Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Suzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Suzhou: $889 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Suzhou
Learn more

Suzhou Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Suzhou

🇨🇳 China

$889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $889 in Suzhou.

Mexico City $1,608
Suzhou $889

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,471 in Suzhou.

Mexico City $2,549
Suzhou $1,471

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,053 in Suzhou.

Mexico City $3,490
Suzhou $2,053

Living in Mexico City is roughly 81% more expensive than in Suzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Suzhou is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$4.12 ¥27.43

157.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$30.26 ¥201

59.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$5.21 ¥34.66

98.66%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$3.39 ¥22.58

8.85%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$0.69 ¥4.56

142.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$0.42 ¥2.76

202.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$2.29 ¥15.25

39.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$4.37 ¥29.05

21.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$1.92 ¥12.75

-10.42%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$1.96 ¥13.02

55.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.30 ¥8.62

49.23%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$1.81 ¥12.05

59.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$17.95 ¥119

-38.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$3.39 ¥22.54

172.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$8.74 ¥58.2

73.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$1.98 ¥13.18

54.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.24 ¥8.25

56.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$1.35 ¥8.98

50.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$1.44 ¥9.56

60.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$0.64 ¥4.29

218.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$1.19 ¥7.91

51.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$0.85 ¥5.63

74.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$0.56 ¥3.71

126.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$4.47 ¥29.76

18.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$8.86 ¥59.0

81.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$1.07 ¥7.10

85.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$2.14 ¥14.21

98.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

$0.31 ¥2.06

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$44.83 ¥298

-55.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$1.70 ¥11.32

8.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.36 ¥2.39

47.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$10.01 ¥66.6

-47.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.34 ¥8.91

12.69%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$19.5K ¥129.5K

11.76%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$18.0K ¥119.9K

33.14%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$99.9 ¥665

-36.96%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$12.89 ¥85.8

112.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$11.35 ¥75.5

214.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$34.10 ¥227

72.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$19.04 ¥127

24.16%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$5.90 ¥39.28

8.47%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$1,237 ¥8,229

-65.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$21.4K ¥142.7K

-46.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$51.4 ¥342

32.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$41.03 ¥273

29.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$83.9 ¥558

28.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$86.7 ¥577

35.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$388 ¥2,584

186.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$217 ¥1,445

227.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$1,019 ¥6,782

153.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$560 ¥3,728

150.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

$4,826 ¥32.1K

-24.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$2,609 ¥17.4K

-18.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$1,367 ¥9,098

-30.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.53

221.53%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Suzhou: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Suzhou

$217 24.4% 69.4% $493

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Suzhou

$220 24.7% 31.2% $100

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Suzhou

$114 12.8% 42.6% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Suzhou

$118 13.3% 24.1% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Suzhou

$124 14% 1.5% $1.9

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Suzhou

$46 5.2% 36% $26

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Suzhou

$50 5.6% 94.7% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $388 in Suzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Suzhou pays 44% 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 $30 in Suzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $220 per month, with Suzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇳 Suzhou

🕒 Local time

02:20 2:20 AM

16:20 4:20 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

12,748,262

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 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 Suzhou 12,960 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Suzhou

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 Suzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $889 in Suzhou, so Suzhou is about 45% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 31% 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 $388 in Suzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 56% less than in Suzhou. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $1,237 in Suzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $889 in Suzhou versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Suzhou but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Suzhou 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.