Cost of living comparison

Japan

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Chiba Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 4.7% cheaper than Chiba.

Restaurants: pay 21.9% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 33.1% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 13.8% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 9.3% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 2.5 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.9% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 12.2% more in Shanghai

The cost of childcare, clothing, and housing in Shanghai are more expensive than in Chiba. Expenses including groceries, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Shanghai. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Shanghai.

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Shanghai vs. Chiba Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of Chiba, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 21.9% less for restaurants

	Chiba	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.33 ¥1,000	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-29.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.74 ¥750	$5.22 CN¥34.93	+10.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.01 ¥160	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-40.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 ¥120	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-51.3%
Average			-21.9%

Chiba vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.1% less for groceries

	Chiba	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.70 ¥268	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+16.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.18 ¥819	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+65.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.37 ¥849	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+28.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.41 ¥223	$1.70 CN¥11.36	+20.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.75 ¥435	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-46.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.58 ¥408	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-61.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 ¥198	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-38.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.31 ¥206	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-30.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.89 ¥299	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-59.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ¥185	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-69.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.18 ¥187	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-63.4%
Average			-33.1%

Chiba vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.8% less for transportation

	Chiba	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.11 ¥649	$4.96 CN¥33.21	+20.8%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$29.83 CN¥199.59
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,434.36 ¥3M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-9.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.67 ¥3,899	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-77.0%
Average			-13.8%

Chiba vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.3% more for housing

	Chiba	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$15.82 ¥2,499	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-33.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$861.99 ¥136K	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+20.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$485.25 ¥76,676	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+21.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$58.37 ¥9,223	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-24.5%
Average			+9.3%

Chiba vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

	Chiba	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$632.30 ¥99,913	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+123.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,869.42 ¥2M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+180.5%
Average			+150.4%

Chiba vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Chiba	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.90 ¥300	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-37.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.16 ¥500	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+5.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.80 ¥600	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-1.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$53.78 ¥8,497	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+22.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.44 ¥1,649	$8.95 CN¥59.88	-14.3%
Average			-6.9%

Chiba vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.2% more for clothing

	Chiba	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.61 ¥7,998	$54.37 CN¥363.79	+7.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.90 ¥5,832	$37.09 CN¥248.19	+0.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$61.47 ¥9,714	$75.49 CN¥505.08	+22.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.57 ¥13,996	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+19.3%
Average			+12.2%

Chiba vs. Shanghai - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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