Cost of living comparison

compared to

Dalian vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Dalian is 9.8% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 39.3% less in Dalian
Groceries: pay 7.2% more in Dalian
Transportation: pay 30.0% less in Dalian
Housing: pay 14.8% less in Dalian
Childcare: pay 49.7% more in Dalian
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.9% less in Dalian
Clothing: pay 2.1 times more in Dalian

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

Dalian vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 39.3% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Dalian
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES748.32	$3.43 CN¥24.19	-40.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES897.98	$4.91 CN¥34.55	-29.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.48	$0.48 CN¥3.38	-31.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES70.79	$0.25 CN¥1.73	-55.3%
Average			-39.3%

Nairobi vs. Dalian - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.2% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Dalian
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.44	$1.44 CN¥10.12	+162.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES717.62	$9.74 CN¥68.61	+75.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES432.61	$5.66 CN¥39.86	+68.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES212.00	$1.88 CN¥13.27	+14.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES376.22	$1.27 CN¥8.96	-56.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES181.34	$0.60 CN¥4.21	-57.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.19	$0.49 CN¥3.43	+2.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES114.68	$0.59 CN¥4.14	-33.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES58.81	$0.35 CN¥2.46	-23.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.28	$0.33 CN¥2.35	-32.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.30	$0.30 CN¥2.08	-41.6%
Average			+7.2%

Nairobi vs. Dalian - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.0% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Dalian
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES695.99	$4.44 CN¥31.26	-17.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES3,991.02	$28.04 CN¥197.43	-9.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES2,793,713.96	$17,140.11 CN¥120,685.25	-20.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,195.06	$4.77 CN¥33.56	-72.0%
Average			-30.0%

Nairobi vs. Dalian - Cost of transportation

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pay 14.8% less for housing

	Nairobi	Dalian
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,138.87	$14.39 CN¥101.35	-63.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,484.32	$357.50 CN¥2,517.22	-25.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,595.33	$207.49 CN¥1,460.97	+0.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,780.25	$37.83 CN¥266.39	+29.0%
Average			-14.8%

Nairobi vs. Dalian - Cost of housing

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pay 49.7% more for childcare

	Nairobi	Dalian
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES28,893.32	$427.60 CN¥3,010.79	+90.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1,131,195.91	$9,531.36 CN¥67,111.26	+8.6%
Average			+49.7%

Nairobi vs. Dalian - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Dalian
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES299.33	$0.84 CN¥5.92	-63.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES305.50	$2.94 CN¥20.73	+24.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES399.10	$3.50 CN¥24.68	+13.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,839.36	$36.80 CN¥259.13	-18.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES947.87	$6.66 CN¥46.89	-9.4%
Average			-10.9%

Nairobi vs. Dalian - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.1 times more for clothing

	Nairobi	Dalian
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,529.60	$59.58 CN¥419.54	+203.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,207.07	$49.05 CN¥345.34	+97.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,755.30	$106.52 CN¥750.03	+56.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,027.94	$105.11 CN¥740.11	+68.8%
Average			+106.6%

Nairobi vs. Dalian - 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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