Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

China

Nanning vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Nanning is 44.3% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 17.4% less in Nanning
Groceries: pay 1.6% less in Nanning
Transportation: pay 12.5% less in Nanning
Housing: pay 69.5% less in Nanning
Childcare: pay 81.5% less in Nanning
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.4% less in Nanning
Clothing: pay 35.3% less in Nanning

Expenses including childcare, housing, clothing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Nanning.

Nanning vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 17.4% less for restaurants

	Shanghai	Nanning
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$2.98 CN¥19.91	-33.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$5.59 CN¥37.33	+7.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$0.57 CN¥3.78	-5.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.28 CN¥1.89	-23.4%
Average			-17.4%

Shanghai vs. Nanning - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.6% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Nanning
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$2.24 CN¥14.96	+13.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$5.22 CN¥34.84	-39.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$8.33 CN¥55.58	+21.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$1.97 CN¥13.14	+16.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$1.80 CN¥12.04	+22.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$0.83 CN¥5.57	-16.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.59 CN¥3.91	-23.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$0.68 CN¥4.52	-25.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$0.77 CN¥5.12	-0.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.43 CN¥2.86	+19.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.54 CN¥3.61	+24.9%
Average			-1.6%

Shanghai vs. Nanning - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.5% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Nanning
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$4.84 CN¥32.28	-2.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$15.66 CN¥104.52	-47.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$22,969.30 CN¥153K	+18.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$4.92 CN¥32.85	-13.2%
Average			-12.5%

Shanghai vs. Nanning - Cost of transportation

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pay 69.5% less for housing

	Shanghai	Nanning
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$10.69 CN¥71.34	+1.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$248.59 CN¥1,659.06	-76.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$154.12 CN¥1,028.62	-73.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$25.66 CN¥171.27	-41.7%
Average			-69.5%

Shanghai vs. Nanning - Cost of housing

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pay 81.5% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Nanning
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$298.30 CN¥1,990.87	-78.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$4,474.54 CN¥29,863.08	-83.8%
Average			-81.5%

Shanghai vs. Nanning - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Nanning
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$0.89 CN¥5.97	-25.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$2.39 CN¥15.93	-28.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$4.10 CN¥27.37	+10.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$74.58 CN¥497.72	+13.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$6.71 CN¥44.79	-25.0%
Average			-14.4%

Shanghai vs. Nanning - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 35.3% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Nanning
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$19.89 CN¥132.72	-63.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$29.83 CN¥199.09	-19.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$64.63 CN¥431.36	-14.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$73.33 CN¥489.42	-30.6%
Average			-35.3%

Shanghai vs. Nanning - 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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