Cost of living comparison
compared to
Bethesda vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary
Bethesda is 2.1 times more expensive than Shanghai.
Bethesda vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Bethesda instead of Shanghai, you would:
pay 3.8 times more for restaurants
|
Shanghai
|
Bethesda
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.47
CN¥29.94
|
$22.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.22
CN¥34.93
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.60
CN¥4.01
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.37
CN¥2.47
|
$2.46
|
|
Shanghai vs. Bethesda - Cost of restaurants
pay 94.2% more for groceries
|
Shanghai
|
Bethesda
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.98
CN¥13.22
|
$4.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.60
CN¥57.52
|
$8.43
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.88
CN¥46.02
|
$4.47
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.70
CN¥11.36
|
$4.62
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.48
CN¥9.89
|
$7.14
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.99
CN¥6.65
|
$2.55
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.77
CN¥5.16
|
$0.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.90
CN¥6.05
|
$1.86
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.77
CN¥5.15
|
$1.90
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.36
CN¥2.40
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.43
CN¥2.90
|
$1.22
|
|
Shanghai vs. Bethesda - Cost of groceries
pay 39.7% more for transportation
|
Shanghai
|
Bethesda
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.96
CN¥33.21
|
$3.63
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$29.83
CN¥199.59
|
$100.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$19,374.76
CN¥130K
|
$23,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.67
CN¥37.92
|
$13.94
|
|
Shanghai vs. Bethesda - Cost of transportation
pay 2.7 times more for housing
|
Shanghai
|
Bethesda
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$10.55
CN¥70.59
|
$62.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,036.96
CN¥6,938.07
|
$2,300.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$588.71
CN¥3,938.93
|
$1,666.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$44.06
CN¥294.77
|
$124.91
|
|
Shanghai vs. Bethesda - Cost of housing
pay 21.4% more for childcare
|
Shanghai
|
Bethesda
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,413.50
CN¥9,457.42
|
$1,597.92
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,686.22
CN¥185K
|
$36,066.67
|
|
Shanghai vs. Bethesda - Cost of childcare
pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Shanghai
|
Bethesda
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.19
CN¥7.98
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.35
CN¥22.41
|
$5.50
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.73
CN¥24.95
|
$10.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$65.69
CN¥439.52
|
$104.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.95
CN¥59.88
|
$16.00
|
|
Shanghai vs. Bethesda - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 31.4% more for clothing
|
Shanghai
|
Bethesda
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$54.37
CN¥363.79
|
$55.33
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.09
CN¥248.19
|
$56.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$75.49
CN¥505.08
|
$102.08
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$105.70
CN¥707.25
|
$150.00
|
|
Shanghai vs. Bethesda - 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
Change currency:
Compare further: Shanghai vs. Bethesda
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in China vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within China and United States.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Bethesda or Shanghai. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.