Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Yiwu

For one person, living is cheaper in Yiwu: $550 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $12,700 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
27

Cost of Living Index in Yiwu
Learn more

Yiwu Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Yiwu

🇨🇳 China

$550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $550 in Yiwu.

Mexico City $1,608
Yiwu $550

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,299 in Yiwu.

Mexico City $2,549
Yiwu $1,299

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,048 in Yiwu.

Mexico City $3,490
Yiwu $2,048

Living in Mexico City is roughly 192% more expensive than in Yiwu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Yiwu is 60% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$2.88 ¥19.12

268.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$29.56 ¥196

63.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$5.27 ¥35.01

96.39%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$3.41 ¥22.67

8.21%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$0.58 ¥3.84

187.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.38 ¥2.53

234.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$1.23 ¥8.18

159.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$2.30 ¥15.26

130.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$1.78 ¥11.80

-3.37%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.94 ¥12.89

56.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$1.03 ¥6.86

88.35%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$1.69 ¥11.26

71.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$16.96 ¥113

-35.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$3.31 ¥22.01

179.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$12.92 ¥85.9

17.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$2.15 ¥14.31

41.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$1.73 ¥11.46

12.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$2.03 ¥13.47

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$1.69 ¥11.25

36.69%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$0.82 ¥5.44

148.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$0.92 ¥6.08

95.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$0.64 ¥4.25

131.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$0.59 ¥3.91

115.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$3.84 ¥25.48

38.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$10.77 ¥71.6

49.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$0.88 ¥5.88

125.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$1.55 ¥10.30

174.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.46 ¥3.06

-32.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$1.39 ¥9.22

32.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$0.47 ¥3.09

12.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$8.98 ¥59.7

-40.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$1.27 ¥8.46

18.90%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$19.8K ¥131.9K

9.61%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$18.3K ¥121.3K

31.41%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$57.7 ¥383

9.19%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$7.89 ¥52.4

247.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$10.44 ¥69.4

241.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$15.16 ¥101

288.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$11.35 ¥75.4

108.28%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$7.09 ¥47.12

-9.73%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$1,606 ¥10.7K

-73.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$28.1K ¥186.6K

-59.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$55.7 ¥370

22.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$37.90 ¥252

40.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$76.5 ¥508

40.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$74.5 ¥495

57.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$456 ¥3,030

144.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$1,055 ¥7,014

145.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$759 ¥5,043

85.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$11.9K ¥79.0K

-69.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$2,935 ¥19.5K

-27.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$757 ¥5,028

25.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.36

237.80%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Yiwu: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Yiwu

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Yiwu

$235 42.7% 26.5% $85

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Yiwu

$94 17.2% 52.5% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Yiwu

$110 20% 29.4% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Yiwu

$76 13.8% 39.7% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Yiwu

$29 5.3% 59.1% $42

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Yiwu

$5.6 * 1% 78.2% $20

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 $1,113 in Mexico City and $456 in Yiwu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 25% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $30 in Yiwu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $235 per month, with Yiwu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇳 Yiwu

🕒 Local time

12:23 12:23 PM

02:23 2:23 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,234,015

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 1, 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 Yiwu 13,160 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Yiwu

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 Yiwu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $550 in Yiwu, so Yiwu is about 66% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 25% higher in Mexico City, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $456 in Yiwu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $1,606 in Yiwu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Yiwu – a meal for two runs $30 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $550 in Yiwu versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $800 budget is realistic in Yiwu but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Yiwu 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.

It comes down to priorities – Yiwu wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.