Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United Kingdom

Middlesbrough vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Middlesbrough is 61.7% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.6 times more in Middlesbrough
Groceries: pay 25.3% more in Middlesbrough
Transportation: pay 2.0 times more in Middlesbrough
Housing: pay 47.6% more in Middlesbrough
Childcare: pay 9.9% less in Middlesbrough
Entertainment and Sports: pay 77.0% more in Middlesbrough
Clothing: pay 43.1% more in Middlesbrough

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

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Middlesbrough vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.6 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Middlesbrough
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$23.79 £17.78	+431.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$10.57 £7.90	+102.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$2.35 £1.76	+292.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.82 £1.36	+391.2%
Average			+265.0%

Shanghai vs. Middlesbrough - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.3% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Middlesbrough
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$1.39 £1.04	-29.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$3.83 £2.87	-55.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$4.75 £3.55	-30.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$3.61 £2.70	+112.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$3.22 £2.41	+118.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.10 £0.82	+10.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$1.10 £0.82	+42.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$1.20 £0.90	+32.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$1.20 £0.90	+55.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.80 £0.60	+123.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.71 £0.53	+63.7%
Average			+25.3%

Shanghai vs. Middlesbrough - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.0 times more for transportation

	Shanghai	Middlesbrough
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$7.46 £5.58	+50.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$92.50 £69.16	+210.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$37,779.88 £28,247.71	+95.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	??
Average			+100.5%

Shanghai vs. Middlesbrough - Cost of transportation

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pay 47.6% more for housing

	Shanghai	Middlesbrough
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$41.84 £31.28	+296.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$1,013.10 £757.49	-2.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$682.74 £510.48	+16.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$267.45 £199.97	+507.1%
Average			+47.6%

Shanghai vs. Middlesbrough - Cost of housing

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pay 9.9% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Middlesbrough
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$800.57 £598.58	-43.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$39,643.11 £29,640.83	+43.2%
Average			-9.9%

Shanghai vs. Middlesbrough - Cost of childcare

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pay 77.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Middlesbrough
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$4.63 £3.46	+287.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$4.61 £3.45	+37.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$22.46 £16.80	+502.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$50.65 £37.87	-22.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$14.54 £10.87	+62.4%
Average			+77.0%

Shanghai vs. Middlesbrough - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 43.1% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Middlesbrough
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$107.92 £80.69	+98.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$52.86 £39.52	+42.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$111.98 £83.73	+48.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$105.71 £79.04
Average			+43.1%

Shanghai vs. Middlesbrough - 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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