Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Farmington Hills Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 43.2% cheaper than Farmington Hills.

Restaurants: pay 67.6% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 42.1% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 31.5% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 51.6% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 18.8% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 41.8% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 2.5% more in Shanghai

The cost of childcare and clothing in Shanghai are more expensive than in Farmington Hills. Expenses including restaurants, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Shanghai.

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Shanghai vs. Farmington Hills Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of Farmington Hills, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 67.6% less for restaurants

	Farmington Hills	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.50	$4.47 CN¥29.87	-72.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.50	$5.22 CN¥34.85	-50.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.10	$0.60 CN¥4.00	-71.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.00	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-81.5%
Average			-67.6%

Farmington Hills vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 42.1% less for groceries

	Farmington Hills	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$2.14	$1.98 CN¥13.19	-7.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.24	$8.60 CN¥57.39	+64.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.06	$6.88 CN¥45.91	+124.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.79	$1.70 CN¥11.33	-39.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.25	$1.48 CN¥9.87	-71.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.54	$0.99 CN¥6.63	-35.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49	$0.77 CN¥5.14	+57.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.00	$0.90 CN¥6.03	-69.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.62	$0.77 CN¥5.14	-52.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$2.60	$0.36 CN¥2.39	-86.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$2.07	$0.43 CN¥2.89	-79.0%
Average			-42.1%

Farmington Hills vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 31.5% less for transportation

	Farmington Hills	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.70	$4.96 CN¥33.13	+34.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$66.00	$29.83 CN¥199.12	-54.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,000.00	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-43.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.68	$5.67 CN¥37.83	-67.9%
Average			-31.5%

Farmington Hills vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 51.6% less for housing

	Farmington Hills	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.50	$10.55 CN¥70.42	-79.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,545.00	$1,036.96 CN¥6,921.79	-32.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,295.75	$588.71 CN¥3,929.69	-54.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$137.65	$44.06 CN¥294.08	-68.0%
Average			-51.6%

Farmington Hills vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 18.8% more for childcare

	Farmington Hills	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,650.00	$1,413.50 CN¥9,435.22	-14.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,800.00	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+64.8%
Average			+18.8%

Farmington Hills vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 41.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Farmington Hills	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.00	$1.19 CN¥7.96	-76.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.00	$3.35 CN¥22.36	-33.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.25	$3.73 CN¥24.89	-59.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.00	$65.69 CN¥438.48	-12.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.00	$8.95 CN¥59.74	-18.6%
Average			-41.8%

Farmington Hills vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.5% more for clothing

	Farmington Hills	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.00	$54.37 CN¥362.93	-1.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.75	$37.09 CN¥247.61	-25.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.00	$75.49 CN¥503.90	+67.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$118.50	$105.70 CN¥705.59	-10.8%
Average			+2.5%

Farmington Hills 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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