Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Japan

Sapporo vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Sapporo is 2.6% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 43.4% more in Sapporo
Groceries: pay 38.3% more in Sapporo
Transportation: pay 21.5% more in Sapporo
Housing: pay 25.1% less in Sapporo
Childcare: pay 71.4% less in Sapporo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.0% more in Sapporo
Clothing: pay 24.3% less in Sapporo

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

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Sapporo vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 43.4% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Sapporo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$6.33 ¥992	+41.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$5.38 ¥844	+3.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$1.71 ¥268	+184.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.91 ¥142	+145.2%
Average			+43.4%

Shanghai vs. Sapporo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 38.3% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Sapporo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$1.38 ¥217	-30.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$4.74 ¥744	-44.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$6.00 ¥941	-12.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$1.74 ¥273	+2.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$3.16 ¥495	+113.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.43 ¥225	+44.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$1.38 ¥217	+79.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$1.43 ¥225	+58.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$1.91 ¥299	+147.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.95 ¥150	+166.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.76 ¥120	+76.3%
Average			+38.3%

Shanghai vs. Sapporo - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.5% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Sapporo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$4.10 ¥643	-17.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$47.45 ¥7,443	+59.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$21,725.38 ¥3M	+12.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$17.30 ¥2,714	+205.3%
Average			+21.5%

Shanghai vs. Sapporo - Cost of transportation

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pay 25.1% less for housing

	Shanghai	Sapporo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$47.45 ¥7,443	+349.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$455.51 ¥71,454	-56.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$278.37 ¥43,666	-52.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$257.02 ¥40,318	+483.4%
Average			-25.1%

Shanghai vs. Sapporo - Cost of housing

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pay 71.4% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Sapporo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$316.33 ¥49,621	-77.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$10,122.48 ¥2M	-63.4%
Average			-71.4%

Shanghai vs. Sapporo - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Sapporo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$4.27 ¥670	+257.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$4.85 ¥761	+44.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$3.92 ¥615	+5.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$49.35 ¥7,741	-24.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$12.02 ¥1,886	+34.3%
Average			+40.0%

Shanghai vs. Sapporo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.3% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Sapporo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$37.96 ¥5,954	-30.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$25.27 ¥3,965	-31.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$47.45 ¥7,443	-37.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$115.99 ¥18,194	+9.7%
Average			-24.3%

Shanghai vs. Sapporo - 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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