Cost of living comparison

compared to

Waterloo vs. Hong Kong Cost of Living Summary

Waterloo is 11.0% cheaper than Hong Kong.

Restaurants: pay 47.2% more in Waterloo
Groceries: pay 13.3% less in Waterloo
Transportation: pay 21.2% less in Waterloo
Housing: pay 7.3% more in Waterloo
Childcare: pay 35.0% less in Waterloo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 25.8% less in Waterloo
Clothing: pay 36.5% less in Waterloo

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

Waterloo vs. Hong Kong Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Waterloo instead of Hong Kong, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.2% more for restaurants

	Hong Kong	Waterloo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.91 HK$61.52	$14.35 CA$19.78	+81.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.43 HK$50.01	$9.33 CA$12.85	+45.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.39 HK$10.81	$1.55 CA$2.14	+11.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.11 HK$8.66	$1.67 CA$2.31	+50.4%
Average			+47.2%

Hong Kong vs. Waterloo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.3% less for groceries

	Hong Kong	Waterloo
Bread 1 loaf	$2.19 HK$17.05	$2.13 CA$2.93	-2.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$12.44 HK$96.81	$4.63 CA$6.38	-62.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$11.75 HK$91.42	$7.83 CA$10.79	-33.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.52 HK$27.36	$2.83 CA$3.90	-19.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.85 HK$37.74	$6.59 CA$9.08	+35.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.57 HK$12.18	$1.48 CA$2.04	-5.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.09 HK$8.46	$0.58 CA$0.81	-46.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.62 HK$12.62	$1.45 CA$2.00	-10.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.39 HK$10.78	$1.62 CA$2.24	+17.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.10 HK$8.56	$0.91 CA$1.25	-17.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.06 HK$8.24	$1.04 CA$1.44	-1.4%
Average			-13.3%

Hong Kong vs. Waterloo - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.2% less for transportation

	Hong Kong	Waterloo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$11.90 HK$92.58	$4.06 CA$5.59	-65.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.49 HK$525.15	$67.09 CA$92.45	-0.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$38,564.70 HK$300,085.46	$24,382.26 CA$33,597.54	-36.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.53 HK$113.03	$17.22 CA$23.73	+18.6%
Average			-21.2%

Hong Kong vs. Waterloo - Cost of transportation

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pay 7.3% more for housing

	Hong Kong	Waterloo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$22.19 HK$172.67	$50.59 CA$69.71	+128.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,349.29 HK$18,280.63	$1,408.01 CA$1,940.17	-40.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,688.04 HK$13,135.21	$1,172.06 CA$1,615.04	-30.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$177.52 HK$1,381.38	$127.82 CA$176.12	-28.0%
Average			+7.3%

Hong Kong vs. Waterloo - Cost of housing

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pay 35.0% less for childcare

	Hong Kong	Waterloo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,038.61 HK$8,081.78	$545.73 CA$751.98	-47.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,248.89 HK$173,126.37	$17,222.15 CA$23,731.27	-22.6%
Average			-35.0%

Hong Kong vs. Waterloo - Cost of childcare

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pay 25.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Hong Kong	Waterloo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.48 HK$50.45	$5.20 CA$7.17	-19.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.23 HK$40.70	$2.85 CA$3.93	-45.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.11 HK$102.03	$13.63 CA$18.79	+4.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$79.18 HK$616.09	$35.28 CA$48.62	-55.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.85 HK$100.03	$11.30 CA$15.57	-12.1%
Average			-25.8%

Hong Kong vs. Waterloo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 36.5% less for clothing

	Hong Kong	Waterloo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$74.06 HK$576.31	$43.77 CA$60.32	-40.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$42.18 HK$328.19	$26.91 CA$37.08	-36.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.97 HK$715.69	$65.30 CA$89.98	-29.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$142.80 HK$1,111.14	$85.75 CA$118.16	-39.9%
Average			-36.5%

Hong Kong vs. Waterloo - 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: December 2025

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