Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Xiamen

For one person, living is cheaper in Xiamen: $832 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Xiamen
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Xiamen Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Xiamen

🇨🇳 China

$832

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $832 in Xiamen.

Mexico City $1,608
Xiamen $832

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,337 in Xiamen.

Mexico City $2,549
Xiamen $1,337

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,842 in Xiamen.

Mexico City $3,490
Xiamen $1,842

Living in Mexico City is roughly 93% more expensive than in Xiamen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Xiamen is 39% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$2.93 ¥19.52

262.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$23.60 ¥157

104.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$5.20 ¥34.58

99.04%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$2.57 ¥17.09

43.58%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$0.47 ¥3.11

255.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.35 ¥2.35

262.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$1.51 ¥10.07

111.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$2.95 ¥19.61

80.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$1.47 ¥9.77

17.01%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$2.28 ¥15.16

33.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$0.95 ¥6.31

104.21%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$1.64 ¥10.89

76.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$12.02 ¥80.0

-8.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$2.45 ¥16.27

277.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$11.76 ¥78.3

28.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$2.58 ¥17.19

18.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$1.48 ¥9.82

31.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$1.67 ¥11.12

21.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$1.99 ¥13.25

16.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$0.97 ¥6.48

110.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$1.81 ¥12.06

-0.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$0.93 ¥6.17

59.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$0.54 ¥3.62

135.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$2.92 ¥19.40

81.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$11.38 ¥75.7

41.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$0.79 ¥5.29

150.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$1.74 ¥11.57

144.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.16 ¥1.08

93.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$11.93 ¥79.4

65.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$1.46 ¥9.69

26.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$0.29 ¥1.91

82.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$7.39 ¥49.15

-28.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$1.33 ¥8.85

13.53%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$19.7K ¥131.4K

10.18%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$17.6K ¥116.9K

36.53%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$43.23 ¥288

45.69%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$8.70 ¥57.9

214.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$10.38 ¥69.0

243.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$47.30 ¥315

24.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$10.31 ¥68.6

129.29%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$10.24 ¥68.2

-37.50%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$496 ¥3,303

-13.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$24.8K ¥164.9K

-53.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$39.20 ¥261

74.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$29.55 ¥197

79.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$107 ¥711

0.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$84.5 ¥562

38.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$352 ¥2,345

215.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$266 ¥1,769

167.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$841 ¥5,596

207.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$544 ¥3,616

158.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$8,588 ¥57.1K

-57.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$4,847 ¥32.2K

-55.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$1,179 ¥7,847

-19.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.46

228.03%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Xiamen: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Xiamen

$266 32% 62.6% $445

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Xiamen

$217 26.1% 32.1% $103

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Xiamen

$87 10.4% 56.4% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Xiamen

$117 14.1% 24.9% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Xiamen

$62 7.5% 50.6% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Xiamen

$68 8.2% 5.5% $3.9

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Xiamen

$15 1.9% 39.2% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $352 in Xiamen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Xiamen pays 25% 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 $24 in Xiamen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $217 per month, with Xiamen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇳 Xiamen

🕒 Local time

19:04 7:04 PM

09:04 9:04 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

3,531,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 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 31, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 21.02 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.45 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Xiamen 13,680 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Xiamen

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 Xiamen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $832 in Xiamen, so Xiamen is about 48% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 20% 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 $352 in Xiamen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Xiamen runs roughly 40% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $496 in Xiamen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $832 in Xiamen versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Xiamen but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Xiamen 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 Xiamen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.