Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

Bentonville vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Bentonville is 63.9% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.6 times more in Bentonville
Groceries: pay 44.2% more in Bentonville
Transportation: pay 11.2% more in Bentonville
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Bentonville
Childcare: pay 20.2% less in Bentonville
Entertainment and Sports: pay 44.4% more in Bentonville
Clothing: pay 12.8% less in Bentonville

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

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Bentonville vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bentonville instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.6 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Bentonville
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$20.50	+358.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$12.50	+139.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.50	+317.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.75	+373.1%
Average			+262.8%

Shanghai vs. Bentonville - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.2% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Bentonville
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$2.87	+45.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$4.65	-45.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$3.86	-43.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$4.00	+135.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.39	+196.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.88	+89.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.59	-23.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.44	+59.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.15	+49.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.81	+126.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.00	+131.4%
Average			+44.2%

Shanghai vs. Bentonville - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.2% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Bentonville
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.33	-33.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$31,000.00	+60.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$12.44	+119.5%
Average			+11.2%

Shanghai vs. Bentonville - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Shanghai	Bentonville
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$63.25	+499.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$1,680.00	+62.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$1,257.33	+113.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$145.13	+229.4%
Average			+114.9%

Shanghai vs. Bentonville - Cost of housing

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pay 20.2% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Bentonville
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$1,183.50	-16.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$21,064.17	-23.9%
Average			-20.2%

Shanghai vs. Bentonville - Cost of childcare

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pay 44.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Bentonville
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$6.50	+444.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$5.50	+64.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$8.03	+115.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$21.75	-66.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$15.00	+67.6%
Average			+44.4%

Shanghai vs. Bentonville - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.8% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Bentonville
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$47.33	-12.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$39.00	+5.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$65.00	-13.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$77.50	-26.7%
Average			-12.8%

Shanghai vs. Bentonville - 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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