Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Santo Domingo is 6.1% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 79.8% more in Santo Domingo
Groceries: pay 12.0% more in Santo Domingo
Transportation: pay 9.5% more in Santo Domingo
Housing: pay 19.7% less in Santo Domingo
Childcare: pay 78.2% less in Santo Domingo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.0% less in Santo Domingo
Clothing: pay 9.5% more in Santo Domingo

The cost of restaurants, groceries, transportation, and clothing in Santo Domingo are more expensive than in Shanghai. Expenses including childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Santo Domingo. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Santo Domingo.

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Santo Domingo vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santo Domingo instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 79.8% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Santo Domingo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$9.95 DOP611.16	+122.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$7.54 DOP463.46	+44.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.04 DOP63.95	+73.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.57 DOP35.01	+54.1%
Average			+79.8%

Shanghai vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.0% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Santo Domingo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.51 DOP93.03	-23.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$3.62 DOP222.50	-57.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$5.19 DOP318.59	-24.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.34 DOP143.71	+37.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$2.53 DOP155.32	+71.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.45 DOP88.96	+45.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.37 DOP22.53	-52.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.24 DOP75.89	+36.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.83 DOP51.09	+8.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.91 DOP56.14	+155.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.00 DOP61.45	+130.9%
Average			+12.0%

Shanghai vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.5% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Santo Domingo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$5.38 DOP330.30	+8.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$18.24 DOP1,120.45	-38.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$23,212.79 DOP1M	+19.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$21.22 DOP1,303.80	+274.5%
Average			+9.5%

Shanghai vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of transportation

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pay 19.7% less for housing

	Shanghai	Santo Domingo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$36.30 DOP2,230.04	+244.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$721.96 DOP44,352.33	-30.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$350.20 DOP21,513.82	-40.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$70.91 DOP4,356.44	+61.0%
Average			-19.7%

Shanghai vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of housing

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pay 78.2% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Santo Domingo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$252.26 DOP15,497.20	-82.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$7,399.96 DOP455K	-73.3%
Average			-78.2%

Shanghai vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Santo Domingo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$2.49 DOP152.79	+108.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$2.27 DOP139.64	-32.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$5.32 DOP326.97	+42.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$29.64 DOP1,820.74	-54.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$7.46 DOP458.37	-16.6%
Average			-13.0%

Shanghai vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.5% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Santo Domingo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$45.80 DOP2,813.91	-15.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$46.66 DOP2,866.62	+25.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$87.04 DOP5,346.99	+15.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$124.34 DOP7,638.61	+17.6%
Average			+9.5%

Shanghai vs. Santo Domingo - 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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