Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Zhangjiakou

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhangjiakou: $776 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Zhangjiakou
Learn more

Zhangjiakou Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Zhangjiakou

🇨🇳 China

$776

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $776 in Zhangjiakou.

Mexico City $1,548
Zhangjiakou $776

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,223 in Zhangjiakou.

Mexico City $2,436
Zhangjiakou $1,223

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $1,670 in Zhangjiakou.

Mexico City $3,323
Zhangjiakou $1,670

Living in Mexico City is roughly 100% more expensive than in Zhangjiakou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Zhangjiakou is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$206

$2.21 ¥14.72

398.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$909

$24.26 ¥161

100.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$204

$5.91 ¥39.37

84.43%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.8

$3.50 ¥23.30

5.14%

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

$1.63 MX$30.51

$0.50 ¥3.35

226.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.32

$0.26 ¥1.72

380.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.7

$0.92 ¥6.14

253.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$103

$1.69 ¥11.27

227.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.84

$1.48 ¥9.86

14.86%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$56.4

$2.21 ¥14.73

36.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.92

$1.06 ¥7.07

81.13%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$51.1

$1.06 ¥7.03

157.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$220

$15.23 ¥101

-22.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$178

$2.98 ¥19.80

219.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$269

$9.59 ¥63.8

50.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$56.4

$1.66 ¥11.02

81.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.39

$0.93 ¥6.16

103.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$37.10

$1.76 ¥11.70

13.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.82

$1.22 ¥8.10

79.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.81

$0.81 ¥5.37

137.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.87

$0.57 ¥3.80

228.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.91

$0.62 ¥4.13

132.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.64

$0.74 ¥4.93

71.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$97.5

$3.63 ¥24.17

43.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$302

$13.60 ¥90.5

18.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.41

$1.07 ¥7.10

77.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.8

$2.43 ¥16.16

73.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.37

$0.29 ¥1.90

17.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$367

$17.61 ¥117

11.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$37.30

$1.08 ¥7.19

85.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.78

$0.33 ¥2.17

57.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$99.8

$6.21 ¥41.37

-14.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.44

$1.18 ¥7.83

28.81%

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

$22.1K MX$412.4K

$19.6K ¥130.6K

12.52%

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

$24.5K MX$457.9K

$17.0K ¥113.3K

43.98%

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

$61.1 MX$1,141

$95.7 ¥637

-36.18%

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

$28.58 MX$534

$6.22 ¥41.40

359.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$644

$7.68 ¥51.1

348.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,053

$42.01 ¥280

34.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$465

$15.20 ¥101

63.68%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$124

$7.30 ¥48.57

-8.77%

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

$427 MX$7,978

$342 ¥2,275

24.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$217.4K

$5,321 ¥35.4K

118.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,267

$44.73 ¥298

51.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$971

$28.35 ¥189

83.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,981

$96.5 ¥643

9.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,102

$60.0 ¥399

87.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$19.1K

$294 ¥1,954

249.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.2K

$182 ¥1,214

258.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$43.1K

$622 ¥4,142

271.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$23.2K

$379 ¥2,523

227.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$67.5K

$3,446 ¥22.9K

4.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$36.2K

$1,966 ¥13.1K

-1.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$18.0K

$382 ¥2,544

152.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

3.54

219.21%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Zhangjiakou: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Zhangjiakou

$182 23.5% 72.1% $472

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Zhangjiakou

$214 27.6% 32.7% $104

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Zhangjiakou

$88 11.4% 56.6% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Zhangjiakou

$103 13.3% 32.1% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Zhangjiakou

$110 14.1% 11.7% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Zhangjiakou

$57 7.3% 18.8% $13

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Zhangjiakou

$21 2.8% 16.3% $4.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $294 in Zhangjiakou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $49 in Mexico City vs $24 in Zhangjiakou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $214 per month, with Zhangjiakou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇳 Zhangjiakou

🕒 Local time

14:44 2:44 PM

04:44 4:44 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

4,345,491

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 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 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.68 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.92 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.45 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Mexico City Zhangjiakou 12,450 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Zhangjiakou

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 Zhangjiakou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Zhangjiakou differ by about 100% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $776 including rent). Zhangjiakou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 2.5 times higher, 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $294 in Zhangjiakou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Zhangjiakou runs roughly 10% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $342 in Zhangjiakou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $776 in Zhangjiakou versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zhangjiakou but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Zhangjiakou 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 Zhangjiakou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.