Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Dhahran vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Dhahran is 13.4% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 9.3% more in Dhahran
Groceries: pay 8.7% more in Dhahran
Transportation: pay 30.3% more in Dhahran
Housing: pay 35.0% less in Dhahran
Childcare: pay 84.9% less in Dhahran
Entertainment and Sports: pay 61.1% more in Dhahran
Clothing: pay 2.2% less in Dhahran

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

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Dhahran vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 9.3% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Dhahran
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$5.33 SAR20.00	+19.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$6.26 SAR23.50	+20.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$0.71 SAR2.67	+18.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.18 SAR0.68	-50.8%
Average			+9.3%

Shanghai vs. Dhahran - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.7% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Dhahran
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$0.98 SAR3.67	-50.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$4.31 SAR16.16	-49.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$6.05 SAR22.71	-12.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$3.84 SAR14.40	+126.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$5.04 SAR18.90	+240.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.97 SAR3.63	-2.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.64 SAR2.42	-16.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.81 SAR3.02	-10.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.81 SAR3.02	+4.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.68 SAR2.57	+91.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.44 SAR1.66	+2.3%
Average			+8.7%

Shanghai vs. Dhahran - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.3% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Dhahran
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$2.35 SAR8.82	-52.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$52,762.41 SAR198K	+172.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$27.98 SAR105.00	+393.7%
Average			+30.3%

Shanghai vs. Dhahran - Cost of transportation

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pay 35.0% less for housing

	Shanghai	Dhahran
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$66.22 SAR248.51	+527.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$359.74 SAR1,350.06	-65.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$453.01 SAR1,700.08	-23.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$45.85 SAR172.07	+4.1%
Average			-35.0%

Shanghai vs. Dhahran - Cost of housing

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pay 84.9% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Dhahran
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$66.62 SAR250.01	-95.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$13,323.88 SAR50,002.33	-51.9%
Average			-84.9%

Shanghai vs. Dhahran - Cost of childcare

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pay 61.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Dhahran
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$1.87 SAR7.00	+56.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$3.91 SAR14.67	+16.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$5.60 SAR21.00	+50.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$195.42 SAR733.37	+197.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$10.66 SAR40.00	+19.1%
Average			+61.1%

Shanghai vs. Dhahran - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.2% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Dhahran
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$51.52 SAR193.34	-5.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$42.64 SAR160.01	+14.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$75.50 SAR283.35
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$88.83 SAR333.35	-16.0%
Average			-2.2%

Shanghai vs. Dhahran - 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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