Dongguan vs Shenzhen - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Dongguan	Shenzhen
🚶 Cost of living one person	$662	$878
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1882	$2307
🏠 One person rent	$263	$456
🏘️ Family rent	$461	$808
🍽️ Food expenses	$234	$253
🚐 Transport expenses	$79.2	$83.4
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$752	$969
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	46 km	11 km
🎓 Higher education	69	96
😀 Quality of life	72	78
🏙️ Population	10.5M	17.5M

The cost of living in Dongguan is 25% less expensive than in Shenzhen. Cities ranked 7341st and 6334th ($662 vs $878) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 78th and 17th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.1 months in Dongguan compared to 1.1 months in Shenzhen. Ranked 20th vs 3rd best cities to live in China, and 3389th vs 1094th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Dongguan vs Shenzhen infographic

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Prices in Dongguan vs Shenzhen

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

	Dongguan	Shenzhen
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$2.78	$3.52
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$21	$28.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.89	$4.93
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.27	$1.26
☕ Cappuccino	$2.67	$3.12
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.44	$0.5
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$319	$619
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$184	$350
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$568	$1122
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$341	$637
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$39.7	$40.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$62.1	$61.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$12.2	$12.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.86%	3.84%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$6823	$12494
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3488	$5776
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.28	$0.42
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$21.1	$21
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$4.04	$4.58
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.16	$1.16
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.62	$1.76
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.47	$1.92
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.03	$1.13
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.62	$1.82
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.4	$12.4
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.48	$3.43
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.1	$13
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.83	$1.85
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.35	$1.36
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.65	$1.64
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.25	$1.24
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.01	$1.01
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.31	$1.31
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.35	$0.4
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.1	$1.08
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$12.5	$12.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$0.87	$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.78	$3.51
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.87	$5.34
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$6.97	$6.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.23	$1.65
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.59	$1.96
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$61	$43.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$6.97	$7.06
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$49.3	$34
💇 Haircut, simple	$7.22	$9.65
👖 Brand Jeans	$30	$47.5
👟 Brand Sneakers	$61.8	$73.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$445	$444
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$21416	$22402

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Dongguan

Distance	City	Cost of living
51 km or 32 mi	Guangzhou	$758
65 km or 40 mi	Shenzhen	$878
66 km or 41 mi	Foshan	$589
68 km or 43 mi	Huizhou	$608
70 km or 44 mi	Zhongshan	$518
86 km or 53 mi	Jiangmen	$829
88 km or 54 mi	Zhuhai	$662
93 km or 58 mi	Kowloon	$2414
95 km or 59 mi	Hong Kong	$2718
100 km or 62 mi	Macau	$1746
100 km or 62 mi	Qingyuan	$777
124 km or 77 mi	Heyuan	$766
132 km or 82 mi	Kaiping	$827
133 km or 83 mi	Zhaoqing	$794
165 km or 103 mi	Shanwei	$941
176 km or 109 mi	Yunfu	$816
196 km or 122 mi	Shaoguan	$818
226 km or 141 mi	Yangjiang	$892
239 km or 148 mi	Lianzhou	$765
249 km or 155 mi	Puning	$579
253 km or 157 mi	Wuzhou	$809
271 km or 168 mi	Hezhou	$766
273 km or 170 mi	Jieyang	$451
279 km or 173 mi	Meizhou	$669
302 km or 188 mi	Chaozhou	$454
303 km or 188 mi	Shantou	$589
315 km or 195 mi	Chenzhou	$750
323 km or 201 mi	Gaozhou	$780
329 km or 205 mi	Maoming	$773
332 km or 206 mi	Ganzhou	$897
372 km or 231 mi	Yulin	$726
401 km or 249 mi	Zhanjiang	$790
403 km or 250 mi	Longyan	$697
424 km or 263 mi	Guigang	$693
430 km or 267 mi	Guilin	$546
430 km or 267 mi	Zhangzhou	$681
437 km or 271 mi	Yongzhou	$634
444 km or 276 mi	Hengyang	$622
464 km or 288 mi	Liuzhou	$574
467 km or 290 mi	Laibin	$598

Cities near Shenzhen

Distance	City	Cost of living
28 km or 17 mi	Kowloon	$2414
30 km or 19 mi	Hong Kong	$2718
58 km or 36 mi	Zhuhai	$662
65 km or 40 mi	Dongguan	$662
66 km or 41 mi	Macau	$1746
72 km or 45 mi	Zhongshan	$518
74 km or 46 mi	Huizhou	$608
100 km or 62 mi	Jiangmen	$829
105 km or 65 mi	Guangzhou	$758
112 km or 69 mi	Foshan	$589
134 km or 83 mi	Shanwei	$941
142 km or 88 mi	Kaiping	$827
150 km or 93 mi	Heyuan	$766
164 km or 102 mi	Qingyuan	$777
174 km or 108 mi	Zhaoqing	$794
212 km or 131 mi	Yunfu	$816
228 km or 142 mi	Yangjiang	$892
233 km or 145 mi	Puning	$579
256 km or 159 mi	Shaoguan	$818
262 km or 163 mi	Jieyang	$451
286 km or 178 mi	Shantou	$589
288 km or 179 mi	Meizhou	$669
292 km or 182 mi	Chaozhou	$454
299 km or 186 mi	Wuzhou	$809
303 km or 188 mi	Lianzhou	$765
330 km or 205 mi	Hezhou	$766
337 km or 209 mi	Gaozhou	$780
337 km or 210 mi	Maoming	$773
377 km or 234 mi	Ganzhou	$897
378 km or 235 mi	Chenzhou	$750
401 km or 249 mi	Yulin	$726
405 km or 252 mi	Zhanjiang	$790
415 km or 258 mi	Longyan	$697
428 km or 266 mi	Zhangzhou	$681
460 km or 286 mi	Guigang	$693
464 km or 288 mi	Xiamen	$707
477 km or 297 mi	Haikou	$677
485 km or 301 mi	Kinmen	$901
489 km or 304 mi	Guilin	$546
502 km or 312 mi	Yongzhou	$634