Houston vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Houston Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2209
$1183
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$5196
$3810
🏠 One person rent
$1292
$625
🏘️ Family rent
$2121
$1670
🍽️ Food expenses
$547
$314
🚐 Transport expenses
$221
$106
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5476
$1346
😷 Air quality
Good
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
93
79
🏙️ Population
2.3M
24.9M

The cost of living in Houston is 87% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 1016th and 4359th ($2209 vs $1183) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 903rd 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 2.5 months in Houston compared to 1.1 months in Shanghai. Houston ranked 7th best city to live in the United States vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 56th and 473rd among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Houston vs Shanghai infographic

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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
$14.9
$5.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$65
$42.9
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.65
$5.65
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$6.01
$1.73
☕ Cappuccino
$5.06
$4
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.22
$0.55
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1312
$899
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1049
$484
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2677
$2594
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1660
$1339
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$123
$40.9
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$190
$63.3
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$67.8
$16.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.56%
4.84%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3010
$17716
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1716
$9564
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.38
$0.57
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$41.9
$30.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$32.3
$5.76
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.83
$1.2
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.93
$2.56
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.2
$2.47
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.29
$1.82
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.43
$2.69
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.1
$16.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.1
$4.39
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15
$12.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.43
$2.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.32
$1.59
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.73
$2.08
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.06
$1.6
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.4
$0.87
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.41
$1.06
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.53
$0.38
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.83
$1.19
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15
$14.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.44
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$7.98
$3.52
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.07
$6.19
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.03
$5.67
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.7
$1.57
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.26
$1.82
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$48.8
$55.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.5
$8.77
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$86.8
$103
💇 Haircut, simple
$25.8
$12.7
👖 Brand Jeans
$51.2
$68.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$85.5
$82.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1324
$1302
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$21941
$24851

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Houston

Distance City Cost of living
22 km or 14 mi Pasadena
$2030
25 km or 15 mi Pearland
$2012
25 km or 16 mi Missouri
$1957
27 km or 17 mi Deer Park
$1993
29 km or 18 mi Sugar Land
$1892
32 km or 20 mi Spring
$2099
33 km or 21 mi Friendswood
$2004
35 km or 22 mi La Porte
$1957
40 km or 25 mi Baytown
$1871
41 km or 25 mi League
$2040
42 km or 26 mi Alvin
$1939
47 km or 29 mi Rosenberg
$1987
48 km or 30 mi The Woodlands
$3044
59 km or 37 mi Texas City
$2034
62 km or 38 mi Conroe
$1932
76 km or 47 mi Galveston
$2061
81 km or 50 mi Lake Jackson
$2015
108 km or 67 mi Huntsville
$2058
126 km or 78 mi Beaumont
$1976
129 km or 80 mi College Station
$1705
138 km or 86 mi Bryan
$1808
140 km or 87 mi Port Arthur
$2002
186 km or 115 mi Lufkin
$1766
188 km or 117 mi Victoria
$1806
203 km or 126 mi Sulphur
$1850
215 km or 134 mi Lake Charles
$1792
217 km or 135 mi Nacogdoches
$1481
229 km or 142 mi Pflugerville
$2277
234 km or 145 mi Austin
$2605
236 km or 146 mi Round Rock
$2329
239 km or 149 mi Temple
$1836
242 km or 150 mi Kyle
$1929
242 km or 150 mi Georgetown
$2156
247 km or 153 mi San Marcos
$1782
249 km or 155 mi Cedar Park
$2311
250 km or 156 mi Seguin
$1878
254 km or 158 mi Leander
$2373
261 km or 162 mi Waco
$1823
262 km or 163 mi Harker Heights
$1680
264 km or 164 mi New Braunfels
$1757

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1064
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$770
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$815
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$797
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1073
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$695
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$743
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$781
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$756
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$696
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$813
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$722
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$722
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$668
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$844
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$707
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$762
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$743
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$752
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$717
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$849
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$687
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$704
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$712
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$635
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$718
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$654
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$634
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$716
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$590
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$659
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$664
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$712
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$734
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$707
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$635
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$744
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$755
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$655
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$762