Boston vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Boston Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3345
$1190
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$7700
$3757
🏠 One person rent
$2257
$635
🏘️ Family rent
$3867
$1613
🍽️ Food expenses
$739
$308
🚐 Transport expenses
$146
$117
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5860
$1455
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
5 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
92
78
🏙️ Population
676K
24.9M

The cost of living in Boston is 181% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 35th and 4461st ($3345 vs $1190) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 30th and 6th in the United States and China, respectively. Check the United States vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Boston compared to 1.2 months in Shanghai. Boston ranked 10th best city to live in the United States vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 83rd and 558th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Boston vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Boston vs Shanghai

Prices for goods and services in Boston and Shanghai are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Boston Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$22.1
$4.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$90.5
$40.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.95
$1.7
 Cappuccino
$5.4
$3.83
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.65
$0.55
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2636
$901
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1919
$497
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$4850
$2595
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3294
$1269
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$127
$39.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$194
$60.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$67.3
$17.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.55%
4.77%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$11687
$17366
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6831
$9346
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.4
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$90.6
$37.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$17.9
$6
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.97
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.24
$2.55
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$4.14
$2.02
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.26
$1.47
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.29
$2.21
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.4
$18.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.4
$4.12
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.6
$12.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.47
$2.27
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.08
$1.65
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.3
$1.97
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.24
$1.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.43
$0.96
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.73
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.67
$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.3
$1.25
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.6
$14.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.91
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13.1
$3.45
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.3
$6.43
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.01
$7.06
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.02
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.01
$2
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$93
$69.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$16
$8.16
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$165
$89.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$24.2
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$60.3
$66.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$93.5
$78.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2399
$1283
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$27937
$28143

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Boston

Distance City Cost of living
4 km or 2.5 mi Cambridge
$3795
4.4 km or 2.7 mi Chelsea
$3105
4.5 km or 2.8 mi Somerville
$3630
5.6 km or 3.5 mi Everett
$2892
5.7 km or 3.5 mi Brookline
$3114
6.9 km or 4.3 mi Revere
$2953
7.4 km or 4.6 mi Malden
$2770
7.6 km or 4.7 mi Medford
$2989
10 km or 6.2 mi Belmont
$3022
10 km or 6.2 mi Arlington
$3023
10 km or 6.2 mi Watertown
$2958
11 km or 6.9 mi Melrose
$2802
12 km or 7.5 mi Milton
$2947
12 km or 7.5 mi Winchester
$2820
12 km or 7.7 mi Newton
$2890
13 km or 7.8 mi Saugus
$2841
13 km or 8.1 mi Quincy
$3122
14 km or 8.6 mi Stoneham
$2761
14 km or 8.9 mi Waltham
$2846
15 km or 9.4 mi Lynn
$3042
15 km or 9.5 mi Woburn
$2618
16 km or 9.6 mi Dedham
$2847
16 km or 10 mi Needham
$2796
16 km or 10 mi Lexington
$2723
16 km or 10 mi Wakefield
$2746
18 km or 11 mi Braintree
$2915
18 km or 11 mi Weymouth
$2905
19 km or 12 mi Reading
$2698
19 km or 12 mi Hingham
$2859
20 km or 12 mi Burlington
$2338
20 km or 13 mi Wellesley
$2677
21 km or 13 mi Norwood
$2773
22 km or 14 mi Peabody
$2556
22 km or 14 mi Randolph
$2823
22 km or 14 mi Salem
$2537
23 km or 14 mi Wilmington
$2522
23 km or 14 mi Marblehead
$2594
23 km or 14 mi Canton
$2787
25 km or 16 mi Natick
$2395
26 km or 16 mi Stoughton
$2750

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1074
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$731
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$771
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$763
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$682
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$731
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$651
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$678
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$687
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$699
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$688
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$690
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$677
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$675
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$755
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$707
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$713
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$682
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$831
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$679
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$694
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$625
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$707
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$625
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$651
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$703
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$524
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$631
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$645
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$720
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$725
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$696
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$719
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$789
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$652
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$740