Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Sweden

Karlstad vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Karlstad is 30.6% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.0 times more in Karlstad
Groceries: pay 68.6% more in Karlstad
Transportation: pay 84.0% more in Karlstad
Housing: pay 6.8% more in Karlstad
Childcare: pay 91.1% less in Karlstad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 70.3% more in Karlstad
Clothing: pay 28.5% more in Karlstad

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

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Karlstad vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.0 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Karlstad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$15.00 SEK148.65	+235.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$10.00 SEK99.10	+91.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.50 SEK24.77	+316.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$2.17 SEK21.47	+485.6%
Average			+197.8%

Shanghai vs. Karlstad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 68.6% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Karlstad
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$2.87 SEK28.49	+45.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$5.02 SEK49.80	-41.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$5.62 SEK55.75	-18.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$4.47 SEK44.31	+163.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$6.40 SEK63.47	+333.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.31 SEK13.02	+32.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$1.18 SEK11.68	+52.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.38 SEK13.69	+52.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$2.38 SEK23.60	+209.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.85 SEK8.38	+136.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.76 SEK7.48	+74.3%
Average			+68.6%

Shanghai vs. Karlstad - Cost of groceries

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pay 84.0% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Karlstad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$6.64 SEK65.80	+33.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$79.88 SEK791.80	+167.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$32,980.57 SEK327K	+70.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$15.80 SEK156.58	+178.7%
Average			+84.0%

Shanghai vs. Karlstad - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.8% more for housing

	Shanghai	Karlstad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$44.12 SEK437.36	+318.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$849.76 SEK8,423.39	-18.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$574.84 SEK5,698.17	-2.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$76.74 SEK760.73	+74.2%
Average			+6.8%

Shanghai vs. Karlstad - Cost of housing

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pay 91.1% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Karlstad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$126.21 SEK1,251.12	-91.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	??
Average			-91.1%

Shanghai vs. Karlstad - Cost of childcare

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pay 70.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Karlstad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$7.95 SEK78.78	+566.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$4.72 SEK46.82	+41.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$7.10 SEK70.36	+90.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$45.46 SEK450.59	-30.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$14.00 SEK138.75	+56.4%
Average			+70.3%

Shanghai vs. Karlstad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 28.5% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Karlstad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$104.94 SEK1,040.29	+93.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$39.89 SEK395.40	+7.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$74.88 SEK742.25	-0.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$139.86 SEK1,386.39	+32.3%
Average			+28.5%

Shanghai vs. Karlstad - 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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