Cost of living comparison

compared to

Wilmington vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Wilmington is 86.9% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants
pay 3.2 times more in Wilmington
Groceries
pay 60.8% more in Wilmington
Transportation
pay 43.6% more in Wilmington
Housing
pay 2.6 times more in Wilmington
Childcare
pay 6.4% more in Wilmington
Entertainment and Sports
pay 38.8% more in Wilmington
Clothing
pay 4.7% less in Wilmington

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

Wilmington vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

pay 3.2 times more for restaurants

 
Shanghai
Wilmington
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.47
CN¥29.95
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.22
CN¥34.94
$10.25
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.60
CN¥4.01
$2.25
 

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pay 60.8% more for groceries

 
Shanghai
Wilmington
Bread
1 loaf
$1.98
CN¥13.22
$2.97
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.60
CN¥57.54
$4.80
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.88
CN¥46.03
$4.36
 

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pay 43.6% more for transportation

 
Shanghai
Wilmington
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.96
CN¥33.22
$3.96
 
Monthly public transit pass $29.83
CN¥199.65
$60.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $19,374.76
CN¥130K
$35,000.00
 

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pay 2.6 times more for housing

 
Shanghai
Wilmington
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$10.55
CN¥70.61
$60.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,036.96
CN¥6,940.04
$1,850.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $588.71
CN¥3,940.05
$1,600.00
 

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pay 6.4% more for childcare

 
Shanghai
Wilmington
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,413.50
CN¥9,460.10
$1,600.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $27,686.22
CN¥185K
$27,666.67
 

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pay 38.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Shanghai
Wilmington
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.19
CN¥7.99
$4.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.35
CN¥22.42
$4.81
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.73
CN¥24.96
$11.00
 

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pay 4.7% less for clothing

 
Shanghai
Wilmington
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$54.37
CN¥363.89
$37.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.09
CN¥248.26
$47.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$75.49
CN¥505.23
$82.50
 

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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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