Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

Puyallup vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Puyallup is 2.5 times more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 4.6 times more in Puyallup
Groceries: pay 2.3 times more in Puyallup
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in Puyallup
Housing: pay 2.8 times more in Puyallup
Childcare: pay 54.8% more in Puyallup
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.3 times more in Puyallup
Clothing: pay 36.7% more in Puyallup

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

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Puyallup vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 4.6 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Puyallup
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$25.00	+458.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$15.00	+187.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$3.19	+432.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$3.08	+733.3%
Average			+358.5%

Shanghai vs. Puyallup - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.3 times more for groceries

	Shanghai	Puyallup
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$4.57	+131.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$9.09	+5.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.23	-38.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$5.47	+222.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$8.43	+470.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$2.70	+171.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.83	+7.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$2.36	+160.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$2.90	+277.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.60	+348.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.47	+238.3%
Average			+135.0%

Shanghai vs. Puyallup - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Shanghai	Puyallup
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$5.17	+4.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$171.00	+473.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$36,318.00	+87.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$16.02	+182.7%
Average			+110.2%

Shanghai vs. Puyallup - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.8 times more for housing

	Shanghai	Puyallup
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$87.00	+724.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$1,866.67	+80.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$1,766.67	+200.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$212.57	+382.5%
Average			+176.3%

Shanghai vs. Puyallup - Cost of housing

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pay 54.8% more for childcare

	Shanghai	Puyallup
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$3,012.40	+113.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$31,129.44	+12.4%
Average			+54.8%

Shanghai vs. Puyallup - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Puyallup
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$8.00	+570.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$6.66	+98.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$12.06	+223.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$71.67	+9.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$17.00	+90.0%
Average			+126.5%

Shanghai vs. Puyallup - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 36.7% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Puyallup
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$61.00	+12.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$44.50	+20.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$127.75	+69.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$162.20	+53.4%
Average			+36.7%

Shanghai vs. Puyallup - 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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