Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Oman

Salalah vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Salalah is 32.8% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 47.7% more in Salalah
Groceries: pay 4.0% less in Salalah
Transportation: pay 0.7% less in Salalah
Housing: pay 57.1% less in Salalah
Childcare: pay 92.8% less in Salalah
Entertainment and Sports: pay 51.9% more in Salalah
Clothing: pay 38.0% less in Salalah

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

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Salalah vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 47.7% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Salalah
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$5.20 OMR2.000	+16.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$13.00 OMR5.000	+149.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$0.88 OMR0.340	+46.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.26 OMR0.100	-29.7%
Average			+47.7%

Shanghai vs. Salalah - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.0% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Salalah
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$1.25 OMR0.480	-36.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$2.34 OMR0.900	-72.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$7.38 OMR2.840	+7.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$1.87 OMR0.720	+10.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$2.12 OMR0.820	+43.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$0.88 OMR0.340	-11.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.83 OMR0.320	+7.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$0.94 OMR0.360	+4.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$0.83 OMR0.320	+7.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.67 OMR0.260	+87.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.47 OMR0.180	+8.9%
Average			-4.0%

Shanghai vs. Salalah - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.7% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Salalah
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$2.36 OMR0.910	-52.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$54.62 OMR21.000	+83.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$20,806.89 OMR8,000.250	+7.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$12.68 OMR4.880	+123.7%
Average			-0.7%

Shanghai vs. Salalah - Cost of transportation

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pay 57.1% less for housing

	Shanghai	Salalah
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$74.56 OMR28.670	+606.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$247.08 OMR95.000	-76.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$208.07 OMR80.000	-64.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$59.67 OMR22.940	+35.4%
Average			-57.1%

Shanghai vs. Salalah - Cost of housing

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pay 92.8% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Salalah
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$104.03 OMR40.000	-92.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$1,950.65 OMR750.020	-93.0%
Average			-92.8%

Shanghai vs. Salalah - Cost of childcare

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pay 51.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Salalah
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$9.10 OMR3.500	+662.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$6.24 OMR2.400	+86.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$5.98 OMR2.300	+60.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$39.74 OMR15.280	-39.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$7.80 OMR3.000	-12.8%
Average			+51.9%

Shanghai vs. Salalah - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 38.0% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Salalah
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$28.61 OMR11.000	-47.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$31.21 OMR12.000	-15.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$58.52 OMR22.500	-22.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$45.52 OMR17.500	-56.9%
Average			-38.0%

Shanghai vs. Salalah - 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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