Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

San Francisco vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

San Francisco is 2.9 times more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 4.7 times more in San Francisco
Groceries: pay 2.5 times more in San Francisco
Transportation: pay 94.5% more in San Francisco
Housing: pay 4.1 times more in San Francisco
Childcare: pay 78.9% more in San Francisco
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.6 times more in San Francisco
Clothing: pay 33.3% more in San Francisco

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

Planning a move to United States? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

San Francisco vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Francisco instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.7 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	San Francisco
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.95	$27.15	+506.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.94	$15.00	+187.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$3.16	+427.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.48	$2.70	+630.2%
Average			+369.2%

Shanghai vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.5 times more for groceries

	Shanghai	San Francisco
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$5.31	+168.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.54	$8.16	-5.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.03	$6.63	-3.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$4.93	+190.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$6.99	+372.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$2.78	+179.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$1.30	+69.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$2.00	+121.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$3.11	+304.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.34	+273.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.67	+284.4%
Average			+146.6%

Shanghai vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 94.5% more for transportation

	Shanghai	San Francisco
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.22	$5.78	+16.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.65	$95.00	+218.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$36,998.00	+91.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.93	$20.39	+259.8%
Average			+94.5%

Shanghai vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.1 times more for housing

	Shanghai	San Francisco
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.61	$76.29	+623.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,940.04	$3,735.00	+260.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,940.05	$2,618.75	+344.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.86	$164.32	+273.0%
Average			+307.9%

Shanghai vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 78.9% more for childcare

	Shanghai	San Francisco
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,460.10	$2,942.94	+108.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$42,562.50	+53.7%
Average			+78.9%

Shanghai vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.6 times more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	San Francisco
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.99	$8.00	+570.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.42	$5.97	+78.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.96	$12.00	+221.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.64	$121.54	+85.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.89	$18.00	+101.1%
Average			+156.4%

Shanghai vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 33.3% more for clothing

	Shanghai	San Francisco
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.89	$76.17	+40.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.26	$47.67	+28.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.23	$101.08	+33.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.45	$138.64	+31.2%
Average			+33.3%

Shanghai vs. San Francisco - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Shanghai vs. San Francisco

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in San Francisco?

Size Comparison · See true size

Shanghai is about 52 times bigger than San Francisco.

More cost comparisons

Shanghai vs.

Beijing

Shanghai vs.

Moscow

Shanghai vs.

Lima

Shanghai vs.

Vienna

Shanghai vs.

Madrid

Shanghai vs.

Washington

Shanghai vs.

Reykjavik

Shanghai vs.

Cairo

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in China vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within China and United States.

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 San Francisco

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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