Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

Virginia Beach vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Virginia Beach is 91.5% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.5 times more in Virginia Beach
Groceries: pay 78.0% more in Virginia Beach
Transportation: pay 50.1% more in Virginia Beach
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in Virginia Beach
Childcare: pay 18.7% less in Virginia Beach
Entertainment and Sports: pay 64.5% more in Virginia Beach
Clothing: pay 24.4% more in Virginia Beach

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

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Virginia Beach vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Virginia Beach instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.5 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Virginia Beach
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$18.00	+302.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$12.00	+129.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.75	+358.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$2.12	+474.5%
Average			+247.2%

Shanghai vs. Virginia Beach - Cost of restaurants

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pay 78.0% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Virginia Beach
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$3.11	+57.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$5.14	-40.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$3.82	-44.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$4.79	+181.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.46	+201.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.16	+16.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.72	-7.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$2.29	+153.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$2.63	+241.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.04	+189.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$2.04	+371.5%
Average			+78.0%

Shanghai vs. Virginia Beach - Cost of groceries

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pay 50.1% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Virginia Beach
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.81	-23.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$70.00	+134.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$36,227.00	+87.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$15.09	+166.2%
Average			+50.1%

Shanghai vs. Virginia Beach - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

	Shanghai	Virginia Beach
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$66.25	+528.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$1,826.25	+76.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$1,438.00	+144.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$160.11	+263.4%
Average			+138.5%

Shanghai vs. Virginia Beach - Cost of housing

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pay 18.7% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Virginia Beach
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$1,606.52	+13.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$16,105.33	-41.8%
Average			-18.7%

Shanghai vs. Virginia Beach - Cost of childcare

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pay 64.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Virginia Beach
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$6.00	+402.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$5.92	+76.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$9.11	+144.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$43.75	-33.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$12.00	+34.1%
Average			+64.5%

Shanghai vs. Virginia Beach - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.4% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Virginia Beach
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$61.23	+12.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$47.33	+27.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$118.06	+56.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$112.50	+6.4%
Average			+24.4%

Shanghai vs. Virginia Beach - 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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