Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Shenzhen

For one person, living is cheaper in Shenzhen: $1,117 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Shenzhen
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Shenzhen Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Shenzhen

🇨🇳 China

$1,117

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,117 in Shenzhen.

Mexico City $1,608
Shenzhen $1,117

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,714 in Shenzhen.

Mexico City $2,549
Shenzhen $1,714

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,310 in Shenzhen.

Mexico City $3,490
Shenzhen $2,310

Living in Mexico City is roughly 44% more expensive than in Shenzhen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$3.66 ¥24.35

190.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$29.39 ¥196

64.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$5.28 ¥35.17

96.02%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$3.36 ¥22.34

9.82%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.58 ¥3.84

187.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.36 ¥2.37

252.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.48 ¥9.82

115.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$2.14 ¥14.26

148.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.54 ¥10.22

11.69%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.63 ¥10.84

86.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.14 ¥7.60

70.18%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$1.75 ¥11.63

65.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$20.74 ¥138

-47.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$3.41 ¥22.71

171.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$14.42 ¥96.0

4.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.25 ¥14.96

35.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.62 ¥10.79

19.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$1.94 ¥12.88

4.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.42 ¥9.47

62.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.08 ¥7.20

88.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.28 ¥8.52

40.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$0.60 ¥3.97

146.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.56 ¥3.76

126.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$4.43 ¥29.50

19.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$12.08 ¥80.4

33.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$0.92 ¥6.15

115.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$1.83 ¥12.15

132.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$0.44 ¥2.90

-29.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$18.05 ¥120

9.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$1.53 ¥10.15

20.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.41 ¥2.75

29.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$7.36 ¥48.98

-27.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$1.32 ¥8.77

14.39%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$19.2K ¥127.9K

13.14%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$18.0K ¥120.1K

32.91%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$64.8 ¥431

-2.76%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$9.90 ¥65.9

176.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$16.40 ¥109

117.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$48.95 ¥326

20.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$16.95 ¥113

39.47%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$7.28 ¥48.44

-12.09%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$537 ¥3,572

-19.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$24.4K ¥162.4K

-53.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$55.7 ¥371

22.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$40.56 ¥270

30.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$73.1 ¥486

47.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$93.9 ¥625

24.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$753 ¥5,010

47.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$471 ¥3,132

50.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$1,847 ¥12.3K

40.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$830 ¥5,525

69.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$13.2K ¥87.8K

-72.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$6,479 ¥43.1K

-67.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$1,763 ¥11.7K

-46.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.35

238.81%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Shenzhen: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Shenzhen

$471 42.1% 33.8% $240

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Shenzhen

$249 22.3% 22.1% $71

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Shenzhen

$101 9% 49.2% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Shenzhen

$118 10.6% 24% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Shenzhen

$91 8.2% 27.7% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Shenzhen

$64 5.7% 11.5% $8.2

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Shenzhen

$23 2.1% 8.2% $2.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $753 in Shenzhen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shenzhen pays 86% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $29 in Shenzhen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $249 per month, with Shenzhen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇳 Shenzhen

🕒 Local time

13:59 1:59 PM

03:59 3:59 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

12,528,300

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Mexico City Shenzhen 14,120 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Shenzhen

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 Shenzhen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,117 in Shenzhen, so Shenzhen is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 46% lower in Mexico City. 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $753 in Shenzhen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Shenzhen runs roughly 9% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $537 in Shenzhen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Shenzhen is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Shenzhen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.