Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Quanzhou and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Quanzhou: $809 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Quanzhou
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Quanzhou Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Quanzhou

🇨🇳 China

$809

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Quanzhou and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $809 in Quanzhou versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Quanzhou $809
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,193 in Quanzhou versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Quanzhou $1,193
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,578 in Quanzhou versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Quanzhou $1,578
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Quanzhou costs roughly 50% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Quanzhou is 41% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.27 ¥15.14

$10.62 MX$198

-78.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.03 ¥200

$48.35 MX$901

-37.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.89 ¥32.54

$10.35 MX$193

-52.75%

Cappuccino

$3.34 ¥22.24

$3.69 MX$68.8

-9.49%

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

$0.46 ¥3.07

$1.67 MX$31.07

-72.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.94

$1.27 MX$23.59

-77.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.97 ¥19.77

$3.19 MX$59.5

-6.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 ¥12.32

$5.31 MX$98.9

-65.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 ¥10.12

$1.72 MX$32.15

-11.63%

White Bread (500g)

$0.84 ¥5.56

$3.04 MX$56.7

-72.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.20

$1.94 MX$36.19

-52.06%

Eggs

$1.55 ¥10.34

$2.89 MX$53.8

-46.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.48 ¥49.80

$10.97 MX$205

-31.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.28 ¥15.16

$9.25 MX$172

-75.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.13 ¥34.15

$15.13 MX$282

-66.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.48 ¥9.86

$3.05 MX$56.8

-51.48%

Banana (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.16

$1.94 MX$36.19

-52.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.76 ¥5.07

$2.03 MX$37.75

-62.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.09 ¥7.23

$2.31 MX$43.15

-52.81%

Potato (1kg)

$0.43 ¥2.88

$2.04 MX$37.94

-78.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 ¥6.69

$1.80 MX$33.55

-44.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.17 ¥1.12

$1.48 MX$27.58

-88.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ¥3.43

$1.27 MX$23.63

-59.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.26 ¥21.70

$5.30 MX$98.9

-38.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.60 ¥50.6

$16.10 MX$300

-52.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 ¥6.14

$1.98 MX$36.97

-53.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 ¥8.80

$4.25 MX$79.3

-68.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$0.31 MX$5.69

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.35 ¥162

$19.73 MX$368

23.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 ¥7.79

$1.84 MX$34.25

-36.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 ¥2.26

$0.53 MX$9.94

-35.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.81 ¥58.6

$5.30 MX$98.7

66.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ¥8.35

$1.51 MX$28.16

-17.22%

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

$18.1K ¥120.4K

$21.8K MX$405.5K

-16.83%

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

$15.8K ¥105.1K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

-34.15%

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

$51.8 ¥345

$63.0 MX$1,174

-17.74%

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

$8.13 ¥54.1

$27.39 MX$511

-70.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.28 ¥81.7

$35.67 MX$665

-65.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.9 ¥372

$58.9 MX$1,099

-5.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.53 ¥123

$23.64 MX$441

-21.62%

Cinema Ticket

$5.96 ¥39.67

$6.40 MX$119

-6.88%

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

$522 ¥3,475

$432 MX$8,045

21.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ¥79.2K

$11.4K MX$212.9K

4.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$20.68 ¥138

$68.2 MX$1,272

-69.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.21 ¥221

$53.1 MX$990

-37.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.0 ¥605

$108 MX$2,009

-15.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.1 ¥639

$117 MX$2,186

-18.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$270 ¥1,795

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-75.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$300 ¥1,998

$710 MX$13.2K

-57.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$490 ¥3,259

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-81.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$400 ¥2,662

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-71.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,041 ¥20.2K

$3,631 MX$67.7K

-16.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,972 ¥13.1K

$2,135 MX$39.8K

-7.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$827 ¥5,504

$946 MX$17.6K

-12.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.15

11.35

-72.25%

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

Last update for Quanzhou: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Quanzhou

$300 37.1%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 137% $410

Groceries & Markets

Quanzhou

$137 16.9%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 134% $183

Clothing & Footwear

Quanzhou

$108 13.4%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 43.8% $47

Eating Out

Quanzhou

$95 11.7%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 110% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Quanzhou

$72 8.9%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 74.5% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Quanzhou

$68 8.4%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 5.7% $3.9

Getting Around

Quanzhou

$28 3.5%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 10.6% $3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $270 in Quanzhou and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 14% 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: $30 in Quanzhou vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $137 vs $320 per month, with Quanzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Quanzhou

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

14:28 2:28 PM

00:28 12:28 AM

14 h behind Quanzhou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,128,530

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

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).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Quanzhou Mexico City 13,610 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Quanzhou
Mexico City

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

Quanzhou vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $809 in Quanzhou and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Quanzhou is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 13% lower in Quanzhou. 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: $270 in Quanzhou versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 19% less than in Quanzhou. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $522 in Quanzhou versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $809 in Quanzhou versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Quanzhou but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Quanzhou 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 – Quanzhou wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.