Chicago vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Chicago Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2799
$1128
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$6454
$3104
🏠 One person rent
$1702
$605
🏘️ Family rent
$2727
$1067
🍽️ Food expenses
$702
$289
🚐 Transport expenses
$204
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5210
$931
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
15 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
97
77
🏙️ Population
2.75M
24.9M

The cost of living in Chicago is 148% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 394th and 4879th ($2799 vs $1128) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 338th 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 1.9 months in Chicago compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. Chicago ranked 2nd best city to live in the United States vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 16th and 1383rd 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
$19.2
$4.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$86.5
$40
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.36
$1.47
☕ Cappuccino
$5.6
$3.79
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.99
$0.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1993
$848
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1414
$485
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3215
$1510
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2313
$875
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$108
$34.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$168
$52
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$64.8
$12.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.77%
3.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3645
$14877
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2499
$7318
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.48
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$74.8
$31.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$17
$6.41
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.01
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.08
$2.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$4.01
$1.88
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.93
$1.34
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.3
$1.88
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.4
$15.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.3
$3.52
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$18.8
$10.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.04
$2.26
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.8
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.11
$1.8
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.56
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.37
$0.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.76
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.79
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.14
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$16.7
$11.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.81
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$16.5
$3.02
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$12.8
$6.07
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7
$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.84
$2.02
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.14
$2.12
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$68.2
$59.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$17.1
$8.24
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$135
$92.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$28.7
$12.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$61.8
$52.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$94.8
$75.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2032
$1172
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$23423
$27624

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
$2384
14 km or 8.8 mi Berwyn
$2360
14 km or 8.9 mi Oak Park
$2396
16 km or 10 mi Elmwood Park
$2386
18 km or 11 mi Maywood
$2367
18 km or 11 mi Evanston
$2202
19 km or 12 mi Skokie
$2287
19 km or 12 mi Burbank
$2393
20 km or 12 mi Melrose Park
$2385
21 km or 13 mi Oak Lawn
$2399
22 km or 14 mi Morton Grove
$2366
22 km or 14 mi Niles
$2400
23 km or 14 mi Park Ridge
$2426
23 km or 14 mi Wilmette
$2288
25 km or 16 mi Blue Island
$2398
26 km or 16 mi Elmhurst
$2406
27 km or 17 mi Glenview
$2405
28 km or 17 mi Des Plaines
$2549
28 km or 18 mi Dolton
$2393
29 km or 18 mi Villa Park
$2413
30 km or 19 mi Harvey
$2395
30 km or 19 mi East Chicago
$2030
30 km or 19 mi Westmont
$2327
31 km or 19 mi Calumet
$2392
31 km or 20 mi South Holland
$2379
32 km or 20 mi Lombard
$2462
32 km or 20 mi Hammond
$2008
32 km or 20 mi Oak Forest
$2388
33 km or 20 mi Northbrook
$2399
33 km or 20 mi Mount Prospect
$2468
33 km or 20 mi Darien
$2363
33 km or 21 mi Elk Grove Village
$2495
34 km or 21 mi Downers Grove
$2268
35 km or 22 mi Orland Park
$2392
36 km or 22 mi Lansing
$2368
36 km or 22 mi Glen Ellyn
$2261
37 km or 23 mi Highland Park
$2392
37 km or 23 mi Munster
$1989
37 km or 23 mi Tinley Park
$2376
37 km or 23 mi Wheeling
$2426

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1003
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$673
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$696
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$771
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$597
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$612
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$632
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$547
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$648
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$679
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$631
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$634
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$576
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$713
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$621
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$740
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$674
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$601
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$630
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$826
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$622
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$634
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$639
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$597
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$642
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$597
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$651
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$664
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$531
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$602
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$618
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$637
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$672
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$663
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$590
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$666
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$659
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$617
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$753