Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

Tuscaloosa vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Tuscaloosa is 66.3% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.0 times more in Tuscaloosa
Groceries: pay 2.3 times more in Tuscaloosa
Transportation: pay 29.9% more in Tuscaloosa
Housing: pay 65.8% more in Tuscaloosa
Childcare: pay 16.8% less in Tuscaloosa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 82.9% more in Tuscaloosa
Clothing: pay 23.9% less in Tuscaloosa

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

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Tuscaloosa vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.0 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Tuscaloosa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$17.50	+291.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$9.00	+72.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.38	+296.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.69	+356.2%
Average			+198.6%

Shanghai vs. Tuscaloosa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.3 times more for groceries

	Shanghai	Tuscaloosa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$3.67	+85.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$6.24	-27.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.15	-39.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$4.29	+153.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$6.47	+337.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$2.98	+199.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.74	-4.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$5.00	+452.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$3.10	+302.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.27	+255.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.68	+287.8%
Average			+126.2%

Shanghai vs. Tuscaloosa - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.9% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Tuscaloosa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.43	-30.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$37,359.00	+92.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$20.53	+262.3%
Average			+29.9%

Shanghai vs. Tuscaloosa - Cost of transportation

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pay 65.8% more for housing

	Shanghai	Tuscaloosa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$61.67	+484.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$1,227.67	+18.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$969.80	+64.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$120.06	+172.5%
Average			+65.8%

Shanghai vs. Tuscaloosa - Cost of housing

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pay 16.8% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Tuscaloosa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$1,083.33	-23.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$25,000.00	-9.7%
Average			-16.8%

Shanghai vs. Tuscaloosa - Cost of childcare

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pay 82.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Tuscaloosa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$6.00	+402.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$5.40	+61.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$8.44	+126.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$59.33	-9.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$15.00	+67.6%
Average			+82.9%

Shanghai vs. Tuscaloosa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 23.9% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Tuscaloosa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$41.67	-23.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$31.50	-15.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$55.67	-26.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$74.00	-30.0%
Average			-23.9%

Shanghai vs. Tuscaloosa - 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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