Hong Kong vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Hong Kong Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2614
$1190
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$6294
$3757
🏠 One person rent
$1726
$635
🏘️ Family rent
$3471
$1613
🍽️ Food expenses
$501
$308
🚐 Transport expenses
$242
$117
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$4054
$1455
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
19 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
89
78
🏙️ Population
7.41M
24.9M

The cost of living in Hong Kong is 120% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 503rd and 4461st ($2614 vs $1190) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 6th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Hong Kong compared to 1.2 months in Shanghai. Ranked 1st vs 4th best cities to live in China, and 168th vs 558th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Hong Kong vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Hong Kong vs Shanghai

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

Hong Kong Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$7.92
$4.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$59
$40.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.76
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$6.55
$1.7
☕ Cappuccino
$5.32
$3.83
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.34
$0.55
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2033
$901
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1449
$497
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$4405
$2595
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2942
$1269
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$139
$39.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$214
$60.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$21.9
$17.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.82%
4.77%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$28583
$17366
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$18618
$9346
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.52
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$63.3
$37.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$13.5
$6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$3
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$3.14
$2.55
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.38
$2.02
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.49
$1.47
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.17
$2.21
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.9
$18.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11
$4.12
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$23.3
$12.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.83
$2.27
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.47
$1.65
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.87
$1.97
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.29
$1.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.86
$0.96
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.63
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.1
$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.4
$1.25
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$16.8
$14.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.09
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$9.63
$3.45
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.19
$6.43
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.92
$7.06
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.82
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.61
$2
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$82
$69.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$12.8
$8.16
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$48.7
$89.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$28.2
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$78.3
$66.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$88.9
$78.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$896
$1283
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$20363
$28143

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Hong Kong

Distance City Cost of living
5 km or 3.1 mi Kowloon
$2410
30 km or 19 mi Shenzhen
$939
61 km or 38 mi Zhuhai
$618
64 km or 40 mi Macau
$1565
88 km or 55 mi Zhongshan
$481
95 km or 59 mi Dongguan
$589
96 km or 60 mi Huizhou
$837
116 km or 72 mi Jiangmen
$812
132 km or 82 mi Guangzhou
$742
132 km or 82 mi Shanwei
$1083
137 km or 85 mi Foshan
$575
152 km or 94 mi Kaiping
$816
173 km or 107 mi Heyuan
$891
193 km or 120 mi Qingyuan
$781
195 km or 121 mi Zhaoqing
$791
229 km or 143 mi Yunfu
$830
231 km or 144 mi Yangjiang
$876
236 km or 147 mi Puning
$738
267 km or 166 mi Jieyang
$716
286 km or 178 mi Shaoguan
$856
287 km or 178 mi Shantou
$589
297 km or 184 mi Chaozhou
$588
301 km or 187 mi Meizhou
$799
320 km or 199 mi Wuzhou
$824
333 km or 207 mi Lianzhou
$774
341 km or 212 mi Maoming
$857
343 km or 213 mi Gaozhou
$831
357 km or 222 mi Hezhou
$785
403 km or 250 mi Ganzhou
$812
406 km or 252 mi Zhanjiang
$777
408 km or 254 mi Chenzhou
$752
414 km or 257 mi Yulin
$806
427 km or 266 mi Longyan
$713
435 km or 270 mi Zhangzhou
$719
469 km or 292 mi Xiamen
$721
471 km or 292 mi Haikou
$620
475 km or 295 mi Guigang
$735
489 km or 304 mi Kinmen
$851
516 km or 320 mi Guilin
$525
529 km or 329 mi Laibin
$611

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1074
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$731
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$771
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$763
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$682
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$731
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$651
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$678
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$687
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$699
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$688
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$690
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$677
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$675
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$755
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$707
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$713
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$682
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$831
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$679
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$694
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$625
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$707
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$625
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$651
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$703
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$524
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$631
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$645
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$720
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$725
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$696
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$719
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$789
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$652
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$740