Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Canada

Nelson BC vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Nelson BC is 53.4% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.6 times more in Nelson BC
Groceries: pay 51.4% more in Nelson BC
Transportation: pay 27.4% more in Nelson BC
Housing: pay 75.2% more in Nelson BC
Childcare: pay 35.3% less in Nelson BC
Entertainment and Sports: pay 59.6% more in Nelson BC

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

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Nelson BC vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nelson BC instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.6 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Nelson BC
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$14.03 CA$19.86	+213.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$8.77 CA$12.41	+67.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.99 CA$2.82	+232.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.67 CA$2.36	+350.1%
Average			+162.8%

Shanghai vs. Nelson BC - Cost of restaurants

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pay 51.4% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Nelson BC
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$2.78 CA$3.94	+40.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$4.63 CA$6.56	-46.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$7.56 CA$10.70	+9.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$3.16 CA$4.47	+86.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$5.99 CA$8.48	+305.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.55 CA$2.20	+56.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.28 CA$0.40	-63.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.70 CA$0.99	-22.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$2.10 CA$2.97	+173.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.42 CA$2.00	+295.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.38 CA$1.96	+219.6%
Average			+51.4%

Shanghai vs. Nelson BC - Cost of groceries

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pay 27.4% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Nelson BC
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$4.60 CA$6.51	-7.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$36.82 CA$52.13	+23.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$27,760.48 CA$39,301.90	+43.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$16.79 CA$23.77	+196.3%
Average			+27.4%

Shanghai vs. Nelson BC - Cost of transportation

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pay 75.2% more for housing

	Shanghai	Nelson BC
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$56.11 CA$79.44	+431.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$1,332.62 CA$1,886.65	+28.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$1,122.20 CA$1,588.76	+90.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$97.21 CA$137.63	+120.7%
Average			+75.2%

Shanghai vs. Nelson BC - Cost of housing

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pay 35.3% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Nelson BC
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$1,017.00 CA$1,439.81	-28.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$16,131.66 CA$22,838.39	-41.7%
Average			-35.3%

Shanghai vs. Nelson BC - Cost of childcare

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pay 59.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Nelson BC
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$4.56 CA$6.45	+282.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$3.86 CA$5.46	+15.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$14.03 CA$19.86	+276.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$57.51 CA$81.42	-12.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$11.92 CA$16.88	+33.2%
Average			+59.6%

Shanghai vs. Nelson BC - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay about the same for clothing

	Shanghai	Nelson BC
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$47.93 CA$67.85	-11.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$40.33 CA$57.09	+8.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$84.67 CA$119.87	+12.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$98.19 CA$139.02	-7.1%

Shanghai vs. Nelson BC - 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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