Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Thailand

Bangkok vs. Ningbo Cost of Living Summary

Bangkok is 59.1% more expensive than Ningbo.

Restaurants: pay 25.6% more in Bangkok
Groceries: pay 60.9% more in Bangkok
Transportation: pay 56.1% more in Bangkok
Housing: pay 94.0% more in Bangkok
Childcare: pay 20.9% less in Bangkok
Entertainment and Sports: pay 41.8% more in Bangkok
Clothing: pay 55.9% more in Bangkok

The cost of housing, groceries, transportation, clothing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Bangkok are more expensive than in Ningbo. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Bangkok.

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Bangkok vs. Ningbo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 25.6% more for restaurants

	Ningbo	Bangkok
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.83 CN¥18.87	$2.97 THB99.72	+4.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.47 CN¥29.79	$6.98 THB234.34	+56.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 CN¥3.06	$0.65 THB21.84	+41.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 CN¥1.99	$0.35 THB11.83	+18.1%
Average			+25.6%

Ningbo vs. Bangkok - Cost of restaurants

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pay 60.9% more for groceries

	Ningbo	Bangkok
Bread 1 loaf	$1.15 CN¥7.67	$1.48 THB49.61	+28.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.46 CN¥49.65	$8.63 THB289.61	+15.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.76 CN¥45.01	$7.27 THB244.07	+7.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.59 CN¥10.60	$2.56 THB86.09	+61.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.69 CN¥11.26	$1.63 THB54.77	-3.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.47 CN¥3.15	$1.77 THB59.39	+273.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 CN¥4.65	$0.81 THB27.07	+15.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 CN¥4.62	$1.24 THB41.72	+79.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 CN¥3.60	$0.87 THB29.35	+61.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.27 CN¥1.80	$0.78 THB26.23	+188.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.33 CN¥2.20	$0.69 THB23.22	+109.7%
Average			+60.9%

Ningbo vs. Bangkok - Cost of groceries

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pay 56.1% more for transportation

	Ningbo	Bangkok
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.89 CN¥32.54	$5.32 THB178.50	+8.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.41 CN¥109.23	$34.98 THB1,174.17	+113.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$31,193.83 THB1M	+61.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.58 CN¥30.48	$10.55 THB354.00	+130.3%
Average			+56.1%

Ningbo vs. Bangkok - Cost of transportation

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pay 94.0% more for housing

	Ningbo	Bangkok
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$7.95 CN¥52.96	$17.88 THB600.00	+124.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$357.96 CN¥2,383.10	$675.80 THB22,683.32	+88.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$181.96 CN¥1,211.41	$346.10 THB11,617.04	+90.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.13 CN¥260.49	$82.03 THB2,753.26	+109.6%
Average			+94.0%

Ningbo vs. Bangkok - Cost of housing

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pay 20.9% less for childcare

	Ningbo	Bangkok
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$941.52 CN¥6,268.06	$568.31 THB19,075.51	-39.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,909.48 CN¥106K	$16,500.59 THB554K	+3.7%
Average			-20.9%

Ningbo vs. Bangkok - Cost of childcare

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pay 41.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Ningbo	Bangkok
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.04 CN¥6.95	$2.67 THB89.75	+156.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.48 CN¥23.17	$2.79 THB93.79	-19.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.47 CN¥29.79	$4.60 THB154.56	+2.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.21 CN¥167.81	$58.43 THB1,961.10	+131.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.83 CN¥52.13	$7.58 THB254.28	-3.3%
Average			+41.8%

Ningbo vs. Bangkok - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 55.9% more for clothing

	Ningbo	Bangkok
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$63.35 CN¥421.76	$70.75 THB2,374.76	+11.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.81 CN¥178.48	$42.94 THB1,441.24	+60.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$61.86 CN¥411.83	$97.05 THB3,257.43	+56.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.17 CN¥347.29	$109.92 THB3,689.53	+110.7%
Average			+55.9%

Ningbo vs. Bangkok - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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