Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

South Korea

Ulsan vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Ulsan is 3.1% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 40.0% more in Ulsan
Groceries: pay 2.5 times more in Ulsan
Transportation: pay 28.6% more in Ulsan
Housing: pay 41.1% less in Ulsan
Childcare: pay 61.9% less in Ulsan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.0% more in Ulsan
Clothing: pay 10.3% less in Ulsan

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

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Ulsan vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.0% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Ulsan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$7.46 ₩9,962	+66.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$5.97 ₩7,970	+14.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$0.90 ₩1,195	+49.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.45 ₩598	+21.1%
Average			+40.0%

Shanghai vs. Ulsan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.5 times more for groceries

	Shanghai	Ulsan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$3.17 ₩4,234	+60.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$5.50 ₩7,347	-36.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$8.67 ₩11,573	+26.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.66 ₩3,556	+56.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.74 ₩6,326	+220.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$5.08 ₩6,778	+411.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$1.65 ₩2,203	+114.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$3.68 ₩4,906	+306.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$2.69 ₩3,593	+249.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$2.71 ₩3,615	+656.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.51 ₩2,011	+247.8%
Average			+152.6%

Shanghai vs. Ulsan - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.6% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Ulsan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$5.24 ₩6,996	+5.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$29,385.60 ₩39M	+51.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$8.88 ₩11,855	+56.7%
Average			+28.6%

Shanghai vs. Ulsan - Cost of transportation

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pay 41.1% less for housing

	Shanghai	Ulsan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$27.06 ₩36,114	+156.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$373.20 ₩498K	-64.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$242.58 ₩324K	-58.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$152.90 ₩204K	+247.1%
Average			-41.1%

Shanghai vs. Ulsan - Cost of housing

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pay 61.9% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Ulsan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$261.24 ₩349K	-81.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$21,781.84 ₩29M	-21.3%
Average			-61.9%

Shanghai vs. Ulsan - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Ulsan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$2.99 ₩3,985	+150.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$3.36 ₩4,483	+0.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$3.17 ₩4,234	-14.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$59.71 ₩79,700	-9.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$10.45 ₩13,947	+16.8%
Average			+20.0%

Shanghai vs. Ulsan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.3% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Ulsan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$52.17 ₩69,637	-4.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$44.71 ₩59,675	+20.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$59.71 ₩79,700	-20.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$74.64 ₩99,624	-29.4%
Average			-10.3%

Shanghai vs. Ulsan - 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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