Cost of living comparison

Shanghai, China

compared to

Mexico City, Mexico

Mexico City vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Mexico City is 8.1% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Mexico City
Groceries: pay 26.6% more in Mexico City
Transportation: pay 22.9% less in Mexico City
Housing: pay 2.6% more in Mexico City
Childcare: pay 69.5% less in Mexico City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.9% more in Mexico City
Clothing: pay 2.9% more in Mexico City

The cost of restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, clothing, and housing in Mexico City are more expensive than in Shanghai. Expenses including childcare and transportation are lower in Mexico City. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Mexico City.

Mexico City vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mexico City instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Mexico City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.17 CN¥29.97	$9.93 MX$190.36	+137.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 CN¥39.49	$7.45 MX$142.77	+35.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.51 CN¥3.69	$1.08 MX$20.70	+110.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.32 CN¥2.26	$0.77 MX$14.82	+145.0%
Average			+107.1%

Shanghai vs. Mexico City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 26.6% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Mexico City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.01 CN¥14.40	$2.45 MX$47.01	+22.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.94 CN¥57.01	$4.87 MX$93.31	-38.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.61 CN¥61.79	$5.51 MX$105.60	-36.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.69 CN¥12.11	$2.18 MX$41.85	+29.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.52 CN¥10.90	$3.57 MX$68.46	+135.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 CN¥7.38	$1.22 MX$23.42	+18.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 CN¥5.27	$0.67 MX$12.83	-8.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 CN¥6.63	$0.80 MX$15.32	-13.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 CN¥5.33	$0.83 MX$15.86	+11.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥3.07	$0.85 MX$16.32	+99.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 CN¥3.43	$0.83 MX$15.87	+73.3%
Average			+26.6%

Shanghai vs. Mexico City - Cost of groceries

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pay 22.9% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Mexico City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 CN¥31.58	$4.64 MX$88.91	+5.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.79 CN¥249.77	$17.87 MX$342.65	-48.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,844.35 CN¥149,660.34	$18,615.02 MX$356,927.55	-10.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.57 CN¥39.96	$3.47 MX$66.63	-37.6%
Average			-22.9%

Shanghai vs. Mexico City - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.6% more for housing

	Shanghai	Mexico City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.44 CN¥118.07	$24.38 MX$467.45	+48.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,017.22 CN¥7,303.53	$893.52 MX$17,132.52	-12.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$526.38 CN¥3,779.33	$544.24 MX$10,435.26	+3.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.67 CN¥306.33	$30.31 MX$581.19	-29.0%
Average			+2.6%

Shanghai vs. Mexico City - Cost of housing

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pay 69.5% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Mexico City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,147.00 CN¥8,235.37	$381.33 MX$7,311.61	-66.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,296.28 CN¥217,524.29	$8,426.99 MX$161,580.54	-72.2%
Average			-69.5%

Shanghai vs. Mexico City - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Mexico City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.39 CN¥9.99	$2.73 MX$52.35	+96.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.53 CN¥25.33	$3.01 MX$57.64	-14.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.48 CN¥24.98	$3.92 MX$75.19	+12.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.86 CN¥401.10	$53.69 MX$1,029.41	-3.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.35 CN¥59.94	$4.96 MX$95.18	-40.5%
Average			+9.9%

Shanghai vs. Mexico City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.9% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Mexico City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.36 CN¥426.21	$56.36 MX$1,080.57	-5.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.88 CN¥279.13	$41.06 MX$787.27	+5.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.91 CN¥559.41	$91.99 MX$1,763.88	+18.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$99.07 CN¥711.30	$91.93 MX$1,762.67	-7.2%
Average			+2.9%

Shanghai vs. Mexico City - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: June 2025

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