Cost of living comparison

compared to

Lanzhou vs. Mexico City Cost of Living Summary

Lanzhou is 20.3% cheaper than Mexico City.

Restaurants: pay 60.6% less in Lanzhou
Groceries: pay 29.5% less in Lanzhou
Transportation: pay 22.0% more in Lanzhou
Housing: pay 54.2% less in Lanzhou
Childcare: pay 83.2% more in Lanzhou
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.8% less in Lanzhou
Clothing: pay 62.1% less in Lanzhou

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

Lanzhou vs. Mexico City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 60.6% less for restaurants

	Mexico City	Lanzhou
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.86 MX$187.11	$2.10 CN¥14.42	-80.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.82 MX$152.03	$8.13 CN¥55.77	-7.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 MX$29.85	$0.42 CN¥2.88	-75.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 MX$22.48	$0.28 CN¥1.92	-78.5%
Average			-60.6%

Mexico City vs. Lanzhou - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.5% less for groceries

	Mexico City	Lanzhou
Bread 1 loaf	$2.63 MX$45.25	$1.30 CN¥8.89	-50.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.04 MX$86.87	$8.41 CN¥57.69	+66.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.54 MX$112.69	$6.37 CN¥43.68	-2.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.61 MX$44.93	$1.68 CN¥11.52	-35.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.80 MX$65.57	$1.72 CN¥11.78	-54.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.37 MX$23.60	??
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 MX$13.79	$0.76 CN¥5.23	-4.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.97 MX$16.78	$0.52 CN¥3.58	-46.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 MX$15.62	$0.43 CN¥2.95	-52.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 MX$16.52	$0.26 CN¥1.81	-72.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.99 MX$17.14	$0.57 CN¥3.93	-42.4%
Average			-29.5%

Mexico City vs. Lanzhou - Cost of groceries

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pay 22.0% more for transportation

	Mexico City	Lanzhou
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.14 MX$88.54	$5.13 CN¥35.18	-0.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$19.54 MX$336.80	$35.89 CN¥246.14	+83.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,030.45 MX$345K	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.42 MX$76.26	$3.65 CN¥25.00	-17.6%
Average			+22.0%

Mexico City vs. Lanzhou - Cost of transportation

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pay 54.2% less for housing

	Mexico City	Lanzhou
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.93 MX$533.13	$15.42 CN¥105.77	-50.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,079.15 MX$18,598.89	$362.13 CN¥2,483.56	-66.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$677.25 MX$11,672.20	$158.14 CN¥1,084.57	-76.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$37.36 MX$643.92	$28.52 CN¥195.58	-23.7%
Average			-54.2%

Mexico City vs. Lanzhou - Cost of housing

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pay 83.2% more for childcare

	Mexico City	Lanzhou
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$430.39 MX$7,417.64	$469.66 CN¥3,221.03	+9.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,897.53 MX$188K	$28,039.48 CN¥192K	+157.3%
Average			+83.2%

Mexico City vs. Lanzhou - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Mexico City	Lanzhou
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.26 MX$56.13	$0.63 CN¥4.33	-80.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.81 MX$65.73	??
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.34 MX$74.84	$4.21 CN¥28.85	-3.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.44 MX$1,007.28	$35.89 CN¥246.14	-38.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.51 MX$112.27	??
Average			-40.8%

Mexico City vs. Lanzhou - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 62.1% less for clothing

	Mexico City	Lanzhou
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.95 MX$1,050.38	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$48.08 MX$828.59	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.72 MX$1,822.07	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.91 MX$1,911.51	$42.06 CN¥288.45	-62.1%
Average			-62.1%

Mexico City vs. Lanzhou - 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: March 2026

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