Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Thailand

Rayong vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Rayong is 18.2% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 12.0% less in Rayong
Groceries: pay 18.6% more in Rayong
Transportation: pay 34.7% more in Rayong
Housing: pay 48.9% less in Rayong
Childcare: pay 51.0% less in Rayong
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.5% less in Rayong
Clothing: pay 19.1% more in Rayong

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

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Rayong vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 12.0% less for restaurants

	Shanghai	Rayong
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$2.97 THB98.83	-33.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$6.98 THB232.24	+33.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$0.53 THB17.54	-12.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.27 THB8.89	-27.7%
Average			-12.0%

Shanghai vs. Rayong - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.6% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Rayong
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.34 THB44.47	-32.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$8.63 THB287.02	+0.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$7.27 THB241.89	+5.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.56 THB85.32	+51.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$1.28 THB42.59	-13.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.51 THB50.25	+52.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.81 THB26.83	+4.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.00 THB33.27	+10.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.87 THB29.09	+13.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.78 THB26.00	+118.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.69 THB23.01	+59.7%
Average			+18.6%

Shanghai vs. Rayong - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.7% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Rayong
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$5.23 THB174.04	+5.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$31,193.83 THB1M	+61.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$10.55 THB350.83	+86.1%
Average			+34.7%

Shanghai vs. Rayong - Cost of transportation

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pay 48.9% less for housing

	Shanghai	Rayong
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$11.88 THB395.30	+12.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$415.92 THB13,835.56	-59.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$297.08 THB9,882.54	-49.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$34.08 THB1,133.59	-22.7%
Average			-48.9%

Shanghai vs. Rayong - Cost of housing

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pay 51.0% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Rayong
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$568.31 THB18,904.94	-59.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$16,500.59 THB549K	-40.4%
Average			-51.0%

Shanghai vs. Rayong - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Rayong
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$1.78 THB59.30	+49.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$1.63 THB54.35	-51.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$4.60 THB153.18	+23.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$66.84 THB2,223.57	+1.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$6.68 THB222.36	-25.3%
Average			-10.5%

Shanghai vs. Rayong - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.1% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Rayong
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$70.75 THB2,353.53	+30.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$42.94 THB1,428.36	+15.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$97.05 THB3,228.30	+28.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$109.92 THB3,656.54	+4.0%
Average			+19.1%

Shanghai vs. Rayong - 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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