Cost of living comparison

Jersey

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Saint Helier Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 56.9% cheaper than Saint Helier.

Restaurants: pay 79.6% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 51.2% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 45.6% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 62.2% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 10.2% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 57.4% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 45.7% less in Shanghai

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

Shanghai vs. Saint Helier Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of Saint Helier, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 79.6% less for restaurants

	Saint Helier	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$39.64 £29.74	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-88.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.57 £7.93	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-50.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.28 £2.46	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-81.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.48 £1.86	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-85.1%
Average			-79.6%

Saint Helier vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 51.2% less for groceries

	Saint Helier	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$2.75 £2.06	$1.98 CN¥13.22	-28.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.60 £2.70	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+138.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.51 £6.38	$6.88 CN¥46.02	-19.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.26 £4.70	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-72.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.39 £4.05	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-72.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.90 £1.43	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-47.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.57 £1.18	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-51.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.87 £1.40	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-51.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.02 £1.52	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-62.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.45 £1.08	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-75.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.40 £1.05	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-69.1%
Average			-51.2%

Saint Helier vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.6% less for transportation

	Saint Helier	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.81 £5.86	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-36.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$68.71 £51.56	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-56.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,428.74 £19,829.48	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-26.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.93 £18.70	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-77.3%
Average			-45.6%

Saint Helier vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.2% less for housing

	Saint Helier	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$72.68 £54.53	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-85.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,838.45 £1,379.39	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	-43.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,568.11 £1,176.55	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	-62.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$243.20 £182.47	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-81.9%
Average			-62.2%

Saint Helier vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 10.2% more for childcare

	Saint Helier	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,708.95 £2,032.52	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	-47.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,892.93 £8,923.27	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+132.8%
Average			+10.2%

Saint Helier vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 57.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Saint Helier	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.93 £5.95	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-85.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.83 £3.63	$3.35 CN¥22.41	-30.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$19.82 £14.87	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-81.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.98 £57.01	$65.69 CN¥439.52	-13.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$19.82 £14.87	$8.95 CN¥59.88	-54.9%
Average			-57.4%

Saint Helier vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 45.7% less for clothing

	Saint Helier	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$103.51 £77.67	$54.37 CN¥363.79	-47.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$72.68 £54.53	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-49.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$118.93 £89.23	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-36.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$207.03 £155.33	$105.70 CN¥707.25	-48.9%
Average			-45.7%

Saint Helier 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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