Cost of living comparison

compared to

Stillwater vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Stillwater is 57.8% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants
pay 2.8 times more in Stillwater
Groceries
pay 96.3% more in Stillwater
Transportation
pay 2.8% more in Stillwater
Housing
pay 59.4% more in Stillwater
Childcare
pay 23.9% less in Stillwater
Entertainment and Sports
pay 95.9% more in Stillwater
Clothing
pay 17.5% more in Stillwater

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

Stillwater vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

 
Shanghai
Stillwater
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.47
CN¥29.87
$15.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.22
CN¥34.85
$9.50
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.60
CN¥4.00
$2.19
 

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pay 96.3% more for groceries

 
Shanghai
Stillwater
Bread
1 loaf
$1.98
CN¥13.19
$2.76
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.60
CN¥57.39
$3.72
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.88
CN¥45.91
$3.51
 

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pay 2.8% more for transportation

 
Shanghai
Stillwater
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.96
CN¥33.13
$3.02
 
Monthly public transit pass $29.83
CN¥199.12
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $19,374.76
CN¥129K
$36,736.00
 

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pay 59.4% more for housing

 
Shanghai
Stillwater
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$10.55
CN¥70.42
$62.49
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,036.96
CN¥6,921.79
$1,037.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $588.71
CN¥3,929.69
$1,012.67
 

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pay 23.9% less for childcare

 
Shanghai
Stillwater
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,413.50
CN¥9,435.22
$1,075.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $27,686.22
CN¥185K
??

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pay 95.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
Shanghai
Stillwater
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.19
CN¥7.96
$4.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.35
CN¥22.36
$5.00
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.73
CN¥24.89
$8.75
 

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pay 17.5% more for clothing

 
Shanghai
Stillwater
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$54.37
CN¥362.93
$80.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.09
CN¥247.61
$38.33
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$75.49
CN¥503.90
$100.00
 

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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