Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

Fayetteville vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Fayetteville is 66.1% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.3 times more in Fayetteville
Groceries: pay 74.1% more in Fayetteville
Transportation: pay 32.0% more in Fayetteville
Housing: pay 88.9% more in Fayetteville
Childcare: pay 29.8% less in Fayetteville
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.4% more in Fayetteville
Clothing: pay 0.7% less in Fayetteville

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

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Fayetteville vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.3 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Fayetteville
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$18.25	+307.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$12.00	+129.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.27	+278.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.62	+339.3%
Average			+233.7%

Shanghai vs. Fayetteville - Cost of restaurants

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pay 74.1% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Fayetteville
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$3.71	+87.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$5.06	-41.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$3.19	-53.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$3.81	+124.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$3.99	+170.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.87	+87.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$1.02	+31.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.87	+107.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$2.08	+170.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.07	+199.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.49	+243.4%
Average			+74.1%

Shanghai vs. Fayetteville - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.0% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Fayetteville
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.70	-25.5%
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	$20.64	+264.2%
Average			+32.0%

Shanghai vs. Fayetteville - Cost of transportation

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pay 88.9% more for housing

	Shanghai	Fayetteville
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$63.16	+498.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$1,215.00	+17.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$1,280.00	+117.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$139.21	+216.0%
Average			+88.9%

Shanghai vs. Fayetteville - Cost of housing

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pay 29.8% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Fayetteville
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$771.67	-45.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$25,000.00	-9.7%
Average			-29.8%

Shanghai vs. Fayetteville - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Fayetteville
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$5.00	+319.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$4.90	+46.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$8.99	+141.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$33.33	-49.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$13.00	+45.3%
Average			+45.4%

Shanghai vs. Fayetteville - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.7% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Fayetteville
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$51.50	-5.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$37.25	+0.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$70.00	-7.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$116.33	+10.1%
Average			-0.7%

Shanghai vs. Fayetteville - 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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