Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

Greensboro vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Greensboro is 72.1% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.4 times more in Greensboro
Groceries: pay 76.7% more in Greensboro
Transportation: pay 45.9% more in Greensboro
Housing: pay 89.3% more in Greensboro
Childcare: pay 29.8% less in Greensboro
Entertainment and Sports: pay 77.0% more in Greensboro
Clothing: pay 0.7% less in Greensboro

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

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Greensboro vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.4 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Greensboro
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.87	$18.25	+307.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.85	$12.25	+134.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$2.27	+278.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.62	+339.3%
Average			+236.1%

Shanghai vs. Greensboro - Cost of restaurants

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pay 76.7% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Greensboro
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.19	$3.71	+87.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.39	$6.48	-24.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.91	$3.19	-53.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$3.81	+124.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.87	$3.99	+170.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.87	+87.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$1.02	+31.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$1.87	+107.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$1.92	+149.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$1.07	+199.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$1.49	+243.4%
Average			+76.7%

Shanghai vs. Greensboro - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.9% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Greensboro
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$3.73	-24.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.12	$58.00	+94.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$35,535.00	+83.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$20.64	+264.2%
Average			+45.9%

Shanghai vs. Greensboro - Cost of transportation

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pay 89.3% more for housing

	Shanghai	Greensboro
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.42	$63.16	+498.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,921.79	$1,456.67	+40.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.69	$1,073.83	+82.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.08	$139.21	+216.0%
Average			+89.3%

Shanghai vs. Greensboro - Cost of housing

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pay 29.8% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Greensboro
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,435.22	$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. Greensboro - Cost of childcare

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pay 77.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Greensboro
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$6.00	+402.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$4.90	+46.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$7.95	+113.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.48	$61.67	-6.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.74	$14.00	+56.4%
Average			+77.0%

Shanghai vs. Greensboro - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.7% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Greensboro
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.93	$51.50	-5.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.61	$37.25	+0.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.90	$70.00	-7.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.59	$116.33	+10.1%
Average			-0.7%

Shanghai vs. Greensboro - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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