Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Mexico

Queretaro vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Queretaro is 10.5% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Queretaro
Groceries: pay 36.5% more in Queretaro
Transportation: pay 22.5% more in Queretaro
Housing: pay 3.9% less in Queretaro
Childcare: pay 81.2% less in Queretaro
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.8% more in Queretaro
Clothing: pay 11.3% more in Queretaro

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

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

Queretaro vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Queretaro
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$11.13 MX$207.71	+148.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$9.74 MX$181.75	+86.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$1.63 MX$30.46	+172.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.09 MX$20.34	+194.5%
Average			+130.8%

Shanghai vs. Queretaro - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 36.5% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Queretaro
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$2.75 MX$51.40	+39.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$4.51 MX$84.11	-47.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$7.33 MX$136.81	+6.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$2.75 MX$51.32	+61.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$4.10 MX$76.63	+177.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.58 MX$29.52	+59.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.75 MX$13.96	-3.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$1.01 MX$18.93	+12.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$0.89 MX$16.54	+15.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.83 MX$15.57	+132.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.82 MX$15.30	+89.2%
Average			+36.5%

Shanghai vs. Queretaro - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.5% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Queretaro
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$5.91 MX$110.28	+19.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$25.82 MX$482.03	-13.4%
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	$24.48 MX$456.96	+331.9%
Average			+22.5%

Shanghai vs. Queretaro - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.9% less for housing

	Shanghai	Queretaro
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$25.11 MX$468.80	+138.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$865.77 MX$16,162.53	-16.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$567.79 MX$10,599.77	-3.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$45.04 MX$840.79	+2.2%
Average			-3.9%

Shanghai vs. Queretaro - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 81.2% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Queretaro
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$270.74 MX$5,054.31	-80.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$5,118.12 MX$95,547.19	-81.5%
Average			-81.2%

Shanghai vs. Queretaro - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Queretaro
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$3.34 MX$62.31	+179.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$3.69 MX$68.92	+10.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$4.63 MX$86.41	+24.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$58.07 MX$1,083.99	-11.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$7.51 MX$140.21	-16.1%
Average			+18.8%

Shanghai vs. Queretaro - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.3% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Queretaro
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$53.55 MX$999.74	-1.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$45.50 MX$849.50	+22.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$101.55 MX$1,895.81	+34.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$99.75 MX$1,862.11	-5.6%
Average			+11.3%

Shanghai vs. Queretaro - 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. Queretaro

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Queretaro?

More cost comparisons

Shanghai vs.

Beijing

Shanghai vs.

Warsaw

Shanghai vs.

Toronto

Shanghai vs.

Sydney

Shanghai vs.

Rome

Shanghai vs.

New York City

Shanghai vs.

Bangkok

Shanghai vs.

Moscow

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 Queretaro

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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