Tempe vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Tempe is 96.8% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants
pay 3.8 times more in Tempe
Groceries
pay 97.0% more in Tempe
Transportation
pay 52.7% more in Tempe
Housing
pay 2.5 times more in Tempe
Childcare
pay 33.8% less in Tempe
Entertainment and Sports
pay 54.2% more in Tempe
Clothing
pay 17.1% more in Tempe

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

Tempe vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

pay 3.8 times more for restaurants

 
Shanghai
Tempe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.47
CN¥29.79
$19.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.22
CN¥34.75
$13.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.60
CN¥3.99
$3.19
 

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pay 97.0% more for groceries

 
Shanghai
Tempe
Bread
1 loaf
$1.98
CN¥13.15
$4.16
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.60
CN¥57.24
$6.76
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.88
CN¥45.79
$3.72
 

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pay 52.7% more for transportation

 
Shanghai
Tempe
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.96
CN¥33.05
$4.37
 
Monthly public transit pass $29.83
CN¥198.59
$64.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $19,374.76
CN¥129K
$36,293.00
 

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pay 2.5 times more for housing

 
Shanghai
Tempe
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$10.55
CN¥70.24
$77.73
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,036.96
CN¥6,903.44
$1,866.67
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $588.71
CN¥3,919.27
$1,466.67
 

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pay 33.8% less for childcare

 
Shanghai
Tempe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,413.50
CN¥9,410.21
$1,100.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $27,686.22
CN¥184K
$15,605.00
 

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pay 54.2% more for entertainment and sports

 
Shanghai
Tempe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.19
CN¥7.94
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.35
CN¥22.30
$5.33
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.73
CN¥24.82
$10.69
 

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pay 17.1% more for clothing

 
Shanghai
Tempe
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$54.37
CN¥361.97
$61.67
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.09
CN¥246.96
$43.74
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$75.49
CN¥502.56
$98.18
 

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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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