Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

China

Changchun vs. Sandton Cost of Living Summary

Changchun is 30.5% cheaper than Sandton.

Restaurants: pay 54.8% less in Changchun
Groceries: pay 9.1% more in Changchun
Transportation: pay 34.6% less in Changchun
Housing: pay 53.2% less in Changchun
Childcare: pay 2.5 times more in Changchun
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.4% less in Changchun
Clothing: pay 11.8% less in Changchun

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

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Changchun vs. Sandton Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Changchun instead of Sandton, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 54.8% less for restaurants

	Sandton	Changchun
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.82 ZAR179.26	$2.98 CN¥19.91	-72.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.71 ZAR94.61	$5.22 CN¥34.84	-8.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 ZAR17.56	$0.48 CN¥3.24	-54.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 ZAR14.11	$0.30 CN¥1.99	-65.0%
Average			-54.8%

Sandton vs. Changchun - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.1% more for groceries

	Sandton	Changchun
Bread 1 loaf	$1.10 ZAR18.30	$1.19 CN¥7.96	+8.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.31 ZAR71.44	$17.15 CN¥114.48	+297.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.45 ZAR73.72	$7.34 CN¥48.99	+65.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.67 ZAR44.31	$1.79 CN¥11.95	-33.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.23 ZAR37.04	$2.64 CN¥17.61	+18.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 ZAR15.46	$0.79 CN¥5.27	-15.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ZAR13.55	$0.68 CN¥4.52	-17.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.70	$0.81 CN¥5.42	-1.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.78	$0.88 CN¥5.87	+5.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR11.52	$0.41 CN¥2.71	-41.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.10	??
Average			+9.1%

Sandton vs. Changchun - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.6% less for transportation

	Sandton	Changchun
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.75 ZAR95.27	$4.79 CN¥31.94	-16.8%
Monthly public transit pass	??	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR587K	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-45.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.51 ZAR124.49	$3.58 CN¥23.89	-52.3%
Average			-34.6%

Sandton vs. Changchun - Cost of transportation

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pay 53.2% less for housing

	Sandton	Changchun
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.83 ZAR610.43	$14.92 CN¥99.54	-59.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$540.64 ZAR8,960.48	$216.27 CN¥1,443.38	-60.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$440.65 ZAR7,303.16	$248.59 CN¥1,659.06	-43.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$126.36 ZAR2,094.29	$57.56 CN¥384.18	-54.4%
Average			-53.2%

Sandton vs. Changchun - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

	Sandton	Changchun
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$260.78 ZAR4,322.14	$546.89 CN¥3,649.93	+109.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,210.58 ZAR120K	$21,626.94 CN¥144K	+199.9%
Average			+150.8%

Sandton vs. Changchun - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Sandton	Changchun
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.35	$1.19 CN¥7.96	-47.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.44 ZAR40.47	$2.44 CN¥16.26	-0.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.25 ZAR53.86	$3.73 CN¥24.89	+14.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.05 ZAR597.53	$37.70 CN¥251.62	+4.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.21 ZAR119.51	$6.71 CN¥44.79	-6.9%
Average			-11.4%

Sandton vs. Changchun - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.8% less for clothing

	Sandton	Changchun
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.63 ZAR955.14	$74.58 CN¥497.72	+29.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.77 ZAR758.63	$44.75 CN¥298.63	-2.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.14 ZAR1,593.42	$59.66 CN¥398.17	-37.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$90.13 ZAR1,493.83	$69.60 CN¥464.54	-22.8%
Average			-11.8%

Sandton vs. Changchun - 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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