Cost of living comparison

compared to

New Bern vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

New Bern is 60.1% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants
pay 3.5 times more in New Bern
Groceries
pay 70.5% more in New Bern
Transportation
pay 13.1% more in New Bern
Housing
pay 56.8% more in New Bern
Entertainment and Sports
pay 63.5% more in New Bern
Clothing
pay 0.7% less in New Bern

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

New Bern vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Bern instead of Shanghai, you would:

pay 3.5 times more for restaurants

 
Shanghai
New Bern
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.47
CN¥29.87
$18.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.22
CN¥34.85
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.60
CN¥4.00
$2.85
 

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pay 70.5% more for groceries

 
Shanghai
New Bern
Bread
1 loaf
$1.98
CN¥13.19
$3.25
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.60
CN¥57.39
$6.47
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.88
CN¥45.91
$3.53
 

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pay 13.1% more for transportation

 
Shanghai
New Bern
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.96
CN¥33.13
$3.22
 
Monthly public transit pass $29.83
CN¥199.12
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $19,374.76
CN¥129K
$28,000.00
 

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pay 56.8% more for housing

 
Shanghai
New Bern
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$10.55
CN¥70.42
$69.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,036.96
CN¥6,921.79
$1,158.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $588.71
CN¥3,929.69
$882.67
 

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Shanghai
New Bern
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,413.50
CN¥9,435.22
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $27,686.22
CN¥185K
??

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pay 63.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
Shanghai
New Bern
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.19
CN¥7.96
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.35
CN¥22.36
$5.16
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.73
CN¥24.89
$7.49
 

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pay 0.7% less for clothing

 
Shanghai
New Bern
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$54.37
CN¥362.93
$60.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.09
CN¥247.61
$35.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$75.49
CN¥503.90
$84.67
 

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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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