Cost of living comparison

Turkey

compared to

China

Nanjing vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary

Nanjing is 37.9% cheaper than Istanbul.

Restaurants: pay 61.9% less in Nanjing
Groceries: pay 1.1% more in Nanjing
Transportation: pay 43.5% less in Nanjing
Housing: pay 49.6% less in Nanjing
Childcare: pay 11.7% more in Nanjing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.8% less in Nanjing
Clothing: pay 20.0% less in Nanjing

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

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Nanjing vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nanjing instead of Istanbul, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 61.9% less for restaurants

	Istanbul	Nanjing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.19 TRY606.11	$3.73 CN¥24.89	-69.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.35 TRY464.68	$4.85 CN¥32.35	-48.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 TRY86.04	$0.51 CN¥3.43	-70.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 TRY28.76	$0.26 CN¥1.74	-54.9%
Average			-61.9%

Istanbul vs. Nanjing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.1% more for groceries

	Istanbul	Nanjing
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 TRY45.76	$2.11 CN¥14.10	+129.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 TRY262.29	$5.29 CN¥35.34	+0.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.69 TRY232.86	$8.05 CN¥53.70	+71.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.41 TRY119.84	$1.33 CN¥8.90	-44.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.54 TRY126.19	$1.35 CN¥9.03	-46.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 TRY42.32	$0.95 CN¥6.36	+11.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 TRY51.06	$0.58 CN¥3.84	-44.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 TRY28.45	$0.79 CN¥5.31	+38.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 TRY41.53	$0.49 CN¥3.30	-40.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 TRY15.42	$0.40 CN¥2.64	+27.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 TRY14.22	$0.42 CN¥2.82	+47.8%
Average			+1.1%

Istanbul vs. Nanjing - Cost of groceries

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pay 43.5% less for transportation

	Istanbul	Nanjing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.43 TRY270.07	$5.04 CN¥33.65	-7.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.03 TRY3,331.58	$29.83 CN¥199.09	-55.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,810.11 TRY3M	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-61.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.40 TRY417.69	$4.94 CN¥32.95	-41.3%
Average			-43.5%

Istanbul vs. Nanjing - Cost of transportation

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pay 49.6% less for housing

	Istanbul	Nanjing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.15 TRY802.49	$7.16 CN¥47.78	-55.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$996.85 TRY49,547.03	$523.69 CN¥3,495.09	-47.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$647.83 TRY32,199.56	$296.48 CN¥1,978.71	-54.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.87 TRY3,423.14	$41.74 CN¥278.60	-39.4%
Average			-49.6%

Istanbul vs. Nanjing - Cost of housing

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pay 11.7% more for childcare

	Istanbul	Nanjing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,021.62 TRY50,778.49	$1,482.08 CN¥9,891.40	+45.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,999.20 TRY1M	$22,372.70 CN¥149K	-13.9%
Average			+11.7%

Istanbul vs. Nanjing - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Istanbul	Nanjing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.78 TRY237.39	$1.49 CN¥9.95	-68.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.31 TRY214.45	$3.08 CN¥20.57	-28.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 TRY116.17	$3.73 CN¥24.89	+59.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$76.22 TRY3,788.18	$28.59 CN¥190.79	-62.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.13 TRY404.07	$5.97 CN¥39.82	-26.6%
Average			-43.8%

Istanbul vs. Nanjing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.0% less for clothing

	Istanbul	Nanjing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.35 TRY2,651.47	$42.71 CN¥285.03	-19.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.62 TRY1,969.15	$33.91 CN¥226.34	-14.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.91 TRY4,966.02	$65.18 CN¥435.01	-34.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.52 TRY4,747.86	$87.34 CN¥582.90	-8.6%
Average			-20.0%

Istanbul vs. Nanjing - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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