Cost of living comparison

compared to

China vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

China is 32.2% cheaper than Rome.

Restaurants: pay 71.6% less in China
Groceries: pay 35.7% less in China
Transportation: pay 45.9% less in China
Housing: pay 70.3% less in China
Childcare: pay 32.4% more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.4% less in China
Clothing: pay 13.9% less in China

Expenses including restaurants, housing, transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in China.

China vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in China instead of Rome, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 71.6% less for restaurants

	Rome	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.08 €15.65	$2.85 CN¥20.91	-82.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.72 €10.44	$5.07 CN¥37.11	-52.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.23 €2.18	$0.49 CN¥3.58	-78.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.12 €1.09	$0.30 CN¥2.20	-73.3%
Average			-71.6%

Rome vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 35.7% less for groceries

	Rome	China
Bread 1 loaf	$1.78 €1.73	$1.59 CN¥11.66	-10.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.00 €6.82	$5.85 CN¥42.85	-16.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.20 €6.04	$6.86 CN¥50.25	+10.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.76 €3.66	$1.60 CN¥11.69	-57.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.89 €4.76	$1.54 CN¥11.29	-68.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.07 €1.04	$0.76 CN¥5.59	-28.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.92 €0.90	$0.57 CN¥4.20	-37.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 €0.87	$0.65 CN¥4.79	-26.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.09 €1.06	$0.52 CN¥3.84	-52.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 €0.71	$0.32 CN¥2.35	-56.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.78 €0.76	$0.40 CN¥2.93	-49.0%
Average			-35.7%

Rome vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.9% less for transportation

	Rome	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.15 €6.96	$4.44 CN¥32.56	-37.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.51 €36.53	$22.47 CN¥164.59	-40.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,794.08 €26,089.66	$19,071.53 CN¥139,698.98	-28.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.15 €16.70	$3.97 CN¥29.11	-76.8%
Average			-45.9%

Rome vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 70.3% less for housing

	Rome	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.46 €28.68	$11.70 CN¥85.67	-60.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,180.31 €1,149.28	$328.33 CN¥2,405.02	-72.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$763.10 €743.03	$205.78 CN¥1,507.34	-73.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$167.26 €162.87	$40.46 CN¥296.36	-75.8%
Average			-70.3%

Rome vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 32.4% more for childcare

	Rome	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$508.83 €495.46	$459.70 CN¥3,367.29	-9.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,490.67 €10,214.87	$18,318.08 CN¥134,179.93	+74.6%
Average			+32.4%

Rome vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Rome	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.36 €5.22	$1.09 CN¥7.99	-79.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.53 €1.49	$3.07 CN¥22.47	+101.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.43 €6.26	$3.23 CN¥23.68	-49.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.31 €56.78	$41.41 CN¥303.32	-29.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.72 €10.44	$5.93 CN¥43.40	-44.7%
Average			-20.4%

Rome vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.9% less for clothing

	Rome	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$65.43 €63.71	$48.23 CN¥353.25	-26.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.74 €29.93	$31.67 CN¥231.99	+3.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.17 €75.14	$72.53 CN¥531.26	-6.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.32 €99.63	$75.53 CN¥553.29	-26.2%
Average			-13.9%

Rome vs. China - 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: January 2025

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