Seattle vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Seattle Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3154
$1126
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$7508
$3097
🏠 One person rent
$1981
$600
🏘️ Family rent
$3422
$1068
🍽️ Food expenses
$796
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$169
$108
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$6532
$879
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
9 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
80
99
😀 Quality of life
95
75
🏙️ Population
737K
24.9M

The cost of living in Seattle is 180% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 142nd and 4971st ($3154 vs $1126) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 101st 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 2.1 months in Seattle compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. Seattle ranked 5th best city to live in the United States vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 32nd and 1655th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Seattle vs Shanghai

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

Seattle Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$22.3
$5.01
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$96.5
$36.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$14.6
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.73
$1.69
☕ Cappuccino
$6.45
$3.77
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.97
$0.54
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2110
$803
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1647
$486
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3872
$1462
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2891
$880
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$169
$37.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$262
$58.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$72.8
$13
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.53%
3.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7394
$14215
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5077
$7113
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.01
$0.47
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$111
$30.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$16.9
$6.45
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.21
$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.44
$1.94
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$4.47
$1.8
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.23
$1.3
🥚 Eggs, x12
$6.95
$1.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.7
$16.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.8
$3.91
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$21.9
$11.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.6
$2.35
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.27
$1.74
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.07
$1.78
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.09
$1.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.03
$0.89
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.45
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.74
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.47
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$17.2
$12.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.65
$0.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$12.5
$3.46
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.5
$6.19
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$8.04
$6.91
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$6.86
$2.07
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.42
$2.21
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$83.5
$61.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$17.8
$7.84
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$147
$94.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$24.7
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$69.7
$50.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$122
$78.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2521
$1114
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$28950
$27781

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Seattle

Distance City Cost of living
9.1 km or 5.7 mi Mercer Island
$2896
11 km or 6.5 mi Bellevue
$3292
14 km or 8.5 mi Kirkland
$3041
15 km or 9.2 mi Tukwila
$2681
15 km or 9.5 mi Burien
$2717
16 km or 10 mi Bainbridge Island
$2855
17 km or 10 mi Shoreline
$2778
17 km or 10 mi Renton
$2604
17 km or 11 mi Redmond
$3559
17 km or 11 mi Kenmore
$2702
19 km or 12 mi SeaTac
$2807
21 km or 13 mi Bothell
$2737
22 km or 14 mi Sammamish
$2915
22 km or 14 mi Edmonds
$2739
23 km or 14 mi Issaquah
$2798
24 km or 15 mi Des Moines
$2677
24 km or 15 mi Lynnwood
$2734
24 km or 15 mi Bremerton
$2475
26 km or 16 mi Kent
$2814
30 km or 19 mi Mill Creek
$2717
33 km or 20 mi Federal Way
$2587
34 km or 21 mi Maple Valley
$2656
35 km or 21 mi Mukilteo
$2674
35 km or 22 mi Auburn
$2325
41 km or 25 mi Everett
$2641
42 km or 26 mi Tacoma
$2519
46 km or 28 mi University Place
$2720
48 km or 30 mi Puyallup
$2828
50 km or 31 mi Lake Stevens
$2641
51 km or 32 mi Lakewood
$2582
52 km or 33 mi Marysville
$2628
57 km or 35 mi Spanaway
$2362
74 km or 46 mi Lacey
$2584
76 km or 47 mi Olympia
$2558
78 km or 48 mi Sequim
$2710
80 km or 50 mi Oak Harbor
$2754
90 km or 56 mi Mount Vernon
$2456
100 km or 62 mi Port Angeles
$2539
109 km or 68 mi Centralia
$2747
119 km or 74 mi Victoria
$2173

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