Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

Nashville vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Nashville is 2.0 times more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.6 times more in Nashville
Groceries: pay 95.4% more in Nashville
Transportation: pay 51.8% more in Nashville
Housing: pay 2.5 times more in Nashville
Childcare: pay 6.5% more in Nashville
Entertainment and Sports: pay 97.5% more in Nashville
Clothing: pay 17.1% more in Nashville

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

Planning a move to United States? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Nashville vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.6 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Nashville
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$18.25	+307.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$12.00	+129.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.91	+386.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$2.45	+563.3%
Average			+256.5%

Shanghai vs. Nashville - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 95.4% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Nashville
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$3.87	+95.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$6.49	-24.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.24	-38.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$4.23	+149.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$6.50	+340.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$2.63	+164.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.70	-8.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.87	+106.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$2.25	+192.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.20	+236.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.40	+223.2%
Average			+95.4%

Shanghai vs. Nashville - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 51.8% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Nashville
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.87	-22.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$65.00	+117.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$37,359.00	+92.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$17.43	+207.5%
Average			+51.8%

Shanghai vs. Nashville - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.5 times more for housing

	Shanghai	Nashville
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$75.87	+619.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$1,973.75	+90.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$1,398.22	+137.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$173.99	+294.9%
Average			+148.0%

Shanghai vs. Nashville - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.5% more for childcare

	Shanghai	Nashville
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$1,460.42	+3.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$30,400.00	+9.8%
Average			+6.5%

Shanghai vs. Nashville - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 97.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Nashville
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$7.00	+486.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$6.76	+102.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$10.40	+178.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$54.76	-16.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$15.00	+67.6%
Average			+97.5%

Shanghai vs. Nashville - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.1% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Nashville
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$55.07	+1.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$42.94	+15.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$92.24	+22.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$138.63	+31.1%
Average			+17.1%

Shanghai vs. Nashville - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Shanghai vs. Nashville

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Nashville?

Size Comparison · See true size

Shanghai is about 5 times bigger than Nashville.

More cost comparisons

Shanghai vs.

Beijing

Shanghai vs.

Sydney

Shanghai vs.

Reykjavik

Shanghai vs.

Moscow

Shanghai vs.

Vienna

Shanghai vs.

Athens

Shanghai vs.

Paris

Shanghai vs.

Bangkok

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in China vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within China and United States.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Shanghai

Add prices for Nashville

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Nashville or Shanghai. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.