Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Rock Hill Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 36.1% cheaper than Rock Hill.

Restaurants: pay 72.2% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 43.3% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 25.2% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 40.4% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 73.4% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.7% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 12.8% more in Shanghai

The cost of childcare and clothing in Shanghai are more expensive than in Rock Hill. Expenses including restaurants, groceries, housing, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Shanghai.

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Shanghai vs. Rock Hill Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of Rock Hill, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 72.2% less for restaurants

	Rock Hill	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$22.50	$4.47 CN¥29.87	-80.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.00	$5.22 CN¥34.85	-47.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.85	$0.60 CN¥4.00	-79.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.00	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-81.5%
Average			-72.2%

Rock Hill vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 43.3% less for groceries

	Rock Hill	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$2.76	$1.98 CN¥13.19	-28.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.51	$8.60 CN¥57.39	+56.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.75	$6.88 CN¥45.91	+150.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.44	$1.70 CN¥11.33	-68.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.00	$1.48 CN¥9.87	-70.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.25	$0.99 CN¥6.63	-20.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65	$0.77 CN¥5.14	+18.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.00	$0.90 CN¥6.03	-69.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.00	$0.77 CN¥5.14	-61.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.50	$0.36 CN¥2.39	-76.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.50	$0.43 CN¥2.89	-71.1%
Average			-43.3%

Rock Hill vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.2% less for transportation

	Rock Hill	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.58	$4.96 CN¥33.13	+38.7%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$29.83 CN¥199.12
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,535.00	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-45.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.34	$5.67 CN¥37.83	-77.6%
Average			-25.2%

Rock Hill vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.4% less for housing

	Rock Hill	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.50	$10.55 CN¥70.42	-79.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,250.50	$1,036.96 CN¥6,921.79	-17.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,027.00	$588.71 CN¥3,929.69	-42.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$111.62	$44.06 CN¥294.08	-60.5%
Average			-40.4%

Rock Hill vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 73.4% more for childcare

	Rock Hill	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,301.50	$1,413.50 CN¥9,435.22	+8.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,000.00	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+176.9%
Average			+73.4%

Rock Hill vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Rock Hill	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.00	$1.19 CN¥7.96	-76.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.33	$3.35 CN¥22.36	-37.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.95	$3.73 CN¥24.89	-53.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$20.00	$65.69 CN¥438.48	+228.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.00	$8.95 CN¥59.74	-25.4%
Average			-20.7%

Rock Hill vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.8% more for clothing

	Rock Hill	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.00	$54.37 CN¥362.93	+39.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.25	$37.09 CN¥247.61	+18.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$85.80	$75.49 CN¥503.90	-12.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.00	$105.70 CN¥705.59	+11.3%
Average			+12.8%

Rock Hill 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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