Houston vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Houston Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2265
$1126
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$5394
$3097
🏠 One person rent
$1281
$600
🏘️ Family rent
$2031
$1068
🍽️ Food expenses
$603
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$201
$108
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$4606
$879
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
17 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
99
😀 Quality of life
95
75
🏙️ Population
2.3M
24.9M

The cost of living in Houston is 101% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 1354th and 4971st ($2265 vs $1126) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1137th 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 2 months in Houston compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. Houston ranked 1st best city to live in the United States vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 16th and 1655th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Share this infographic!

Prices in Houston vs Shanghai

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

Houston Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$18.7
$5.01
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$73.6
$36.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$10.8
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$6.31
$1.69
☕ Cappuccino
$5.52
$3.77
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.74
$0.54
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1411
$803
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1003
$486
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2380
$1462
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1609
$880
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$132
$37.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$204
$58.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$63.9
$13
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.39%
3.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2542
$14215
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1944
$7113
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.24
$0.47
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$71.3
$30.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$21.8
$6.45
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.72
$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.9
$1.94
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.19
$1.8
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.69
$1.3
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.06
$1.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.4
$16.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.5
$3.91
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.1
$11.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.95
$2.35
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.67
$1.74
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.76
$1.78
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.92
$1.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.58
$0.89
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.6
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.51
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.17
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.5
$12.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.31
$0.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$9.24
$3.46
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$9.34
$6.19
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$8
$6.91
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.92
$2.07
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.21
$2.21
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$43.9
$61.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.9
$7.84
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$149
$94.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$22.6
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$46.3
$50.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$101
$78.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1729
$1114
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$22380
$27781

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Houston

Distance City Cost of living
22 km or 14 mi Pasadena
$2228
25 km or 15 mi Pearland
$2150
25 km or 16 mi Missouri
$2094
27 km or 17 mi Deer Park
$2260
29 km or 18 mi Sugar Land
$2071
32 km or 20 mi Spring
$2112
33 km or 21 mi Friendswood
$2136
35 km or 22 mi La Porte
$2297
40 km or 25 mi Baytown
$2386
41 km or 25 mi League
$2102
42 km or 26 mi Alvin
$2072
47 km or 29 mi Rosenberg
$2114
48 km or 30 mi The Woodlands
$2738
59 km or 37 mi Texas City
$2048
62 km or 38 mi Conroe
$1836
76 km or 47 mi Galveston
$1897
81 km or 50 mi Lake Jackson
$2112
108 km or 67 mi Huntsville
$2022
126 km or 78 mi Beaumont
$1605
129 km or 80 mi College Station
$1913
138 km or 86 mi Bryan
$2000
140 km or 87 mi Port Arthur
$1900
186 km or 115 mi Lufkin
$1887
188 km or 117 mi Victoria
$2226
203 km or 126 mi Sulphur
$1971
215 km or 134 mi Lake Charles
$1904
217 km or 135 mi Nacogdoches
$1510
229 km or 142 mi Pflugerville
$2115
234 km or 145 mi Austin
$2444
236 km or 146 mi Round Rock
$2027
239 km or 149 mi Temple
$2153
242 km or 150 mi Kyle
$2237
242 km or 150 mi Georgetown
$2125
247 km or 153 mi San Marcos
$2229
249 km or 155 mi Cedar Park
$2171
250 km or 156 mi Seguin
$2200
254 km or 158 mi Leander
$2187
261 km or 162 mi Waco
$2285
262 km or 163 mi Harker Heights
$2059
264 km or 164 mi New Braunfels
$2221

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1002
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$669
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$701
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$782
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$594
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$620
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$644
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$557
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$667
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$683
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$643
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$650
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$584
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$671
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$636
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$680
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$684
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$623
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$646
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$860
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$636
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$647
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$652
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$611
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$652
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$604
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$675
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$678
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$525
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$618
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$626
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$644
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$667
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$677
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$601
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$661
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$665
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$632
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$765