Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Zhangjiagang

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhangjiagang: $763 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Zhangjiagang
Learn more

Zhangjiagang Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Zhangjiagang

🇨🇳 China

$763

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $763 in Zhangjiagang.

Mexico City $1,608
Zhangjiagang $763

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,213 in Zhangjiagang.

Mexico City $2,549
Zhangjiagang $1,213

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,664 in Zhangjiagang.

Mexico City $3,490
Zhangjiagang $1,664

Living in Mexico City is roughly 111% more expensive than in Zhangjiagang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Zhangjiagang is 44% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$3.71 ¥24.67

186.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$22.47 ¥150

115.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$4.96 ¥33.01

108.67%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$3.04 ¥20.22

21.38%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$0.54 ¥3.58

209.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$0.27 ¥1.82

370.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.47 ¥9.80

117.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$2.29 ¥15.24

131.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$2.11 ¥14.05

-18.48%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$2.13 ¥14.21

42.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$0.85 ¥5.63

128.24%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$1.32 ¥8.76

118.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$10.65 ¥70.9

3.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$2.91 ¥19.38

217.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$9.16 ¥61.0

65.17%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.14 ¥14.25

42.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.26 ¥8.37

53.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$1.73 ¥11.54

17.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$1.12 ¥7.45

106.25%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$0.89 ¥5.93

129.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$0.97 ¥6.48

85.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$0.93 ¥6.21

59.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$0.55 ¥3.68

130.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$3.85 ¥25.60

37.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$13.65 ¥90.9

17.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$0.99 ¥6.60

100.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$1.55 ¥10.29

174.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

$0.31 ¥2.04

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$19.26 ¥128

2.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$1.77 ¥11.79

3.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.39 ¥2.57

35.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$9.23 ¥61.4

-42.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.36 ¥9.06

11.03%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$19.2K ¥127.6K

13.46%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$17.5K ¥116.7K

36.76%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$55.3 ¥368

13.85%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$7.77 ¥51.7

252.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$7.36 ¥48.99

384.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$47.00 ¥313

25.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$13.90 ¥92.5

70.07%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$6.08 ¥40.47

5.26%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$438 ¥2,913

-1.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$22.4K ¥149.0K

-48.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$43.37 ¥289

57.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$33.75 ¥225

57.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$64.4 ¥428

67.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$89.3 ¥594

31.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$245 ¥1,627

355.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$203 ¥1,350

250.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$621 ¥4,132

316.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$403 ¥2,681

249.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

$2,780 ¥18.5K

30.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,883 ¥12.5K

13.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.42

231.87%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Zhangjiagang: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Zhangjiagang

$203 26.6% 71.4% $508

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Zhangjiagang

$206 27% 35.4% $113

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Zhangjiagang

$96 12.6% 51.6% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Zhangjiagang

$104 13.6% 33.4% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Zhangjiagang

$70 9.2% 44.1% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Zhangjiagang

$59 7.8% 17.5% $13

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Zhangjiagang

$24 3.2% 5% $1.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $245 in Zhangjiagang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $22 in Zhangjiagang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $206 per month, with Zhangjiagang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇳 Zhangjiagang

🕒 Local time

21:10 9:10 PM

11:10 11:10 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,432,044

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 29, 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 →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Zhangjiagang 12,910 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Zhangjiagang

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 Zhangjiagang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $763 in Zhangjiagang, so Zhangjiagang is about 53% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $1,144 in Zhangjiagang to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $245 in Zhangjiagang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $438 in Zhangjiagang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Zhangjiagang – a meal for two runs $22 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.