Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Australia

Rockhampton vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Rockhampton is 49.3% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.4 times more in Rockhampton
Groceries: pay 51.9% more in Rockhampton
Transportation: pay 49.9% more in Rockhampton
Housing: pay 27.0% more in Rockhampton
Childcare: pay 46.5% less in Rockhampton
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.0 times more in Rockhampton
Clothing: pay 41.6% more in Rockhampton

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

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Rockhampton vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.4 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Rockhampton
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$20.19 A$28.72	+351.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$9.75 A$13.87	+86.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$2.40 A$3.42	+300.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$2.78 A$3.96	+652.9%
Average			+244.6%

Shanghai vs. Rockhampton - Cost of restaurants

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pay 51.9% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Rockhampton
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$2.26 A$3.22	+14.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$3.35 A$4.77	-61.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$8.74 A$12.43	+27.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$3.71 A$5.28	+118.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$5.00 A$7.11	+238.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.18 A$1.68	+19.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.96 A$1.36	+24.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$0.84 A$1.19	-7.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$2.17 A$3.09	+182.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.91 A$1.29	+153.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$1.04 A$1.48	+140.6%
Average			+51.9%

Shanghai vs. Rockhampton - Cost of groceries

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pay 49.9% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Rockhampton
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$4.66 A$6.63	-6.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$63.87 A$90.86	+114.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$29,107.36 A$41,404.50	+50.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$17.82 A$25.34	+214.4%
Average			+49.9%

Shanghai vs. Rockhampton - Cost of transportation

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pay 27.0% more for housing

	Shanghai	Rockhampton
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$67.30 A$95.74	+537.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$814.60 A$1,158.75	-21.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$672.34 A$956.38	+14.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$155.84 A$221.67	+253.7%
Average			+27.0%

Shanghai vs. Rockhampton - Cost of housing

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pay 46.5% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Rockhampton
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$1,740.89 A$2,476.37	+23.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$6,441.61 A$9,163.03	-76.7%
Average			-46.5%

Shanghai vs. Rockhampton - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.0 times more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Rockhampton
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$7.66 A$10.89	+541.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$4.96 A$7.06	+48.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$36.76 A$52.28	+885.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$39.92 A$56.78	-39.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$16.01 A$22.78	+78.9%
Average			+101.4%

Shanghai vs. Rockhampton - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 41.6% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Rockhampton
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$125.31 A$178.24	+130.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$59.16 A$84.16	+59.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$139.24 A$198.07	+84.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$62.66 A$89.13	-40.7%
Average			+41.6%

Shanghai vs. Rockhampton - 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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