Chengdu vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Chengdu	South Tarawa
🚶 Cost of living one person	$666	$538
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1735	$1303
🏠 One person rent	$281	$233
🏘️ Family rent	$485	$392
🍽️ Food expenses	$235	$226
🚐 Transport expenses	$81.2	$22.7
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$1050	$164
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	12 km	20 km
🎓 Higher education	89	1
😀 Quality of life	75	28
🏙️ Population	20.9M	63.4K

The cost of living in Chengdu is 24% more expensive than in South Tarawa. Cities ranked 7467th and 8474th ($666 vs $538) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 88th and 2nd in China and Kiribati, respectively. Check China vs Kiribati comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Chengdu compared to 0.3 months in South Tarawa. Chengdu ranked 5th best city to live in China vs South Tarawa ranked 1st in Kiribati, while ranked 1710th and 8872nd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/chengdu/south-tarawa.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Chengdu vs South Tarawa infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/chengdu/south-tarawa" target="_blank">Chengdu vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Chengdu vs South Tarawa

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

	Chengdu	South Tarawa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$2.83	$4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$22	$22.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.93	$5.15
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.61	$1.82
☕ Cappuccino	$3.33	$1.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.47	$0.63
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$362	$226
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$207	$151
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$663	$412
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$367	$274
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$30.6	$41
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$46.5	$63.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$12.7	$26.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.77%	12.43%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3917	$1374
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2027	$845
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.43	$0.41
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$23.4	$15.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$3.67	$7.47
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.15	$1.01
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.95	$1.22
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.68	$0.76
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$1.21
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.73	$1.73
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.9	$7.22
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.73	$4.59
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11	$7.22
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.91	$2.38
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.25	$1.25
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.24	$1.67
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.12	$1.16
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.73	$1.04
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.72	$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.42	$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.25	$1.24
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$9.92	$8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$0.81	$1.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.4	$2.98
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.26	$3.96
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.14	$3.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.46	$1.6
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.66	$1.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$30	$24.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$5.89	$4.49
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$23	$19.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$6.43	$4.22
👖 Brand Jeans	$40.8	$31.4
👟 Brand Sneakers	$67.7	$65.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$286	$131
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$13059	$4200

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Chengdu

Distance	City	Cost of living
38 km or 24 mi	Chongzhou	$625
38 km or 24 mi	Pengzhou	$617
41 km or 25 mi	Guanghan	$600
53 km or 33 mi	Shifang	$584
55 km or 34 mi	Jianyang	$621
56 km or 35 mi	Dujiangyan	$612
60 km or 38 mi	Deyang	$588
65 km or 40 mi	Qionglai	$611
71 km or 44 mi	Meishan	$629
77 km or 48 mi	Mianzhu	$566
81 km or 50 mi	Ziyang	$628
110 km or 68 mi	Mianyang	$540
124 km or 77 mi	Leshan	$595
127 km or 79 mi	Ya'an	$598
127 km or 79 mi	Shehong	$576
131 km or 81 mi	Emeishan	$581
139 km or 87 mi	Jiangyou	$553
145 km or 90 mi	Suining	$595
153 km or 95 mi	Neijiang	$679
161 km or 100 mi	Zigong	$607
188 km or 117 mi	Longchang	$612
193 km or 120 mi	Nanchong	$572
208 km or 129 mi	Langzhong	$564
219 km or 136 mi	Yibin	$599
237 km or 148 mi	Luzhou	$600
247 km or 153 mi	Guang'an	$608
259 km or 161 mi	Guangyuan	$606
261 km or 162 mi	Huaying	$581
265 km or 165 mi	Chongqing	$601
288 km or 179 mi	Bazhong	$627
333 km or 207 mi	Dazhou	$612
341 km or 212 mi	Longnan	$615
353 km or 220 mi	Xichang	$596
372 km or 231 mi	Zhaotong	$603
388 km or 241 mi	Hanzhong	$687
390 km or 243 mi	Renhuai	$566
392 km or 244 mi	Bijie	$591
408 km or 253 mi	Wanyuan	$594
431 km or 268 mi	Zunyi	$578
459 km or 285 mi	Liupanshui	$580

Cities near South Tarawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
658 km or 409 mi	Majuro	$1507
661 km or 411 mi	Djarrit	$1510
706 km or 439 mi	Yaren	$783
1302 km or 809 mi	Vaiaku	$714
1302 km or 809 mi	Funafuti	$718
1768 km or 1099 mi	Auki	$1422
1879 km or 1167 mi	Honiara	$1422
1988 km or 1235 mi	Luganville	$2062
2172 km or 1349 mi	Lautoka	$633
2190 km or 1361 mi	Nadi	$1039
2190 km or 1361 mi	Port Vila	$2068
2248 km or 1397 mi	Nasinu	$857
2253 km or 1400 mi	Suva	$879
2310 km or 1435 mi	Manase	$790
2382 km or 1480 mi	Apia	$791
2712 km or 1685 mi	Dumbea	$1865
2713 km or 1686 mi	Paita	$1865
2725 km or 1693 mi	Noumea	$1928
2817 km or 1750 mi	Nukualofa	$1035
2825 km or 1756 mi	Mua	$1033
3022 km or 1878 mi	Lae	$558
3104 km or 1929 mi	Port Moresby	$572
3286 km or 2042 mi	London	$539
3357 km or 2086 mi	Saipan	$1415
3375 km or 2097 mi	Dededo	$2401
3383 km or 2102 mi	Hagatna	$3009
3611 km or 2244 mi	Cairns	$1695
3612 km or 2244 mi	Jayapura	$506
3658 km or 2273 mi	Gladstone	$1640
3665 km or 2277 mi	Townsville	$1839
3668 km or 2279 mi	Bundaberg	$1727
3672 km or 2282 mi	Hervey Bay	$1864
3673 km or 2282 mi	Rockhampton	$1635
3762 km or 2338 mi	Kauai	$2821
3779 km or 2348 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1835
3788 km or 2354 mi	Caloundra	$1864
3822 km or 2375 mi	Caboolture	$1988
3851 km or 2393 mi	Waipahu	$2700
3854 km or 2395 mi	Brisbane	$2269
3855 km or 2396 mi	Pearl	$2610