Cost of living comparison

compared to

Shanghai vs. Florence Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 26.1% cheaper than Florence.

Restaurants
pay 67.9% less in Shanghai
Groceries
pay 42.7% less in Shanghai
Transportation
pay 11.3% less in Shanghai
Housing
pay 12.7% less in Shanghai
Childcare
pay 20.4% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports
pay 44.5% less in Shanghai
Clothing
pay 45.9% more in Shanghai

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

Shanghai vs. Florence Cost Breakdown

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

pay 67.9% less for restaurants

 
Florence
Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $15.00
 
$4.47
CN¥29.87
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.50
 
$5.22
CN¥34.85
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.52
 
$0.60
CN¥4.00

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pay 42.7% less for groceries

 
Florence
Shanghai
Bread
1 loaf
$3.63
 
$1.98
CN¥13.19
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.06
 
$8.60
CN¥57.39
Milk (1 gallon) $4.24
 
$6.88
CN¥45.91

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pay 11.3% less for transportation

 
Florence
Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.50
 
$4.96
CN¥33.13
Monthly public transit pass ?? $29.83
CN¥199.12
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $27,000.00
 
$19,374.76
CN¥129K

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pay 12.7% less for housing

 
Florence
Shanghai
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$47.50
 
$10.55
CN¥70.42
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $764.33
 
$1,036.96
CN¥6,921.79
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $582.33
 
$588.71
CN¥3,929.69

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pay 20.4% more for childcare

 
Florence
Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $900.00
 
$1,413.50
CN¥9,435.22
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $30,000.00
 
$27,686.22
CN¥185K

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pay 44.5% less for entertainment and sports

 
Florence
Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.50
 
$1.19
CN¥7.96
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.65
 
$3.35
CN¥22.36
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$10.00
 
$3.73
CN¥24.89

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pay 45.9% more for clothing

 
Florence
Shanghai
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$35.50
 
$54.37
CN¥362.93
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$25.00
 
$37.09
CN¥247.61
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$80.00
 
$75.49
CN¥503.90

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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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