Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cookeville vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Cookeville is 58.1% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants
pay 3.2 times more in Cookeville
Groceries
pay 61.5% more in Cookeville
Transportation
pay 8.2% more in Cookeville
Housing
pay 83.9% more in Cookeville
Childcare
pay 41.4% less in Cookeville
Entertainment and Sports
pay 50.5% more in Cookeville
Clothing
pay 24.2% more in Cookeville

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

Cookeville vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

pay 3.2 times more for restaurants

 
Shanghai
Cookeville
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.47
CN¥29.87
$21.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.22
CN¥34.85
$8.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.60
CN¥4.00
$2.67
 

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pay 61.5% more for groceries

 
Shanghai
Cookeville
Bread
1 loaf
$1.98
CN¥13.19
$2.70
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.60
CN¥57.39
$9.83
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.88
CN¥45.91
$3.00
 

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pay 8.2% more for transportation

 
Shanghai
Cookeville
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.96
CN¥33.13
$2.93
 
Monthly public transit pass $29.83
CN¥199.12
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $19,374.76
CN¥129K
$35,000.00
 

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pay 83.9% more for housing

 
Shanghai
Cookeville
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$10.55
CN¥70.42
$85.50
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,036.96
CN¥6,921.79
$1,129.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $588.71
CN¥3,929.69
$997.00
 

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pay 41.4% less for childcare

 
Shanghai
Cookeville
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,413.50
CN¥9,435.22
$828.33
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $27,686.22
CN¥185K
??

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pay 50.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
Shanghai
Cookeville
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.19
CN¥7.96
$5.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.35
CN¥22.36
$4.00
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.73
CN¥24.89
$14.00
 

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pay 24.2% more for clothing

 
Shanghai
Cookeville
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$54.37
CN¥362.93
$45.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.09
CN¥247.61
$45.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$75.49
CN¥503.90
$135.00
 

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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