Shanghai vs Shenzhen - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Shanghai Shenzhen
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1190
$939
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3757
$2825
🏠 One person rent
$635
$484
🏘️ Family rent
$1613
$1181
🍽️ Food expenses
$308
$268
🚐 Transport expenses
$117
$94.2
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1455
$1524
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
11 km
🎓 Higher education
100
96
😀 Quality of life
78
80
🏙️ Population
24.9M
17.5M

The cost of living in Shanghai is 27% more expensive than in Shenzhen. Cities ranked 4461st and 5744th ($1190 vs $939) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 6th and 16th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.2 months in Shanghai compared to 1.6 months in Shenzhen. Ranked 4th vs 3rd best cities to live in China, and 558th vs 460th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Shanghai vs Shenzhen infographic

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Prices in Shanghai vs Shenzhen

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

Shanghai Shenzhen
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$4.9
$3.46
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$40.7
$27.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.69
$5.58
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.7
$1.12
☕ Cappuccino
$3.83
$3.69
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.55
$0.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$901
$650
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$497
$375
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2595
$1719
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1269
$954
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$39.1
$39.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$60.5
$60
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$17.9
$14.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.77%
4.6%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$17366
$12768
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9346
$7264
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.56
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$37.3
$27.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$6
$4.56
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.19
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.55
$2.14
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.02
$2.13
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$1.15
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.21
$2.05
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$18.3
$12.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.12
$4.22
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.8
$13.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.27
$1.93
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.65
$1.4
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.97
$1.66
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.52
$1.49
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.96
$1.03
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.04
$1.14
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.39
$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.25
$1.21
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.7
$14
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.9
$0.89
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.45
$3.12
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.43
$5.34
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.06
$5.97
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.68
$1.64
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2
$1.92
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$69.1
$44.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.16
$7.98
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$89.7
$33.2
💇 Haircut, simple
$12
$8.03
👖 Brand Jeans
$66.7
$65.4
👟 Brand Sneakers
$78.5
$79
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1283
$607
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$28143
$24305

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

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

Cities near Shenzhen

Distance City Cost of living
28 km or 17 mi Kowloon
$2410
30 km or 19 mi Hong Kong
$2614
58 km or 36 mi Zhuhai
$618
65 km or 40 mi Dongguan
$589
66 km or 41 mi Macau
$1565
72 km or 45 mi Zhongshan
$481
74 km or 46 mi Huizhou
$837
100 km or 62 mi Jiangmen
$812
105 km or 65 mi Guangzhou
$742
112 km or 69 mi Foshan
$575
134 km or 83 mi Shanwei
$1083
142 km or 88 mi Kaiping
$816
150 km or 93 mi Heyuan
$891
164 km or 102 mi Qingyuan
$781
174 km or 108 mi Zhaoqing
$791
212 km or 131 mi Yunfu
$830
228 km or 142 mi Yangjiang
$876
233 km or 145 mi Puning
$738
256 km or 159 mi Shaoguan
$856
262 km or 163 mi Jieyang
$716
286 km or 178 mi Shantou
$589
288 km or 179 mi Meizhou
$799
292 km or 182 mi Chaozhou
$588
299 km or 186 mi Wuzhou
$824
303 km or 188 mi Lianzhou
$774
330 km or 205 mi Hezhou
$785
337 km or 209 mi Gaozhou
$831
337 km or 210 mi Maoming
$857
377 km or 234 mi Ganzhou
$812
378 km or 235 mi Chenzhou
$752
401 km or 249 mi Yulin
$806
405 km or 252 mi Zhanjiang
$777
415 km or 258 mi Longyan
$713
428 km or 266 mi Zhangzhou
$719
460 km or 286 mi Guigang
$735
464 km or 288 mi Xiamen
$721
477 km or 297 mi Haikou
$620
485 km or 301 mi Kinmen
$851
489 km or 304 mi Guilin
$525
502 km or 312 mi Yongzhou
$584