Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

China

Ningbo vs. Johannesburg Cost of Living Summary

Ningbo is 4.8% more expensive than Johannesburg.

Restaurants: pay 51.7% less in Ningbo
Groceries: pay 7.2% more in Ningbo
Transportation: pay 25.9% less in Ningbo
Housing: pay 43.4% less in Ningbo
Childcare: pay 2.8 times more in Ningbo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.6% less in Ningbo
Clothing: pay 24.1% less in Ningbo

The cost of childcare and groceries in Ningbo are more expensive than in Johannesburg. Expenses including restaurants, housing, transportation, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Ningbo. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Ningbo.

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Ningbo vs. Johannesburg Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ningbo instead of Johannesburg, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 51.7% less for restaurants

	Johannesburg	Ningbo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.47 ZAR186.21	$3.50 CN¥23.78	-69.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.93 ZAR80.07	$4.21 CN¥28.53	-14.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 ZAR17.24	$0.43 CN¥2.92	-59.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ZAR13.57	$0.31 CN¥2.08	-63.3%
Average			-51.7%

Johannesburg vs. Ningbo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.2% more for groceries

	Johannesburg	Ningbo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.11 ZAR17.97	$2.46 CN¥16.71	+122.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.31 ZAR70.04	$8.76 CN¥59.45	+103.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.73 ZAR76.86	$7.56 CN¥51.31	+59.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.37 ZAR38.50	$1.90 CN¥12.87	-20.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.30 ZAR37.40	$1.74 CN¥11.82	-24.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.78 ZAR12.73	$0.70 CN¥4.75	-10.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 ZAR11.62	$0.64 CN¥4.31	-11.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ZAR11.65	$0.71 CN¥4.83	-0.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 ZAR12.96	$0.49 CN¥3.34	-38.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 ZAR10.69	$0.31 CN¥2.07	-53.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR11.42	$0.37 CN¥2.53	-46.9%
Average			+7.2%

Johannesburg vs. Ningbo - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.9% less for transportation

	Johannesburg	Ningbo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.84 ZAR78.52	$4.43 CN¥30.08	-8.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$86.04 ZAR1,396.54	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,943.68 ZAR372K	$21,029.61 CN¥143K	-8.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.24 ZAR182.48	$4.37 CN¥29.68	-61.1%
Average			-25.9%

Johannesburg vs. Ningbo - Cost of transportation

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pay 43.4% less for housing

	Johannesburg	Ningbo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$41.63 ZAR675.76	$7.01 CN¥47.56	-83.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$434.32 ZAR7,049.73	$382.04 CN¥2,591.86	-12.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$380.92 ZAR6,182.86	$259.37 CN¥1,759.61	-31.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.21 ZAR1,529.16	$50.27 CN¥341.04	-46.6%
Average			-43.4%

Johannesburg vs. Ningbo - Cost of housing

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pay 2.8 times more for childcare

	Johannesburg	Ningbo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$218.24 ZAR3,542.33	$599.73 CN¥4,068.77	+174.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,560.97 ZAR90,262.96	$15,304.88 CN¥104K	+175.2%
Average			+175.0%

Johannesburg vs. Ningbo - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Johannesburg	Ningbo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 ZAR41.90	$0.98 CN¥6.66	-62.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.24 ZAR36.39	$3.41 CN¥23.14	+52.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.15 ZAR51.21	$4.21 CN¥28.53	+33.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$35.07 ZAR569.20	$21.91 CN¥148.62	-37.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.31 ZAR118.71	$7.01 CN¥47.56	-4.1%
Average			-3.6%

Johannesburg vs. Ningbo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.1% less for clothing

	Johannesburg	Ningbo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.86 ZAR874.27	$43.46 CN¥294.85	-19.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.32 ZAR670.76	$29.41 CN¥199.55	-28.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.73 ZAR1,505.16	$70.06 CN¥475.33	-24.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.91 ZAR1,345.69	$63.05 CN¥427.78	-23.9%
Average			-24.1%

Johannesburg vs. Ningbo - 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: July 2026

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