Chicago vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Chicago Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2791
$1165
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$6954
$3823
🏠 One person rent
$1682
$613
🏘️ Family rent
$3132
$1694
🍽️ Food expenses
$676
$305
🚐 Transport expenses
$255
$108
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5976
$1458
😷 Air quality
Good
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 140% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 255th and 4418th ($2791 vs $1165) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 228th 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 2.1 months in Chicago compared to 1.3 months in Shanghai. Chicago ranked 2nd best city to live in the United States vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 12th and 435th 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
$17.4
$5.32
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$83.8
$39
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$10.9
$5.61
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$6.73
$1.61
☕ Cappuccino
$5.54
$3.89
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.88
$0.54
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2021
$845
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1363
$484
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3661
$2670
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2680
$1351
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$122
$41
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$190
$62.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$65.8
$16.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.85%
4.81%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6763
$18653
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5185
$9199
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.51
$0.55
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$87
$32.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$23.8
$5.69
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.2
$1.18
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.12
$2.53
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.66
$2.2
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.95
$1.62
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.44
$2.34
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.9
$17.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.4
$4.17
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.9
$12.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.18
$2.28
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.95
$1.58
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.4
$1.98
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.9
$1.49
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.57
$0.9
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.88
$1.08
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.72
$0.38
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.51
$1.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$16
$14.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.69
$0.85
🚬 Cigarette pack
$16.1
$3.41
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.4
$6.25
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.8
$5.64
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.77
$1.55
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.57
$1.79
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$75.9
$63.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.5
$9.29
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$112
$103
💇 Haircut, simple
$25.4
$12.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$64.7
$67.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$111
$76.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2041
$1225
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$31463
$27798

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
$2472
14 km or 8.8 mi Berwyn
$2522
14 km or 8.9 mi Oak Park
$2374
16 km or 10 mi Elmwood Park
$2299
18 km or 11 mi Maywood
$2341
18 km or 11 mi Evanston
$2195
19 km or 12 mi Skokie
$2219
19 km or 12 mi Burbank
$2307
20 km or 12 mi Melrose Park
$2267
21 km or 13 mi Oak Lawn
$2294
22 km or 14 mi Morton Grove
$2199
22 km or 14 mi Niles
$2178
23 km or 14 mi Park Ridge
$2223
23 km or 14 mi Wilmette
$2203
25 km or 16 mi Blue Island
$2272
26 km or 16 mi Elmhurst
$2181
27 km or 17 mi Glenview
$2227
28 km or 17 mi Des Plaines
$2238
28 km or 18 mi Dolton
$2245
29 km or 18 mi Villa Park
$2149
30 km or 19 mi Harvey
$2232
30 km or 19 mi East Chicago
$1816
30 km or 19 mi Westmont
$2170
31 km or 19 mi Calumet
$2251
31 km or 20 mi South Holland
$2247
32 km or 20 mi Lombard
$2094
32 km or 20 mi Hammond
$1848
32 km or 20 mi Oak Forest
$2223
33 km or 20 mi Northbrook
$2212
33 km or 20 mi Mount Prospect
$2287
33 km or 20 mi Darien
$2211
33 km or 21 mi Elk Grove Village
$2232
34 km or 21 mi Downers Grove
$2154
35 km or 22 mi Orland Park
$2227
36 km or 22 mi Lansing
$2234
36 km or 22 mi Glen Ellyn
$2042
37 km or 23 mi Highland Park
$2183
37 km or 23 mi Munster
$1873
37 km or 23 mi Tinley Park
$2207
37 km or 23 mi Wheeling
$2230

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1052
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$772
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$820
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$788
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1144
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$688
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$751
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$784
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$785
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$741
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$714
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$728
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$709
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$666
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$810
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$694
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$740
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$719
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$721
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$714
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$827
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$695
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$695
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$612
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$706
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$625
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$619
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$701
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$540
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$620
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$642
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$693
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$681
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$687
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$607
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$718
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$722
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$635
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$736