Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

Mission Viejo vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Mission Viejo is 2.1 times more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.3 times more in Mission Viejo
Groceries: pay 88.6% more in Mission Viejo
Transportation: pay 47.7% more in Mission Viejo
Housing: pay 3.6 times more in Mission Viejo
Childcare: pay 65.8% less in Mission Viejo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 56.8% more in Mission Viejo
Clothing: pay 9.3% less in Mission Viejo

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

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Mission Viejo vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mission Viejo instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.3 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Mission Viejo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.87	$21.50	+380.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.85	$10.00	+91.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$2.00	+233.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.55	+318.5%
Average			+231.2%

Shanghai vs. Mission Viejo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 88.6% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Mission Viejo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.19	$3.90	+97.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.39	$7.00	-18.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.91	$4.00	-41.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$4.50	+164.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.87	$6.21	+319.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$2.23	+124.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.69	-10.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$1.29	+42.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$2.24	+190.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.99	+176.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$1.94	+347.8%
Average			+88.6%

Shanghai vs. Mission Viejo - Cost of groceries

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pay 47.7% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Mission Viejo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$5.12	+3.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.12	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$33,499.00	+72.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$18.36	+224.0%
Average			+47.7%

Shanghai vs. Mission Viejo - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.6 times more for housing

	Shanghai	Mission Viejo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.42	$65.67	+522.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,921.79	$2,633.33	+153.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.69	$2,700.00	+358.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.08	$188.44	+327.7%
Average			+263.8%

Shanghai vs. Mission Viejo - Cost of housing

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pay 65.8% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Mission Viejo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,435.22	$545.83	-61.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$8,400.00	-69.7%
Average			-65.8%

Shanghai vs. Mission Viejo - Cost of childcare

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pay 56.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Mission Viejo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$5.00	+319.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$5.47	+63.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$11.86	+217.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.48	$40.00	-39.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.74	$12.00	+34.1%
Average			+56.8%

Shanghai vs. Mission Viejo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.3% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Mission Viejo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.93	$31.44	-42.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.61	$34.60	-6.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.90	$72.00	-4.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.59	$139.17	+31.7%
Average			-9.3%

Shanghai vs. Mission Viejo - 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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