Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Mexico

San Cristobal de Las Casas vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

San Cristobal de Las Casas is 24.7% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 43.2% more in San Cristobal de Las Casas
Groceries: pay 20.3% more in San Cristobal de Las Casas
Transportation: pay 16.8% more in San Cristobal de Las Casas
Housing: pay 46.9% less in San Cristobal de Las Casas
Childcare: pay 88.1% less in San Cristobal de Las Casas
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.0% less in San Cristobal de Las Casas
Clothing: pay 34.7% less in San Cristobal de Las Casas

The cost of restaurants, groceries, and transportation in San Cristobal de Las Casas are more expensive than in Shanghai. Expenses including childcare, housing, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in San Cristobal de Las Casas.

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San Cristobal de Las Casas vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Cristobal de Las Casas instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 43.2% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	San Cristobal de Las Casas
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$5.56 MX$103.86	+24.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$6.12 MX$114.24	+17.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$1.67 MX$31.16	+178.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.04 MX$19.39	+180.7%
Average			+43.2%

Shanghai vs. San Cristobal de Las Casas - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.3% more for groceries

	Shanghai	San Cristobal de Las Casas
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$3.62 MX$67.51	+83.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$3.34 MX$62.31	-61.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$5.59 MX$104.27	-18.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$2.37 MX$44.17	+39.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$1.92 MX$35.80	+29.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.56 MX$29.05	+56.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.94 MX$17.59	+22.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$1.01 MX$18.84	+11.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$0.66 MX$12.25	-14.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.76 MX$14.13	+111.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.82 MX$15.31	+89.3%
Average			+20.3%

Shanghai vs. San Cristobal de Las Casas - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.8% more for transportation

	Shanghai	San Cristobal de Las Casas
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$5.38 MX$100.40	+8.3%
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	$19,109.24 MX$357K	-1.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$25.03 MX$467.35	+341.7%
Average			+16.8%

Shanghai vs. San Cristobal de Las Casas - Cost of transportation

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pay 46.9% less for housing

	Shanghai	San Cristobal de Las Casas
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$20.56 MX$383.75	+94.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$445.05 MX$8,308.45	-57.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$319.88 MX$5,971.70	-45.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$25.20 MX$470.50	-42.8%
Average			-46.9%

Shanghai vs. San Cristobal de Las Casas - Cost of housing

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pay 88.1% less for childcare

	Shanghai	San Cristobal de Las Casas
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$208.62 MX$3,894.59	-85.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$2,670.33 MX$49,850.71	-90.4%
Average			-88.1%

Shanghai vs. San Cristobal de Las Casas - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	San Cristobal de Las Casas
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$2.78 MX$51.93	+133.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$2.57 MX$48.03	-23.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$1.95 MX$36.35	-47.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$22.95 MX$428.40	-65.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$6.95 MX$129.82	-22.3%
Average			-24.0%

Shanghai vs. San Cristobal de Las Casas - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 34.7% less for clothing

	Shanghai	San Cristobal de Las Casas
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$19.47 MX$363.49	-64.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$27.82 MX$519.28	-25.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$97.36 MX$1,817.47	+29.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$55.63 MX$1,038.56	-47.4%
Average			-34.7%

Shanghai vs. San Cristobal de Las Casas - 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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