Johannesburg vs Shenzhen - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Johannesburg Shenzhen
🚶 Cost of living one person
$993
$916
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2403
$2694
🏠 One person rent
$441
$478
🏘️ Family rent
$809
$1142
🍽️ Food expenses
$288
$261
🚐 Transport expenses
$181
$85.2
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1383
$1771
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
11 km
🎓 Higher education
72
96
😀 Quality of life
57
80
🏙️ Population
4.43M
17.7M

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 8% more expensive than in Shenzhen. Cities ranked 5539th and 5950th ($993 vs $916) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th and 12th in South Africa and China, respectively. Check South Africa vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.4 months in Johannesburg compared to 1.9 months in Shenzhen. Johannesburg ranked 2nd best city to live in South Africa vs Shenzhen ranked 3rd in China, while ranked 5667th and 545th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Johannesburg vs Shenzhen infographic

Share this infographic!

Prices in Johannesburg vs Shenzhen

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

Johannesburg Shenzhen
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$9.65
$3.06
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$37.9
$27.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.9
$5.23
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.37
$1.11
☕ Cappuccino
$2.01
$3.03
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.99
$0.46
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$377
$667
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$318
$360
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$790
$1650
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$627
$917
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$71.9
$43.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$110
$65.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39.5
$13.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.55%
4.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1031
$12583
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$684
$6551
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.62
$0.41
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$72
$23.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.35
$4.51
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.28
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.18
$1.87
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.95
$1.89
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.36
$1.18
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.58
$1.89
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10
$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.04
$4.43
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.12
$13.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.6
$1.9
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.49
$1.4
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.41
$1.73
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.59
$1.5
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$1.08
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.44
$1.28
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.58
$0.4
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.44
$1.05
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.96
$12.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.25
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.97
$3.79
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.59
$5.27
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.94
$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.88
$1.63
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.42
$1.91
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$33.2
$48.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.2
$6.86
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$27.8
$33.3
💇 Haircut, simple
$5.55
$9.6
👖 Brand Jeans
$48.5
$60.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$88.8
$78
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$214
$502
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5271
$22267

Cost of living in other countries

JohannesburgShenzhen

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Johannesburg

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.8 mi Sandton
$953
13 km or 8 mi Randburg
$837
19 km or 12 mi Soweto
$923
28 km or 17 mi Benoni
$785
40 km or 25 mi Springs
$678
41 km or 25 mi Centurion
$807
53 km or 33 mi Pretoria
$906
53 km or 33 mi Vereeniging
$672
59 km or 36 mi Vanderbijlpark
$773
71 km or 44 mi Brits
$820
101 km or 62 mi Rustenburg
$889
109 km or 68 mi Potchefstroom
$695
143 km or 89 mi Bethal
$784
152 km or 94 mi Middelburg
$795
155 km or 97 mi Klerksdorp
$722
179 km or 111 mi Kroonstad
$768
237 km or 147 mi Welkom
$748
244 km or 152 mi Mmabatho
$780
262 km or 163 mi Lobatse
$665
275 km or 171 mi Gaborone
$691
287 km or 179 mi Butha-Buthe
$535
302 km or 188 mi Kanye
$664
311 km or 193 mi Mbabane
$562
323 km or 201 mi Vryheid
$763
325 km or 202 mi Molepolole
$628
329 km or 204 mi Teyateyaneng
$500
333 km or 207 mi Manzini
$442
350 km or 217 mi Maseru
$621
366 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$631
369 km or 229 mi Bloemfontein
$657
409 km or 254 mi Mafeteng
$567
417 km or 259 mi Palapye
$540
429 km or 267 mi Kimberley
$814
442 km or 275 mi Pietermaritzburg
$640
443 km or 275 mi Matola
$964
446 km or 277 mi Serowe
$583
454 km or 282 mi Maputo
$1068
501 km or 311 mi Durban
$809
562 km or 349 mi Francistown
$624
577 km or 358 mi Xai-Xai
$1003

Cities near Shenzhen

Distance City Cost of living
28 km or 17 mi Kowloon
$2432
30 km or 19 mi Hong Kong
$2737
58 km or 36 mi Zhuhai
$653
65 km or 40 mi Dongguan
$656
66 km or 41 mi Macau
$1588
72 km or 45 mi Zhongshan
$461
74 km or 46 mi Huizhou
$601
100 km or 62 mi Jiangmen
$804
105 km or 65 mi Guangzhou
$774
112 km or 69 mi Foshan
$611
134 km or 83 mi Shanwei
$936
142 km or 88 mi Kaiping
$812
150 km or 93 mi Heyuan
$764
164 km or 102 mi Qingyuan
$794
174 km or 108 mi Zhaoqing
$793
212 km or 131 mi Yunfu
$823
228 km or 142 mi Yangjiang
$877
233 km or 145 mi Puning
$569
256 km or 159 mi Shaoguan
$818
262 km or 163 mi Jieyang
$443
286 km or 178 mi Shantou
$581
288 km or 179 mi Meizhou
$655
292 km or 182 mi Chaozhou
$451
299 km or 186 mi Wuzhou
$803
303 km or 188 mi Lianzhou
$755
330 km or 205 mi Hezhou
$758
337 km or 209 mi Gaozhou
$761
337 km or 210 mi Maoming
$756
377 km or 234 mi Ganzhou
$761
378 km or 235 mi Chenzhou
$724
401 km or 249 mi Yulin
$771
405 km or 252 mi Zhanjiang
$764
415 km or 258 mi Longyan
$649
428 km or 266 mi Zhangzhou
$664
460 km or 286 mi Guigang
$702
464 km or 288 mi Xiamen
$688
477 km or 297 mi Haikou
$650
485 km or 301 mi Kinmen
$823
489 km or 304 mi Guilin
$522
502 km or 312 mi Yongzhou
$609