Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

China

Ningbo vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Ningbo is 39.0% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 26.5% less in Ningbo
Groceries: pay 21.3% less in Ningbo
Transportation: pay 16.2% less in Ningbo
Housing: pay 60.4% less in Ningbo
Childcare: pay 38.1% less in Ningbo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.9% less in Ningbo
Clothing: pay 23.6% less in Ningbo

Expenses including housing, childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, clothing, and groceries are lower in Ningbo.

Ningbo vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 26.5% less for restaurants

	Shanghai	Ningbo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.79	$2.83 CN¥18.87	-36.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.75	$4.47 CN¥29.79	-14.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥3.99	$0.46 CN¥3.06	-23.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.46	$0.30 CN¥1.99	-19.4%
Average			-26.5%

Shanghai vs. Ningbo - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.3% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Ningbo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.15	$1.15 CN¥7.67	-41.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.24	$7.46 CN¥49.65	-13.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.79	$6.76 CN¥45.01	-1.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.30	$1.59 CN¥10.60	-6.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.84	$1.69 CN¥11.26	+14.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.62	$0.47 CN¥3.15	-52.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$0.70 CN¥4.65	-9.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.02	$0.69 CN¥4.62	-23.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.12	$0.54 CN¥3.60	-29.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.38	$0.27 CN¥1.80	-24.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.88	$0.33 CN¥2.20	-23.9%
Average			-21.3%

Shanghai vs. Ningbo - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.2% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Ningbo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.05	$4.89 CN¥32.54	-1.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥198.59	$16.41 CN¥109.23	-45.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$19,374.76 CN¥129K
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.73	$4.58 CN¥30.48	-19.2%
Average			-16.2%

Shanghai vs. Ningbo - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 60.4% less for housing

	Shanghai	Ningbo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.24	$7.95 CN¥52.96	-24.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,903.44	$357.96 CN¥2,383.10	-65.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,919.27	$181.96 CN¥1,211.41	-69.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥293.30	$39.13 CN¥260.49	-11.2%
Average			-60.4%

Shanghai vs. Ningbo - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.1% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Ningbo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,410.21	$941.52 CN¥6,268.06	-33.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥184K	$15,909.48 CN¥106K	-42.5%
Average			-38.1%

Shanghai vs. Ningbo - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Ningbo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.94	$1.04 CN¥6.95	-12.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.30	$3.48 CN¥23.17	+3.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.82	$4.47 CN¥29.79	+20.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥437.32	$25.21 CN¥167.81	-61.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.58	$7.83 CN¥52.13	-12.5%
Average			-23.9%

Shanghai vs. Ningbo - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.6% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Ningbo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥361.97	$63.35 CN¥421.76	+16.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥246.96	$26.81 CN¥178.48	-27.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥502.56	$61.86 CN¥411.83	-18.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥703.72	$52.17 CN¥347.29	-50.6%
Average			-23.6%

Shanghai vs. Ningbo - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Shanghai vs. Ningbo

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Ningbo?

More cost comparisons

Shanghai vs.

Beijing

Shanghai vs.

London

Shanghai vs.

Bangkok

Shanghai vs.

Berlin

Shanghai vs.

Vienna

Shanghai vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Shanghai vs.

Toronto

Shanghai vs.

Quito

Share this

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 Ningbo

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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