ¥141.9K

-44.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$42.49 ¥284

66.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$59.5 ¥397

82.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$69.5 ¥464

61.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$277 ¥1,847

280.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$242 ¥1,617

174.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$558 ¥3,729

320.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$393 ¥2,621

212.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$2,272 ¥15.2K

56.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$1,308 ¥8,732

51.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$1,115 ¥7,444

-12.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

4.37

158.58%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Shenyang: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Shenyang

$242 33.7% 63.6% $423

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Shenyang

$160 * 22.3% 50.3% $162

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Shenyang

$80 11.2% 60.5% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Shenyang

$77 * 10.8% 50.1% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Shenyang

$106 14.8% 15.6% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Shenyang

$34 4.8% 51.1% $36

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Shenyang

$17 2.4% 32.6% $8.4

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 $1,051 in Mexico City and $277 in Shenyang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shenyang pays 14% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $22.00 in Shenyang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $160 per month, with Shenyang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇳 Shenyang

🕒 Local time

10:12 10:12 AM

00:12 12:12 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

9,199,601

💱 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 18, 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Shenyang 11,920 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Shenyang

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 Shenyang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Shenyang differ by about 118% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $718 including rent). Shenyang is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 14% lower in Shenyang. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $277 in Shenyang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Shenyang runs roughly 54% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $539 in Shenyang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $718 in Shenyang versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Shenyang but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Shenyang 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 Shenyang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 118% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.