Cost of living comparison

Mexico

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Zacatecas Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 60.9% more expensive than Zacatecas.

Restaurants: pay 35.2% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 10.1% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 0.1% more in Shanghai
Housing: pay 3.2 times more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 6.7 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 37.9% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 20.1% more in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Zacatecas Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 35.2% less for restaurants

	Zacatecas	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.40 MX$119.43	$4.47 CN¥29.86	-30.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.51 MX$140.21	$5.22 CN¥34.84	-30.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.26 MX$23.54	$0.60 CN¥4.00	-52.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 MX$14.19	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-51.3%
Average			-35.2%

Zacatecas vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.1% less for groceries

	Zacatecas	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$2.20 MX$41.02	$1.98 CN¥13.18	-10.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.76 MX$70.10	$8.60 CN¥57.38	+129.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.41 MX$100.91	$6.88 CN¥45.90	+27.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.27 MX$42.30	$1.70 CN¥11.33	-25.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.75 MX$51.35	$1.48 CN¥9.86	-46.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.82 MX$15.31	$0.99 CN¥6.63	+21.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 MX$13.92	$0.77 CN¥5.14	+3.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 MX$17.19	$0.90 CN¥6.03	-1.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.67 MX$12.48	$0.77 CN¥5.13	+15.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 MX$16.96	$0.36 CN¥2.39	-60.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 MX$15.40	$0.43 CN¥2.89	-47.5%
Average			-10.1%

Zacatecas vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.1% more for transportation

	Zacatecas	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.64 MX$105.34	$4.96 CN¥33.13	-12.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.69 MX$311.57	$29.83 CN¥199.09	+78.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,528.95 MX$402K	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-10.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.13 MX$207.71	$5.67 CN¥37.83	-49.1%
Average			+0.1%

Zacatecas vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.2 times more for housing

	Zacatecas	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.96 MX$484.66	$10.55 CN¥70.41	-59.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$250.34 MX$4,673.50	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	+314.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$166.90 MX$3,115.67	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	+252.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$18.08 MX$337.53	$44.06 CN¥294.03	+143.7%
Average			+219.4%

Zacatecas vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 6.7 times more for childcare

	Zacatecas	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$258.29 MX$4,821.87	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	+447.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,337.91 MX$62,313.39	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+729.4%
Average			+573.7%

Zacatecas vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 37.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Zacatecas	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.95 MX$36.35	$1.19 CN¥7.96	-38.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.06 MX$57.12	$3.35 CN¥22.36	+9.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.45 MX$83.08	$3.73 CN¥24.89	-16.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.03 MX$467.35	$65.69 CN¥438.41	+162.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.39 MX$82.05	$8.95 CN¥59.73	+103.6%
Average			+37.9%

Zacatecas vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.1% more for clothing

	Zacatecas	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.36 MX$865.46	$54.37 CN¥362.87	+17.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.78 MX$761.23	$37.09 CN¥247.57	-9.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.79 MX$1,713.62	$75.49 CN¥503.82	-17.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$44.51 MX$830.85	$105.70 CN¥705.47	+137.5%
Average			+20.1%

Zacatecas 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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