Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cali vs. China Cost of Living Summary

Cali is 32.5% more expensive than China overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Cali
Groceries: pay 11.2% more in Cali
Transportation: pay 95.2% more in Cali
Housing: pay 35.1% more in Cali
Childcare: pay 48.5% less in Cali
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.4% less in Cali
Clothing: pay 39.9% more in Cali

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

Cali vs. China Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Cali instead of China, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	China	Cali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.90 CN¥20.02	$3.88 COP14,275.56	+34.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.02 CN¥34.67	$8.00 COP29,407.65	+59.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 CN¥3.28	$1.25 COP4,580.08	+162.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.28 CN¥1.91	$0.80 COP2,938.39	+188.9%
Average			+111.2%

China vs. Cali - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.2% more for groceries

	China	Cali
Bread 1 loaf	$1.63 CN¥11.25	$1.55 COP5,710.22	-4.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.32 CN¥43.68	$2.26 COP8,320.97	-64.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 CN¥46.34	$4.96 COP18,252.89	-26.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.56 CN¥10.79	$2.42 COP8,882.57	+54.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.52 CN¥10.53	$2.55 COP9,393.16	+67.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.74 CN¥5.13	$1.18 COP4,356.58	+59.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.55 CN¥3.77	$0.48 COP1,769.91	-11.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.62 CN¥4.31	$0.46 COP1,674.94	-27.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 CN¥3.48	$0.58 COP2,149.08	+15.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 CN¥2.08	$0.38 COP1,395.69	+26.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.39 CN¥2.73	$0.52 COP1,920.98	+32.4%
Average			+11.2%

China vs. Cali - Cost of groceries

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pay 95.2% more for transportation

	China	Cali
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.34 CN¥29.97	$3.89 COP14,321.81	-10.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.32 CN¥140.46	$21.66 COP79,657.62	+6.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,143.98 CN¥132K	$23,292.32 COP86M	+21.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.94 CN¥27.25	$18.25 COP67,095.13	+362.8%
Average			+95.2%

China vs. Cali - Cost of transportation

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pay 35.1% more for housing

	China	Cali
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.18 CN¥77.25	$23.29 COP85,653.35	+108.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$304.90 CN¥2,107.39	$263.98 COP971K	-13.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$195.65 CN¥1,352.27	$200.57 COP738K	+2.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.04 CN¥283.68	$58.69 COP216K	+43.0%
Average			+35.1%

China vs. Cali - Cost of housing

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pay 48.5% less for childcare

	China	Cali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$390.25 CN¥2,697.34	$241.55 COP888K	-38.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,493.57 CN¥107K	$6,383.82 COP23M	-58.8%
Average			-48.5%

China vs. Cali - Cost of childcare

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pay 16.4% less for entertainment and sports

	China	Cali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.04 CN¥7.20	$1.36 COP4,996.45	+30.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.84 CN¥19.60	$1.75 COP6,450.44	-38.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.36 CN¥23.22	$3.09 COP11,372.86	-7.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.13 CN¥284.27	$21.22 COP78,039.72	-48.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.98 CN¥41.35	$4.92 COP18,082.37	-17.8%
Average			-16.4%

China vs. Cali - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.9% more for clothing

	China	Cali
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.93 CN¥317.44	$68.32 COP251K	+48.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.93 CN¥213.79	$47.17 COP173K	+52.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.26 CN¥492.53	$90.06 COP331K	+26.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.88 CN¥503.74	$96.22 COP354K	+32.0%
Average			+39.9%

China vs. Cali - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2026

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