Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Latvia

Jelgava vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Jelgava is 16.1% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 73.2% more in Jelgava
Groceries: pay 0.9% more in Jelgava
Transportation: pay 25.1% more in Jelgava
Housing: pay 45.2% less in Jelgava
Childcare: pay 71.4% less in Jelgava
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.0% more in Jelgava
Clothing: pay 19.1% less in Jelgava

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

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Jelgava vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 73.2% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Jelgava
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$7.84 €6.98	+75.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$6.61 €5.88	+26.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.61 €1.44	+169.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.18 €1.05	+218.6%
Average			+73.2%

Shanghai vs. Jelgava - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.9% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Jelgava
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$0.90 €0.80	-54.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$5.22 €4.65	-39.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.41 €3.92	-35.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$3.10 €2.76	+82.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$2.50 €2.22	+68.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.76 €0.68	-23.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.83 €0.73	+7.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.13 €1.00	+24.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.40 €1.24	+81.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.40 €0.36	+12.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.42 €0.37	-3.0%
Average			+0.9%

Shanghai vs. Jelgava - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.1% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Jelgava
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$7.11 €6.33	+43.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$27.99 €24.92	-6.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$22,394.71 €19,932.10	+15.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$11.42 €10.17	+101.5%
Average			+25.1%

Shanghai vs. Jelgava - Cost of transportation

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pay 45.2% less for housing

	Shanghai	Jelgava
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$14.93 €13.28	+41.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$324.72 €289.02	-68.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$257.54 €229.22	-56.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$143.28 €127.53	+225.2%
Average			-45.2%

Shanghai vs. Jelgava - Cost of housing

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pay 71.4% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Jelgava
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$223.95 €199.32	-84.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$14,332.62 €12,756.54	-48.2%
Average			-71.4%

Shanghai vs. Jelgava - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Jelgava
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$4.48 €3.99	+275.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$3.28 €2.92	-1.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$6.72 €5.98	+80.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$46.19 €41.11	-29.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$10.75 €9.57	+20.1%
Average			+32.0%

Shanghai vs. Jelgava - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.1% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Jelgava
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$50.39 €44.85	-7.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$21.83 €19.43	-41.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$55.99 €49.83	-25.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$111.97 €99.66	+5.9%
Average			-19.1%

Shanghai vs. Jelgava - 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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