Chicago vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Chicago Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2851
$1147
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$6527
$3146
🏠 One person rent
$1714
$636
🏘️ Family rent
$2737
$1119
🍽️ Food expenses
$704
$279
🚐 Transport expenses
$212
$105
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5090
$1068
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
15 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
99
😀 Quality of life
95
76
🏙️ Population
2.75M
24.9M

The cost of living in Chicago is 148% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 358th and 4880th ($2851 vs $1147) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 300th and 5th 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 Chicago compared to 0.9 months in Shanghai. Chicago ranked 3rd best city to live in the United States vs Shanghai ranked 5th in China, while ranked 18th and 1178th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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
$19.6
$4.42
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$84.3
$30.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12.7
$5.19
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.35
$1.44
☕ Cappuccino
$6.06
$3.21
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.85
$0.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2011
$849
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1414
$520
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3203
$1495
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2316
$937
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$117
$38.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$180
$59.3
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$63.3
$11.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.32%
3.19%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3899
$14068
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2568
$6729
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.51
$0.54
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$82.6
$29.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$16.5
$5.76
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.12
$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.2
$2.14
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.67
$1.81
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.62
$1.1
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.11
$1.87
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.2
$16.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.5
$3.33
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.1
$13
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.78
$2.43
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.86
$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.96
$1.84
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.01
$1.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.39
$0.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.63
$0.94
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.79
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.71
$1.31
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$16
$11.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.02
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$17.4
$2.95
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$11.6
$6.37
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.05
$7.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.22
$2.11
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.31
$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$74.6
$70.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$17
$8.79
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$177
$98.8
💇 Haircut, simple
$32.8
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$62.9
$46.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$105
$71.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1582
$1268
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$27880
$27610

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
$2444
14 km or 8.8 mi Berwyn
$2399
14 km or 8.9 mi Oak Park
$2440
16 km or 10 mi Elmwood Park
$2425
18 km or 11 mi Maywood
$2423
18 km or 11 mi Evanston
$2232
19 km or 12 mi Skokie
$2309
19 km or 12 mi Burbank
$2454
20 km or 12 mi Melrose Park
$2430
21 km or 13 mi Oak Lawn
$2463
22 km or 14 mi Morton Grove
$2376
22 km or 14 mi Niles
$2394
23 km or 14 mi Park Ridge
$2461
23 km or 14 mi Wilmette
$2323
25 km or 16 mi Blue Island
$2444
26 km or 16 mi Elmhurst
$2483
27 km or 17 mi Glenview
$2436
28 km or 17 mi Des Plaines
$2569
28 km or 18 mi Dolton
$2436
29 km or 18 mi Villa Park
$2508
30 km or 19 mi Harvey
$2425
30 km or 19 mi East Chicago
$1751
30 km or 19 mi Westmont
$2440
31 km or 19 mi Calumet
$2443
31 km or 20 mi South Holland
$2439
32 km or 20 mi Lombard
$2580
32 km or 20 mi Hammond
$1761
32 km or 20 mi Oak Forest
$2429
33 km or 20 mi Northbrook
$2400
33 km or 20 mi Mount Prospect
$2508
33 km or 20 mi Darien
$2463
33 km or 21 mi Elk Grove Village
$2543
34 km or 21 mi Downers Grove
$2418
35 km or 22 mi Orland Park
$2438
36 km or 22 mi Lansing
$2425
36 km or 22 mi Glen Ellyn
$2406
37 km or 23 mi Highland Park
$2418
37 km or 23 mi Munster
$1784
37 km or 23 mi Tinley Park
$2423
37 km or 23 mi Wheeling
$2453

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1030
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$708
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$726
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$725
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$798
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$643
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$678
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$581
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$652
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$680
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$658
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$571
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$660
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$645
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$670
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$663
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$636
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$659
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$899
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$651
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$664
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$657
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$627
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$667
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$623
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$693
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$691
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$623
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$644
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$661
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$696
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$693
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$620
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$677
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$684
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$644
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$789