Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

Chapel Hill vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Chapel Hill is 93.0% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.3 times more in Chapel Hill
Groceries: pay 2.5 times more in Chapel Hill
Transportation: pay 31.4% more in Chapel Hill
Housing: pay 2.3 times more in Chapel Hill
Childcare: pay 40.2% less in Chapel Hill
Entertainment and Sports: pay 84.8% more in Chapel Hill
Clothing: pay 1.8% more in Chapel Hill

The cost of restaurants, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and clothing in Chapel Hill are more expensive than in Shanghai. Notably, restaurants, groceries, and housing are significantly more expensive in Chapel Hill.

Planning a move to United States? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Chapel Hill vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chapel Hill instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.3 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Chapel Hill
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$18.00	+302.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$10.00	+91.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.90	+383.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$2.00	+440.7%
Average			+225.5%

Shanghai vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.5 times more for groceries

	Shanghai	Chapel Hill
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$4.68	+137.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$9.04	+5.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.36	-36.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$5.44	+220.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$6.23	+321.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$3.60	+262.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.82	+6.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$3.10	+242.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$2.76	+258.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$2.18	+508.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.80	+316.1%
Average			+151.6%

Shanghai vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.4% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Chapel Hill
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.68	-26.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$35,535.00	+83.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$20.34	+258.9%
Average			+31.4%

Shanghai vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.3 times more for housing

	Shanghai	Chapel Hill
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$70.83	+571.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$1,766.67	+70.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$1,300.00	+120.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$168.71	+282.9%
Average			+128.6%

Shanghai vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.2% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Chapel Hill
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$1,400.00	-1.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$10,000.00	-63.9%
Average			-40.2%

Shanghai vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 84.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Chapel Hill
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$6.00	+402.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$4.75	+41.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$7.95	+113.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$78.00	+18.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$13.50	+50.9%
Average			+84.8%

Shanghai vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.8% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Chapel Hill
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$39.00	-28.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$31.25	-15.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$103.33	+36.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$137.50	+30.1%
Average			+1.8%

Shanghai vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Shanghai vs. Chapel Hill

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Chapel Hill?

Size Comparison · See true size

Shanghai is about 113 times bigger than Chapel Hill.

More cost comparisons

Shanghai vs.

Beijing

Shanghai vs.

New York City

Shanghai vs.

Toronto

Shanghai vs.

Berlin

Shanghai vs.

Bangkok

Shanghai vs.

Vienna

Shanghai vs.

Reykjavik

Shanghai vs.

Madrid

Share this

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

Add prices for Shanghai

Add prices for Chapel Hill

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Chapel Hill or Shanghai. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.