Chengdu vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Chengdu Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$660
$1136
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1808
$3654
🏠 One person rent
$251
$602
🏘️ Family rent
$445
$1527
🍽️ Food expenses
$246
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$87
$116
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$892
$1905
😷 Air quality
Bad
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
94
100
😀 Quality of life
72
79
🏙️ Population
20.9M
24.9M

The cost of living in Chengdu is 42% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 7209th and 4780th ($660 vs $1136) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 151st and 6th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.4 months in Chengdu compared to 1.7 months in Shanghai. Ranked 7th vs 4th best cities to live in China, and 1933rd vs 571st among the best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Chengdu vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Chengdu vs Shanghai

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

Chengdu Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$2.91
$3.99
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$25.5
$42.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.97
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.42
$1.43
☕ Cappuccino
$3.65
$3.61
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.46
$0.53
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$319
$897
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$175
$461
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$586
$2549
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$329
$1181
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$34.4
$36.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$52.4
$56.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$12.3
$16.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.45%
4.28%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4168
$16156
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2205
$8893
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.43
$0.57
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$27.5
$36.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$3.55
$6.13
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.19
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.98
$2.41
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.51
$1.99
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.13
$1.41
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.84
$2.11
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.8
$15.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.24
$3.46
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13
$11.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$2.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.27
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.74
$2.05
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.04
$1.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.7
$0.98
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.81
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.39
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.24
$1.32
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$10.8
$11.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.93
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.38
$3.51
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.17
$6.62
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.03
$7.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.45
$1.72
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.65
$2.03
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$32
$55
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.65
$8.47
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$23.1
$90.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$6.37
$11.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$53.6
$58.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$83.4
$78.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$389
$1263
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$15153
$31401

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Chengdu

Distance City Cost of living
38 km or 24 mi Chongzhou
$614
38 km or 24 mi Pengzhou
$605
41 km or 25 mi Guanghan
$587
53 km or 33 mi Shifang
$572
55 km or 34 mi Jianyang
$611
56 km or 35 mi Dujiangyan
$603
60 km or 38 mi Deyang
$591
65 km or 40 mi Qionglai
$604
71 km or 44 mi Meishan
$624
77 km or 48 mi Mianzhu
$559
81 km or 50 mi Ziyang
$625
110 km or 68 mi Mianyang
$550
124 km or 77 mi Leshan
$588
127 km or 79 mi Ya'an
$613
127 km or 79 mi Shehong
$574
131 km or 81 mi Emeishan
$570
139 km or 87 mi Jiangyou
$553
145 km or 90 mi Suining
$609
153 km or 95 mi Neijiang
$682
161 km or 100 mi Zigong
$609
188 km or 117 mi Longchang
$618
193 km or 120 mi Nanchong
$560
208 km or 129 mi Langzhong
$551
219 km or 136 mi Yibin
$627
237 km or 148 mi Luzhou
$642
247 km or 153 mi Guang'an
$607
259 km or 161 mi Guangyuan
$596
261 km or 162 mi Huaying
$575
265 km or 165 mi Chongqing
$662
288 km or 179 mi Bazhong
$593
333 km or 207 mi Dazhou
$600
341 km or 212 mi Longnan
$584
353 km or 220 mi Xichang
$595
372 km or 231 mi Zhaotong
$620
388 km or 241 mi Hanzhong
$569
390 km or 243 mi Renhuai
$568
392 km or 244 mi Bijie
$612
408 km or 253 mi Wanyuan
$555
431 km or 268 mi Zunyi
$594
459 km or 285 mi Liupanshui
$591

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1028
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$706
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$749
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$738
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$585
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$661
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$718
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$620
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$676
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$706
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$685
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$612
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$733
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$674
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$742
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$702
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$729
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$674
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$843
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$676
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$690
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$629
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$698
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$630
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$673
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$698
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$650
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$651
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$703
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$708
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$699
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$702
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$771
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$648
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$774