Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Mexico

Chapala vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Chapala is 6.3% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Chapala
Groceries: pay 11.2% more in Chapala
Transportation: pay 40.1% more in Chapala
Housing: pay 20.8% less in Chapala
Childcare: pay 79.9% less in Chapala
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.9% less in Chapala
Clothing: pay 39.6% less in Chapala

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

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Chapala vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chapala instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Beijing	Chapala
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$11.67 MX$215.86	+160.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$7.23 MX$133.74	+38.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.49	$1.67 MX$30.86	+219.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.82	$1.22 MX$22.63	+349.4%
Average			+125.3%

Beijing vs. Chapala - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.2% more for groceries

	Beijing	Chapala
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 CN¥11.56	$2.24 MX$41.46	+29.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.22 CN¥48.28	$4.06 MX$75.10	-43.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.41 CN¥42.88	$5.62 MX$103.85	-12.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 CN¥13.53	$2.34 MX$43.21	+15.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 CN¥9.81	$2.52 MX$46.67	+72.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.25	$1.03 MX$19.02	+10.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.28	$0.60 MX$11.08	-24.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.21	$0.70 MX$12.89	-24.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥4.75	$0.79 MX$14.70	+11.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.15	$0.73 MX$13.42	+125.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.66	$0.63 MX$11.67	+58.9%
Average			+11.2%

Beijing vs. Chapala - Cost of groceries

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pay 40.1% more for transportation

	Beijing	Chapala
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.20	$5.60 MX$103.63	+12.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.30 CN¥229.53	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$21,528.95 MX$398K	+11.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.68 CN¥31.34	$27.89 MX$515.77	+495.5%
Average			+40.1%

Beijing vs. Chapala - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.8% less for housing

	Beijing	Chapala
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.27 CN¥95.47	$24.93 MX$461.07	+74.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	$584.13 MX$10,802.33	-37.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	$472.87 MX$8,744.74	-10.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.49 CN¥297.65	$37.40 MX$691.64	-15.9%
Average			-20.8%

Beijing vs. Chapala - Cost of housing

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pay 79.9% less for childcare

	Beijing	Chapala
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01	$216.96 MX$4,012.29	-66.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	$2,948.48 MX$54,526.03	-87.9%
Average			-79.9%

Beijing vs. Chapala - Cost of childcare

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pay 22.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Chapala
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$2.23 MX$41.15	+86.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥24.09	$3.36 MX$62.22	-6.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 CN¥28.94	$4.21 MX$77.88	-2.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.45 CN¥277.32	$23.63 MX$436.92	-43.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 CN¥49.90	$3.00 MX$55.48	-59.8%
Average			-22.9%

Beijing vs. Chapala - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.6% less for clothing

	Beijing	Chapala
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.55 CN¥472.03	$55.63 MX$1,028.79	-21.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.41 CN¥270.36	$38.94 MX$720.16	-3.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.99 CN¥582.00	$52.85 MX$977.35	-39.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.40 CN¥839.02	$36.16 MX$668.72	-71.2%
Average			-39.6%

Beijing vs. Chapala - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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