Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

College Park vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

College Park is 2.0 times more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.0 times more in College Park
Groceries: pay 69.4% more in College Park
Transportation: pay 30.7% more in College Park
Housing: pay 3.1 times more in College Park
Childcare: pay 41.5% more in College Park
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.6% more in College Park
Clothing: pay 11.2% more in College Park

The cost of housing, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, childcare, and transportation in College Park are more expensive than in Shanghai. Notably, housing and restaurants are significantly more expensive in College Park.

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College Park vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in College Park instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.0 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	College Park
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$16.00	+257.6%
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	$2.70	+350.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.75	+373.1%
Average			+202.4%

Shanghai vs. College Park - Cost of restaurants

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pay 69.4% more for groceries

	Shanghai	College Park
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$2.56	+29.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$3.14	-63.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$3.35	-51.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.03	+19.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$3.00	+103.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$2.99	+200.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.58	-24.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$3.33	+268.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$2.50	+224.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$2.25	+528.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.50	+246.2%
Average			+69.4%

Shanghai vs. College Park - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.7% more for transportation

	Shanghai	College Park
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.59	-27.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$36,227.00	+87.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$20.16	+255.6%
Average			+30.7%

Shanghai vs. College Park - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.1 times more for housing

	Shanghai	College Park
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$68.33	+547.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$2,283.33	+120.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$2,100.00	+256.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$185.44	+320.9%
Average			+210.6%

Shanghai vs. College Park - Cost of housing

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pay 41.5% more for childcare

	Shanghai	College Park
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$2,000.00	+41.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	??
Average			+41.5%

Shanghai vs. College Park - Cost of childcare

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pay 63.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	College Park
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$6.50	+444.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$4.50	+34.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$9.11	+144.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$40.00	-39.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$15.00	+67.6%
Average			+63.6%

Shanghai vs. College Park - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.2% more for clothing

	Shanghai	College Park
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$47.50	-12.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$32.50	-12.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$118.33	+56.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$134.75	+27.5%
Average			+11.2%

Shanghai vs. College Park - 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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