Cost of living comparison

Latvia

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Riga Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 15.3% cheaper than Riga.

Restaurants: pay 63.6% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 12.5% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 30.1% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 9.1% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 85.4% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.7% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 21.1% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Riga Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of Riga, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 63.6% less for restaurants

	Riga	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.80 €14.95	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-73.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.24 €8.22	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-43.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.61 €1.44	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-62.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.18 €1.05	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-68.6%
Average			-63.6%

Riga vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.5% less for groceries

	Riga	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.43 €1.27	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+38.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.22 €4.65	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+64.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.41 €3.92	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+56.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.76 €3.34	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-54.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.91 €3.48	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-62.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.00 €0.89	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-0.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.83 €0.73	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-6.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.13 €1.00	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-19.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.40 €1.24	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-44.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.40 €0.36	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-10.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.42 €0.37	$0.43 CN¥2.90	+3.1%
Average			-12.5%

Riga vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.1% less for transportation

	Riga	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.75 €6.90	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-36.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.59 €29.90	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-11.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,308.11 €24,305.20	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-29.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.42 €10.17	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-50.4%
Average			-30.1%

Riga vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.1% more for housing

	Riga	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.41 €18.17	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-48.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$582.45 €518.40	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+78.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$385.02 €342.68	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+52.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$286.52 €255.02	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-84.6%
Average			+9.1%

Riga vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 85.4% more for childcare

	Riga	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$645.25 €574.29	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+119.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,635.84 €15,696.53	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+57.0%
Average			+85.4%

Riga vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 30.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Riga	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.60 €4.98	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-78.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.72 €3.31	$3.35 CN¥22.41	-10.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.72 €5.98	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-44.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.91 €44.42	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+31.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.75 €9.57	$8.95 CN¥59.88	-16.7%
Average			-30.7%

Riga vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.1% less for clothing

	Riga	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$69.42 €61.79	$54.37 CN¥363.79	-21.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.39 €44.85	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-26.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$85.85 €76.41	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-12.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$138.10 €122.91	$105.70 CN¥707.25	-23.5%
Average			-21.1%

Riga vs. Shanghai - 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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Size Comparison · See true size

Riga is about 21 times smaller than Shanghai.

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