Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

France

Valence vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Valence is 24.2% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.8 times more in Valence
Groceries: pay 62.6% more in Valence
Transportation: pay 49.1% more in Valence
Housing: pay 17.7% less in Valence
Childcare: pay 50.1% less in Valence
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.2% more in Valence
Clothing: pay 55.5% more in Valence

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

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Valence vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Valence
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$13.44 €11.96	+200.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$9.52 €8.47	+82.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.97 €2.64	+395.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.99 €1.77	+438.2%
Average			+181.0%

Shanghai vs. Valence - Cost of restaurants

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pay 62.6% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Valence
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.12 €1.00	-43.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$9.41 €8.37	+9.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.24 €3.77	-38.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$3.69 €3.29	+117.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$6.31 €5.62	+327.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.33 €1.18	+33.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$1.10 €0.98	+43.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.32 €1.17	+45.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.77 €1.57	+129.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.08 €0.96	+202.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.32 €1.18	+205.4%
Average			+62.6%

Shanghai vs. Valence - Cost of groceries

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pay 49.1% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Valence
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$8.28 €7.37	+66.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$22.39 €19.93	-24.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$34,599.83 €30,795.09	+78.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$18.48 €16.44	+226.0%
Average			+49.1%

Shanghai vs. Valence - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.7% less for housing

	Shanghai	Valence
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$27.99 €24.92	+165.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$531.87 €473.39	-48.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$447.89 €398.64	-23.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$107.03 €95.26	+142.9%
Average			-17.7%

Shanghai vs. Valence - Cost of housing

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pay 50.1% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Valence
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$744.93 €663.02	-47.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$13,082.24 €11,643.67	-52.7%
Average			-50.1%

Shanghai vs. Valence - Cost of childcare

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pay 42.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Valence
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$5.60 €4.98	+369.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$3.64 €3.24	+8.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$13.83 €12.31	+270.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$27.62 €24.58	-58.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$14.00 €12.46	+56.4%
Average			+42.2%

Shanghai vs. Valence - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 55.5% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Valence
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$78.38 €69.76	+44.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$64.65 €57.54	+74.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$103.58 €92.19	+37.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$179.16 €159.46	+69.5%
Average			+55.5%

Shanghai vs. Valence - 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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