Cost of living comparison

Mexico

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Cancun Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 8.7% cheaper than Cancun.

Restaurants: pay 57.2% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 29.1% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 20.8% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 5.1% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 5.8 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.7% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 7.8% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Cancun Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 57.2% less for restaurants

	Cancun	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.13 MX$209.02	$4.47 CN¥29.79	-59.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.52 MX$216.51	$5.22 CN¥34.75	-54.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.34 MX$25.23	$0.60 CN¥3.99	-55.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 MX$15.50	$0.37 CN¥2.46	-55.2%
Average			-57.2%

Cancun vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.1% less for groceries

	Cancun	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$2.66 MX$49.94	$1.98 CN¥13.15	-25.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.94 MX$92.83	$8.60 CN¥57.24	+74.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.40 MX$120.23	$6.88 CN¥45.79	+7.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.75 MX$51.70	$1.70 CN¥11.30	-38.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.02 MX$75.45	$1.48 CN¥9.84	-63.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.31 MX$24.56	$0.99 CN¥6.62	-24.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 MX$14.07	$0.77 CN¥5.13	+2.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.42 MX$26.62	$0.90 CN¥6.02	-36.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.01 MX$19.01	$0.77 CN¥5.12	-24.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 MX$17.09	$0.36 CN¥2.38	-60.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.89 MX$16.73	$0.43 CN¥2.88	-51.3%
Average			-29.1%

Cancun vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.8% less for transportation

	Cancun	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.72 MX$107.40	$4.96 CN¥33.05	-13.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.03 MX$545.27	$29.83 CN¥198.59	+2.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,528.95 MX$404K	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-10.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$27.96 MX$525.20	$5.67 CN¥37.73	-79.7%
Average			-20.8%

Cancun vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.1% more for housing

	Cancun	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$38.80 MX$728.96	$10.55 CN¥70.24	-72.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$663.13 MX$12,457.68	$1,036.96 CN¥6,903.44	+56.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$460.19 MX$8,645.13	$588.71 CN¥3,919.27	+27.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$130.28 MX$2,447.55	$44.06 CN¥293.30	-66.2%
Average			+5.1%

Cancun vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 5.8 times more for childcare

	Cancun	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$210.01 MX$3,945.28	$1,413.50 CN¥9,410.21	+573.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,507.55 MX$103K	$27,686.22 CN¥184K	+402.7%
Average			+481.7%

Cancun vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Cancun	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.17 MX$59.53	$1.19 CN¥7.94	-62.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.84 MX$72.12	$3.35 CN¥22.30	-12.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.45 MX$83.61	$3.73 CN¥24.82	-16.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.38 MX$627.06	$65.69 CN¥437.32	+96.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.51 MX$141.09	$8.95 CN¥59.58	+19.2%
Average			-2.7%

Cancun vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.8% less for clothing

	Cancun	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.63 MX$1,045.11	$54.37 CN¥361.97	-2.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$55.63 MX$1,045.11	$37.09 CN¥246.96	-33.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.03 MX$1,428.31	$75.49 CN¥502.56	-0.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.57 MX$1,776.68	$105.70 CN¥703.72	+11.8%
Average			-7.8%

Cancun 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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