Chicago vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Chicago Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2613
$1190
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$6659
$3757
🏠 One person rent
$1594
$635
🏘️ Family rent
$3123
$1613
🍽️ Food expenses
$649
$308
🚐 Transport expenses
$210
$117
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5285
$1455
😷 Air quality
Good
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
15 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
96
78
🏙️ Population
2.75M
24.9M

The cost of living in Chicago is 120% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 505th and 4461st ($2613 vs $1190) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 455th 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 2 months in Chicago compared to 1.2 months in Shanghai. Chicago ranked 2nd best city to live in the United States vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 16th 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 Chicago vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Chicago vs Shanghai

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

Chicago Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$17.5
$4.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$80.3
$40.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$10.6
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$6.98
$1.7
 Cappuccino
$5.12
$3.83
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.87
$0.55
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1958
$901
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1297
$497
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3908
$2595
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2652
$1269
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$103
$39.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$158
$60.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$61.2
$17.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.64%
4.77%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3227
$17366
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2803
$9346
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.52
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$87.1
$37.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$15.1
$6
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.1
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.04
$2.55
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.79
$2.02
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.74
$1.47
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.8
$2.21
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.8
$18.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.5
$4.12
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.9
$12.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.27
$2.27
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$1.65
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.02
$1.97
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.53
$1.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.42
$0.96
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.8
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.53
$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.9
$1.25
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.1
$14.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.65
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$15.7
$3.45
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$9.23
$6.43
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.71
$7.06
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.85
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.94
$2
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$73.1
$69.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.8
$8.16
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$78.7
$89.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$28.3
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$61.8
$66.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$99.6
$78.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2675
$1283
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$15494
$28143

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Chicago

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 7 mi Cicero
$2476
14 km or 8.8 mi Berwyn
$2544
14 km or 8.9 mi Oak Park
$2446
16 km or 10 mi Elmwood Park
$2346
18 km or 11 mi Maywood
$2387
18 km or 11 mi Evanston
$2199
19 km or 12 mi Skokie
$2257
19 km or 12 mi Burbank
$2326
20 km or 12 mi Melrose Park
$2317
21 km or 13 mi Oak Lawn
$2300
22 km or 14 mi Morton Grove
$2290
22 km or 14 mi Niles
$2323
23 km or 14 mi Park Ridge
$2295
23 km or 14 mi Wilmette
$2245
25 km or 16 mi Blue Island
$2282
26 km or 16 mi Elmhurst
$2244
27 km or 17 mi Glenview
$2264
28 km or 17 mi Des Plaines
$2215
28 km or 18 mi Dolton
$2264
29 km or 18 mi Villa Park
$2204
30 km or 19 mi Harvey
$2258
30 km or 19 mi East Chicago
$2013
30 km or 19 mi Westmont
$2248
31 km or 19 mi Calumet
$2258
31 km or 20 mi South Holland
$2240
32 km or 20 mi Lombard
$2162
32 km or 20 mi Hammond
$2030
32 km or 20 mi Oak Forest
$2257
33 km or 20 mi Northbrook
$2253
33 km or 20 mi Mount Prospect
$2269
33 km or 20 mi Darien
$2250
33 km or 21 mi Elk Grove Village
$2267
34 km or 21 mi Downers Grove
$2264
35 km or 22 mi Orland Park
$2238
36 km or 22 mi Lansing
$2239
36 km or 22 mi Glen Ellyn
$2089
37 km or 23 mi Highland Park
$2221
37 km or 23 mi Munster
$2038
37 km or 23 mi Tinley Park
$2241
37 km or 23 mi Wheeling
$2240

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