Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

Jonesboro vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Jonesboro is 47.5% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.9 times more in Jonesboro
Groceries: pay 48.2% more in Jonesboro
Transportation: pay 8.4% more in Jonesboro
Housing: pay 64.3% more in Jonesboro
Childcare: pay 59.2% less in Jonesboro
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.8% more in Jonesboro
Clothing: pay 5.0% more in Jonesboro

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

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Jonesboro vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.9 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Jonesboro
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$27.50	+514.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$10.50	+101.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.25	+274.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.83	+395.6%
Average			+287.3%

Shanghai vs. Jonesboro - Cost of restaurants

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pay 48.2% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Jonesboro
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$3.35	+69.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$4.41	-48.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.20	-38.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$3.72	+119.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.02	+171.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$2.00	+100.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.51	-34.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.38	+52.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.74	+126.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.75	+110.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.09	+150.7%
Average			+48.2%

Shanghai vs. Jonesboro - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.4% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Jonesboro
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.13	-37.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$30.00	+0.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$31,706.75	+63.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$14.43	+154.7%
Average			+8.4%

Shanghai vs. Jonesboro - Cost of transportation

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pay 64.3% more for housing

	Shanghai	Jonesboro
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$72.50	+587.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$1,148.75	+10.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$868.33	+47.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$171.40	+289.0%
Average			+64.3%

Shanghai vs. Jonesboro - Cost of housing

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pay 59.2% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Jonesboro
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$766.67	-45.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$8,500.00	-69.3%
Average			-59.2%

Shanghai vs. Jonesboro - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Jonesboro
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$4.50	+277.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$5.04	+50.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$8.25	+121.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$40.20	-38.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$12.00	+34.1%
Average			+45.8%

Shanghai vs. Jonesboro - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.0% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Jonesboro
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$63.59	+16.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$36.67	-1.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$78.75	+4.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$106.38	+0.6%
Average			+5.0%

Shanghai vs. Jonesboro - 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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