Cost of Living Comparison

  1. Cost of Living
  2. China
  3. United States
  4. Comparison
CNY
COMPARED TO
USD

China is 15.2% cheaper than United States.

If you lived in United States instead of China, you would:
local_dining

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

  China help_outline United States help_outline  
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.18
CN¥21.57
$13.54 +325.8%
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $4.60
CN¥31.20
$7.28 +58.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.47
CN¥3.22
$1.78 +276.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) $0.29
CN¥1.97
$1.43 +393.7%
China vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
local_grocery_store

pay 75.1% more for groceries

  China help_outline United States help_outline  
Bread
1 loaf
 $1.54
CN¥10.46
$2.58 +67.4%
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.68
CN¥38.54
$5.28 -7.0%
Milk (1 gallon) $6.97
CN¥47.27
$3.15 -54.8%
Eggs
1 dozen
 $1.74
CN¥11.79
$2.29 +31.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) $1.77
CN¥12.00
$3.89 +119.6%
Apples (1 lb) $0.78
CN¥5.29
$2.01 +157.0%
Bananas (1 lb) $0.46
CN¥3.12
$0.70 +51.3%
Oranges (1 lb) $0.81
CN¥5.47
$1.86 +130.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb) $0.53
CN¥3.61
$1.82 +241.8%
Potatoes (1 lb) $0.38
CN¥2.58
$1.16 +206.0%
Onions (1 lb) $0.41
CN¥2.79
$1.17 +184.1%
China vs. United States - Cost of groceries
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
drive_eta

pay 6.7% more for transportation

  China help_outline United States help_outline  
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.93
CN¥26.66
$2.74 -30.3%
Monthly public transit pass $15.47
CN¥104.93
$58.82 +280.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $20,354.52
CN¥138,052.50
$21,664.66 +6.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) $3.90
CN¥26.43
$17.34 +345.0%
China vs. United States - Cost of transportation
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
home

pay 3.4 times more for housing

  China help_outline United States help_outline  
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $13.96
CN¥94.70
$63.66 +355.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $383.34
CN¥2,599.98
$1,140.46 +197.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $237.48
CN¥1,610.69
$963.54 +305.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
 $38.46
CN¥260.84
$120.78 +214.1%
China vs. United States - Cost of housing
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
child_care

pay 24.0% more for childcare

  China help_outline United States help_outline  
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $406.50
CN¥2,757.04
$827.50 +103.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $13,732.89
CN¥93,141.93
$16,711.80 +21.7%
China vs. United States - Cost of childcare
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
gamepad

pay 13.1% more for entertainment and sports

  China help_outline United States help_outline  
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $0.95
CN¥6.43
$4.35 +358.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.84
CN¥26.07
$3.99 +3.7%
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $2.91
CN¥19.71
$7.34 +152.7%
Monthly membership at local gym $42.76
CN¥290.01
$37.07 -13.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema $6.25
CN¥42.40
$11.39 +82.3%
China vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
store

pay 10.5% less for clothing

  China help_outline United States help_outline  
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $60.41
CN¥409.73
$42.23 -30.1%
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $36.85
CN¥249.93
$34.48 -6.4%
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $88.59
CN¥600.88
$73.53 -17.0%
Men's business shoes (leather) $85.80
CN¥581.93
$92.94 +8.3%
China vs. United States - Cost of clothing
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
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: January 2020
More cost of living comparisons
China vs. Vietnam
China vs. Iceland
China vs. Ireland
United States vs. Tanzania
United States vs. Turkey
United States vs. Kenya
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location (Ashburn, VA, United States) to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more
Contribute prices for United States
Narrow your comparison by city:
Select a city in China:
Select a city in United States:
For example, try comparing the cost of living in Beijing vs. Washington
question_answer HAVE A QUESTION? ASK THE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about United States. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.