Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

Boca Raton vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Boca Raton is 2.1 times more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 4.0 times more in Boca Raton
Groceries: pay 91.9% more in Boca Raton
Transportation: pay 20.4% more in Boca Raton
Housing: pay 3.4 times more in Boca Raton
Childcare: pay 23.9% less in Boca Raton
Entertainment and Sports: pay 54.0% more in Boca Raton
Clothing: pay 12.2% less in Boca Raton

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

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Boca Raton vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Boca Raton instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.0 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Boca Raton
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$25.00	+458.7%
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	$2.30	+283.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.95	+427.2%
Average			+297.7%

Shanghai vs. Boca Raton - Cost of restaurants

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pay 91.9% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Boca Raton
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$4.35	+120.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$5.73	-33.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$3.20	-53.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$5.31	+213.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$6.47	+337.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$2.11	+112.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.70	-9.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.68	+85.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$2.30	+198.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.34	+274.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.50	+246.2%
Average			+91.9%

Shanghai vs. Boca Raton - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.4% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Boca Raton
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.68	-25.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$35.00	+17.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$36,928.80	+90.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$9.97	+75.8%
Average			+20.4%

Shanghai vs. Boca Raton - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.4 times more for housing

	Shanghai	Boca Raton
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$73.80	+599.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$3,415.00	+229.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$2,025.00	+244.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$130.67	+196.6%
Average			+242.6%

Shanghai vs. Boca Raton - Cost of housing

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pay 23.9% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Boca Raton
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$1,081.25	-23.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$20,966.67	-24.3%
Average			-23.9%

Shanghai vs. Boca Raton - Cost of childcare

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pay 54.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Boca Raton
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$6.00	+402.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$4.60	+37.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$11.12	+198.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$35.67	-45.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$12.75	+42.5%
Average			+54.0%

Shanghai vs. Boca Raton - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.2% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Boca Raton
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$47.00	-13.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$41.75	+12.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$71.25	-5.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$68.33	-35.4%
Average			-12.2%

Shanghai vs. Boca Raton - 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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