Cost of living comparison

Mexico

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Acapulco Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 22.9% more expensive than Acapulco.

Restaurants: pay 59.3% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 36.2% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 10.3% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 2.3 times more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 8.5 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.7% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 12.6% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Acapulco Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of Acapulco, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 59.3% less for restaurants

	Acapulco	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.74 MX$181.31	$4.47 CN¥29.87	-54.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.24 MX$227.93	$5.22 CN¥34.85	-57.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.61 MX$30.05	$0.60 CN¥4.00	-62.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.67 MX$31.08	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-77.8%
Average			-59.3%

Acapulco vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.2% less for groceries

	Acapulco	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$2.98 MX$55.43	$1.98 CN¥13.19	-33.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.34 MX$62.16	$8.60 CN¥57.39	+157.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.21 MX$115.63	$6.88 CN¥45.91	+10.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.83 MX$34.17	$1.70 CN¥11.33	-7.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.79 MX$70.49	$1.48 CN¥9.87	-61.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.12 MX$39.52	$0.99 CN¥6.63	-53.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 MX$14.50	$0.77 CN¥5.14	-1.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.51 MX$28.20	$0.90 CN¥6.03	-40.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.47 MX$27.29	$0.77 CN¥5.14	-47.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.59 MX$29.64	$0.36 CN¥2.39	-77.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.35 MX$25.22	$0.43 CN¥2.89	-68.0%
Average			-36.2%

Acapulco vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.3% less for transportation

	Acapulco	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.55 MX$103.31	$4.96 CN¥33.13	-10.5%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$29.83 CN¥199.12
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,528.95 MX$401K	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-10.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$5.67 CN¥37.83
Average			-10.3%

Acapulco vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

	Acapulco	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.95 MX$408.73	$10.55 CN¥70.42	-51.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$531.77 MX$9,903.53	$1,036.96 CN¥6,921.79	+95.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$152.99 MX$2,849.17	$588.71 CN¥3,929.69	+284.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.20 MX$581.01	$44.06 CN¥294.08	+41.2%
Average			+127.3%

Acapulco vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 8.5 times more for childcare

	Acapulco	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$166.90 MX$3,108.18	$1,413.50 CN¥9,435.22	+746.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$27,686.22 CN¥185K
Average			+746.9%

Acapulco vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Acapulco	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.06 MX$56.98	$1.19 CN¥7.96	-61.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.89 MX$72.52	$3.35 CN¥22.36	-14.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.34 MX$155.41	$3.73 CN¥24.89	-55.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$19.47 MX$362.62	$65.69 CN¥438.48	+237.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.89 MX$72.52	$8.95 CN¥59.74	+129.8%
Average			+23.7%

Acapulco vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.6% less for clothing

	Acapulco	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.76 MX$1,243.27	$54.37 CN¥362.93	-18.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.51 MX$828.85	$37.09 CN¥247.61	-16.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.26 MX$2,072.12	$75.49 CN¥503.90	-32.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$83.45 MX$1,554.09	$105.70 CN¥705.59	+26.7%
Average			-12.6%

Acapulco vs. Shanghai - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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