Cost of living comparison

compared to

Changsha vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Changsha is 6.0% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 40.5% less in Changsha
Groceries: pay 47.6% more in Changsha
Transportation: pay 39.3% less in Changsha
Housing: pay 30.6% less in Changsha
Childcare: pay 13.7% more in Changsha
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.8% less in Changsha
Clothing: pay 98.2% more in Changsha

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

Changsha vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Changsha instead of Nairobi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 40.5% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Changsha
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES747.37	$2.80 CN¥19.78	-51.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES896.85	$4.91 CN¥34.62	-29.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.36	$0.49 CN¥3.46	-30.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES70.70	$0.27 CN¥1.91	-50.8%
Average			-40.5%

Nairobi vs. Changsha - Cost of restaurants

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pay 47.6% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Changsha
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.35	$2.31 CN¥16.32	+323.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES716.71	$7.96 CN¥56.18	+43.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES432.07	$7.42 CN¥52.32	+121.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES211.74	$1.72 CN¥12.11	+4.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES375.75	$1.44 CN¥10.14	-50.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES181.11	$0.85 CN¥6.01	-39.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.12	$0.60 CN¥4.22	+25.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES114.54	$0.80 CN¥5.65	-9.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES58.73	$0.84 CN¥5.94	+84.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.20	$0.42 CN¥2.96	-14.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.21	$0.69 CN¥4.85	+35.6%
Average			+47.6%

Nairobi vs. Changsha - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.3% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Changsha
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES695.11	$4.37 CN¥30.86	-19.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES3,985.98	$14.02 CN¥98.90	-54.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES2,790,186.52	$20,812.30 CN¥146,820.40	-4.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,192.29	$3.50 CN¥24.73	-79.4%
Average			-39.3%

Nairobi vs. Changsha - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.6% less for housing

	Nairobi	Changsha
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,132.38	$14.72 CN¥103.85	-63.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,406.69	$207.49 CN¥1,463.75	-56.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,561.75	$171.04 CN¥1,206.61	-17.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,775.48	$33.48 CN¥236.19	+14.2%
Average			-30.6%

Nairobi vs. Changsha - Cost of housing

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pay 13.7% more for childcare

	Nairobi	Changsha
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES28,856.84	$319.65 CN¥2,254.97	+42.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1,129,767.62	$7,430.46 CN¥52,418.19	-15.3%
Average			+13.7%

Nairobi vs. Changsha - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Changsha
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES298.95	$1.12 CN¥7.91	-51.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES305.12	$2.78 CN¥19.62	+17.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES398.60	$2.80 CN¥19.78	-9.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,831.99	$58.32 CN¥411.43	+28.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES946.67	$5.96 CN¥42.03	-19.0%
Average			-6.8%

Nairobi vs. Changsha - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 98.2% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Changsha
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,526.41	$85.13 CN¥600.58	+333.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,203.02	$31.01 CN¥218.77	+24.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,744.25	$82.66 CN¥583.13	+21.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,017.80	$70.10 CN¥494.51	+12.6%
Average			+98.2%

Nairobi vs. Changsha - 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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