Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tengzhou and Almaty

For one person, living is cheaper in Tengzhou: $706 a month against $1,387 in Almaty, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Tengzhou
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Tengzhou Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Almaty
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Almaty Living Index

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Tengzhou

🇨🇳 China

$706

/mo nomad

Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,387

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tengzhou and in Almaty

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

A single person spends $706 per month in Tengzhou vs $1,387 in Almaty, rent included.

Tengzhou $706
Almaty $1,387

A couple spends around $1,119 per month in Tengzhou vs $2,135 in Almaty, rent included.

Tengzhou $1,119
Almaty $2,135

A family of three spends $1,532 per month in Tengzhou vs $2,883 in Almaty, rent included.

Tengzhou $1,532
Almaty $2,883

Tengzhou is about 49% cheaper than Almaty, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Tengzhou sits 47% below the global median, while Almaty is 3% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.76 ¥18.44

$13.31 ₸6,005

-79.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.31 ¥142

$43.37 ₸19.6K

-50.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.93 ¥32.95

$8.80 ₸3,969

-43.98%

Cappuccino

$3.00 ¥20.03

$3.30 ₸1,490

-9.09%

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

$0.46 ¥3.08

$1.37 ₸617

-66.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.80

$0.90 ₸407

-70.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.89 ¥5.98

$3.13 ₸1,412

-71.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 ¥14.22

$4.10 ₸1,851

-48.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 ¥12.57

$1.66 ₸750

13.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 ¥10.78

$0.90 ₸404

78.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.92

$2.06 ₸929

-56.80%

Eggs

$1.61 ¥10.78

$2.37 ₸1,069

-32.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.04 ¥87.1

$12.64 ₸5,702

3.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.22 ¥21.51

$6.62 ₸2,985

-51.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.37 ¥69.3

$10.87 ₸4,904

-4.60%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 ¥12.62

$1.86 ₸841

1.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.20 ¥7.99

$2.37 ₸1,070

-49.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 ¥10.30

$2.99 ₸1,351

-48.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.10 ¥7.34

$2.83 ₸1,276

-61.13%

Potato (1kg)

$0.74 ¥4.96

$0.77 ₸346

-3.90%

Onion (1kg)

$0.96 ¥6.40

$0.58 ₸263

65.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 ¥3.71

$1.59 ₸719

-64.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 ¥3.62

$0.99 ₸447

-45.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.16 ¥21.10

$2.54 ₸1,147

24.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.59 ¥70.8

$11.04 ₸4,981

-4.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ¥5.03

$1.21 ₸548

-38.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 ¥10.99

$2.41 ₸1,087

-31.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 ¥1.78

$0.25 ₸113

8.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.90 ¥113

$21.84 ₸9,854

-22.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.42 ¥9.51

$1.28 ₸578

10.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 ¥2.38

$0.64 ₸290

-43.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.58 ¥44.01

$10.74 ₸4,847

-38.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.14 ¥7.60

$0.69 ₸313

65.22%

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

$19.1K ¥127.9K

$22.3K ₸10.1M

-14.05%

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

$17.4K ¥116.2K

$29.3K ₸13.2M

-40.75%

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

$45.69 ¥305

$87.8 ₸39.6K

-47.94%

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

$9.60 ¥64.1

$10.83 ₸4,886

-11.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.51 ¥76.9

$17.40 ₸7,850

-33.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.70 ¥279

$69.7 ₸31.4K

-40.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.99 ¥93.5

$26.58 ₸12.0K

-47.37%

Cinema Ticket

$5.89 ¥39.35

$6.68 ₸3,016

-11.83%

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

$332 ¥2,218

$446 ₸201.2K

-25.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.0K ¥113.3K

$11.9K ₸5.4M

42.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.63 ¥298

$93.7 ₸42.3K

-52.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.06 ¥201

$46.91 ₸21.2K

-35.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.5 ¥471

$143 ₸64.4K

-50.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.2 ¥482

$133 ₸60.2K

-45.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$280 ¥1,872

$773 ₸349.0K

-63.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ¥1,281

$497 ₸224.4K

-61.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$602 ¥4,020

$1,390 ₸627.4K

-56.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$354 ¥2,368

$880 ₸397.0K

-59.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,029 ¥20.2K

$2,546 ₸1.1M

18.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,037 ¥13.6K

$1,506 ₸679.8K

35.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$834 ₸376.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.89

20.65

-81.16%

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

Last update for Tengzhou: October 6, 2026

Last update for Almaty: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Tengzhou

$201 28%

Almaty

$251 18.4% 25.2% $51

Accommodation & Living

Tengzhou

$192 26.8%

Almaty

$497 36.4% 159% $306

Clothing & Footwear

Tengzhou

$98 13.7%

Almaty

$188 13.7% 91.7% $90

Eating Out

Tengzhou

$84 11.8%

Almaty

$205 15% 143% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tengzhou

$67 9.3%

Almaty

$116 8.5% 73.6% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Tengzhou

$53 7.5%

Almaty

$83 6.1% 55.3% $30

Getting Around

Tengzhou

$21 3%

Almaty

$27 2% 29.1% $6.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $280 in Tengzhou versus $773 in Almaty. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $21.00 in Tengzhou versus $43.00 in Almaty. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $201 vs $251 – making Tengzhou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Tengzhou

🇰🇿 Almaty

🕒 Local time

14:44 2:44 PM

12:44 12:44 PM

2 h behind Tengzhou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,553,200

1,475,400

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

1,000 KZT = 2.22 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 451 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.98 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tengzhou Almaty 3,550 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Tengzhou
Almaty

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

Tengzhou vs Almaty: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Almaty is pricier by about 97%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,059 per month in Tengzhou and $2,080 in Almaty. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tengzhou, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $21.00 in Tengzhou and $43.00 in Almaty. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $706 in Tengzhou and $1,387 in Almaty. That's a gap of about 97%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Tengzhou, where all-in costs run around $706, than in Almaty at $1,387. In Tengzhou it covers expenses comfortably, while in Almaty it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Tengzhou – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Tengzhou. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Almaty makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.