Chicago vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Chicago Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2667
$1136
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$6807
$3654
🏠 One person rent
$1579
$602
🏘️ Family rent
$3056
$1527
🍽️ Food expenses
$700
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$205
$116
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$4901
$1905
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
15 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
96
79
🏙️ Population
2.75M
24.9M

The cost of living in Chicago is 135% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 483rd and 4780th ($2667 vs $1136) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 425th 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 Chicago compared to 1.7 months in Shanghai. Chicago ranked 3rd best city to live in the United States vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 20th and 571st among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Chicago vs Shanghai infographic

Share this infographic!

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
$21
$3.99
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$87.3
$42.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.7
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.62
$1.43
☕ Cappuccino
$5.4
$3.61
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.12
$0.53
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1974
$897
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1280
$461
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3828
$2549
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2594
$1181
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$102
$36.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$156
$56.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$59.1
$16.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.61%
4.28%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3554
$16156
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3158
$8893
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.49
$0.57
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$76.5
$36.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$16.6
$6.13
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.12
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.02
$2.41
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.92
$1.99
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5
$1.41
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.69
$2.11
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.8
$15.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.8
$3.46
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.9
$11.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.97
$2.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.91
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.81
$2.05
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.56
$1.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.34
$0.98
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.08
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.93
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.86
$1.32
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.8
$11.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.9
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$16.6
$3.51
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$11.6
$6.62
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$6.03
$7.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.65
$1.72
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.81
$2.03
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$63.1
$55
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15
$8.47
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$126
$90.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$29.3
$11.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$62.2
$58.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$95.5
$78.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2457
$1263
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$19423
$31401

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Chicago

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 7 mi Cicero
$2427
14 km or 8.8 mi Berwyn
$2463
14 km or 8.9 mi Oak Park
$2424
16 km or 10 mi Elmwood Park
$2375
18 km or 11 mi Maywood
$2376
18 km or 11 mi Evanston
$2177
19 km or 12 mi Skokie
$2307
19 km or 12 mi Burbank
$2344
20 km or 12 mi Melrose Park
$2352
21 km or 13 mi Oak Lawn
$2326
22 km or 14 mi Morton Grove
$2367
22 km or 14 mi Niles
$2412
23 km or 14 mi Park Ridge
$2393
23 km or 14 mi Wilmette
$2292
25 km or 16 mi Blue Island
$2313
26 km or 16 mi Elmhurst
$2305
27 km or 17 mi Glenview
$2360
28 km or 17 mi Des Plaines
$2358
28 km or 18 mi Dolton
$2292
29 km or 18 mi Villa Park
$2268
30 km or 19 mi Harvey
$2292
30 km or 19 mi East Chicago
$1950
30 km or 19 mi Westmont
$2293
31 km or 19 mi Calumet
$2296
31 km or 20 mi South Holland
$2295
32 km or 20 mi Lombard
$2224
32 km or 20 mi Hammond
$1975
32 km or 20 mi Oak Forest
$2276
33 km or 20 mi Northbrook
$2392
33 km or 20 mi Mount Prospect
$2363
33 km or 20 mi Darien
$2276
33 km or 21 mi Elk Grove Village
$2380
34 km or 21 mi Downers Grove
$2290
35 km or 22 mi Orland Park
$2269
36 km or 22 mi Lansing
$2280
36 km or 22 mi Glen Ellyn
$2134
37 km or 23 mi Highland Park
$2331
37 km or 23 mi Munster
$2002
37 km or 23 mi Tinley Park
$2274
37 km or 23 mi Wheeling
$2357

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