Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Mexico

Celaya vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Celaya is 30.3% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in Celaya
Groceries: pay 3.8% more in Celaya
Transportation: pay 12.2% more in Celaya
Housing: pay 62.8% less in Celaya
Childcare: pay 87.2% less in Celaya
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.2% less in Celaya
Clothing: pay 0.1% more in Celaya

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

Planning a move to Mexico? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Celaya vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Celaya
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$12.80 MX$238.87	+186.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$7.23 MX$135.01	+38.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$1.22 MX$22.85	+104.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.11 MX$20.77	+200.8%
Average			+115.6%

Shanghai vs. Celaya - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.8% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Celaya
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$2.24 MX$41.85	+13.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$4.06 MX$75.81	-52.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$5.62 MX$104.84	-18.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$2.23 MX$41.54	+31.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$3.85 MX$71.84	+160.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.03 MX$19.20	+3.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.50 MX$9.42	-34.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$0.70 MX$13.01	-22.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$0.50 MX$9.42	-34.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.73 MX$13.54	+102.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.63 MX$11.78	+45.6%
Average			+3.8%

Shanghai vs. Celaya - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.2% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Celaya
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$5.58 MX$104.13	+12.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$27.82 MX$519.28	-6.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$21,528.95 MX$402K	+11.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$10.38 MX$193.69	+83.1%
Average			+12.2%

Shanghai vs. Celaya - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 62.8% less for housing

	Shanghai	Celaya
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$19.47 MX$363.49	+84.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$250.34 MX$4,673.50	-75.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$222.53 MX$4,154.23	-62.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$28.93 MX$540.05	-34.3%
Average			-62.8%

Shanghai vs. Celaya - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 87.2% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Celaya
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$216.96 MX$4,050.37	-84.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$2,948.48 MX$55,043.49	-89.4%
Average			-87.2%

Shanghai vs. Celaya - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 15.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Celaya
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$2.23 MX$41.54	+86.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$3.34 MX$62.31	-0.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$4.45 MX$83.08	+19.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$33.38 MX$623.13	-49.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$5.17 MX$96.59	-42.2%
Average			-15.2%

Shanghai vs. Celaya - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.1% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Celaya
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$55.63 MX$1,038.56	+2.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$38.94 MX$726.99	+5.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$104.31 MX$1,947.29	+38.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$71.63 MX$1,337.14	-32.2%
Average			+0.1%

Shanghai vs. Celaya - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Shanghai vs. Celaya

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Celaya?

More cost comparisons

Shanghai vs.

Beijing

Shanghai vs.

Reykjavik

Shanghai vs.

Lima

Shanghai vs.

Vienna

Shanghai vs.

Berlin

Shanghai vs.

Paris

Shanghai vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Shanghai vs.

Madrid

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in China vs. Mexico. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within China and Mexico.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Shanghai

Add prices for Celaya

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Celaya or Shanghai. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.