Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ajax vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary
Ajax is 65.1% more expensive than Shanghai.
Ajax vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ajax instead of Shanghai, you would:
pay 3.0 times more for restaurants
|
Shanghai
|
Ajax
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.47
CN¥29.94
|
$17.53
CA$24.82
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.22
CN¥34.93
|
$10.52
CA$14.89
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.60
CN¥4.01
|
$1.75
CA$2.48
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.37
CN¥2.47
|
$1.52
CA$2.15
|
|
Shanghai vs. Ajax - Cost of restaurants
pay 66.9% more for groceries
|
Shanghai
|
Ajax
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.98
CN¥13.22
|
$2.86
CA$4.05
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.60
CN¥57.52
|
$4.58
CA$6.48
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.88
CN¥46.02
|
$7.34
CA$10.39
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.70
CN¥11.36
|
$3.06
CA$4.33
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.48
CN¥9.89
|
$5.16
CA$7.30
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.99
CN¥6.65
|
$1.83
CA$2.59
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.77
CN¥5.16
|
$0.76
CA$1.07
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.90
CN¥6.05
|
$1.89
CA$2.67
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.77
CN¥5.15
|
$1.49
CA$2.11
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.36
CN¥2.40
|
$1.32
CA$1.87
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.43
CN¥2.90
|
$0.87
CA$1.23
|
|
Shanghai vs. Ajax - Cost of groceries
pay 42.3% more for transportation
|
Shanghai
|
Ajax
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.96
CN¥33.21
|
$4.24
CA$6.00
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$29.83
CN¥199.59
|
$85.92
CA$121.64
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$19,374.76
CN¥130K
|
$27,760.48
CA$39,301.90
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.67
CN¥37.92
|
?? | |
Shanghai vs. Ajax - Cost of transportation
pay 99.1% more for housing
|
Shanghai
|
Ajax
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$10.55
CN¥70.59
|
$57.51
CA$81.42
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,036.96
CN¥6,938.07
|
$1,507.96
CA$2,134.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$588.71
CN¥3,938.93
|
$1,367.68
CA$1,936.30
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$44.06
CN¥294.77
|
$95.92
CA$135.80
|
|
Shanghai vs. Ajax - Cost of housing
pay 37.8% less for childcare
|
Shanghai
|
Ajax
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,413.50
CN¥9,457.42
|
$876.72
CA$1,241.22
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,686.22
CN¥185K
|
$17,271.39
CA$24,451.98
|
|
Shanghai vs. Ajax - Cost of childcare
pay 24.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Shanghai
|
Ajax
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.19
CN¥7.98
|
$3.51
CA$4.96
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.35
CN¥22.41
|
$3.61
CA$5.11
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.73
CN¥24.95
|
$14.03
CA$19.86
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$65.69
CN¥439.52
|
$33.32
CA$47.17
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.95
CN¥59.88
|
$9.99
CA$14.14
|
|
Shanghai vs. Ajax - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.3% more for clothing
|
Shanghai
|
Ajax
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$54.37
CN¥363.79
|
$50.27
CA$71.16
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.09
CN¥248.19
|
$37.20
CA$52.66
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$75.49
CN¥505.08
|
$84.17
CA$119.16
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$105.70
CN¥707.25
|
$103.66
CA$146.76
|
|
Shanghai vs. Ajax - Cost of clothing
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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