Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Japan

Saitama vs. Shenzhen Cost of Living Summary

Saitama is 3.2% cheaper than Shenzhen.

Restaurants: pay 27.3% more in Saitama
Groceries: pay 40.5% more in Saitama
Transportation: pay 18.6% more in Saitama
Housing: pay 31.7% less in Saitama
Childcare: pay 14.4% less in Saitama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 25.5% more in Saitama
Clothing: pay 32.1% less in Saitama

The cost of groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Saitama are more expensive than in Shenzhen. Expenses including clothing, housing, and childcare are lower in Saitama.

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Saitama vs. Shenzhen Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Saitama instead of Shenzhen, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 27.3% more for restaurants

	Shenzhen	Saitama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$5.69 ¥900	+52.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$4.74 ¥750	-9.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 CN¥3.72	$0.71 ¥112	+28.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 CN¥2.27	$0.62 ¥97	+82.1%
Average			+27.3%

Shenzhen vs. Saitama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 40.5% more for groceries

	Shenzhen	Saitama
Bread 1 loaf	$1.60 CN¥10.72	$1.70 ¥268	+6.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.53 CN¥70.43	$5.18 ¥819	-50.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.97 CN¥39.92	$5.37 ¥849	-10.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.72 CN¥11.52	$2.04 ¥322	+18.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.22	$2.50 ¥395	+63.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 CN¥6.90	$2.58 ¥408	+150.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 CN¥4.82	$1.00 ¥158	+39.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 CN¥5.79	$1.31 ¥206	+50.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 CN¥4.39	$1.90 ¥300	+189.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 CN¥3.21	$1.17 ¥185	+143.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.57 CN¥3.85	$0.72 ¥113	+24.8%
Average			+40.5%

Shenzhen vs. Saitama - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.6% more for transportation

	Shenzhen	Saitama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.01 CN¥33.51	$4.11 ¥649	-17.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.37 CN¥149.69	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$21,434.36 ¥3M	+10.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.65 CN¥31.14	$24.67 ¥3,899	+430.2%
Average			+18.6%

Shenzhen vs. Saitama - Cost of transportation

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pay 31.7% less for housing

	Shenzhen	Saitama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.39 CN¥109.66	$32.16 ¥5,082	+96.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$759.98 CN¥5,084.90	$411.23 ¥64,980	-45.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$476.09 CN¥3,185.43	$237.25 ¥37,488	-50.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$48.84 CN¥326.76	$101.00 ¥15,960	+106.8%
Average			-31.7%

Shenzhen vs. Saitama - Cost of housing

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pay 14.4% less for childcare

	Shenzhen	Saitama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$528.93 CN¥3,539.00	$632.30 ¥99,913	+19.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,029.94 CN¥161K	$14,725.05 ¥2M	-38.7%
Average			-14.4%

Shenzhen vs. Saitama - Cost of childcare

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pay 25.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Shenzhen	Saitama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.49 CN¥9.98	$2.53 ¥400	+69.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.31 CN¥22.16	$3.01 ¥475	-9.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$3.80 ¥600	-15.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.66 CN¥332.26	$62.63 ¥9,897	+26.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.45 CN¥49.85	$11.07 ¥1,749	+48.6%
Average			+25.5%

Shenzhen vs. Saitama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.1% less for clothing

	Shenzhen	Saitama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.66 CN¥365.75	$34.80 ¥5,498	-36.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.75 CN¥265.95	$25.31 ¥3,999	-36.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.46 CN¥484.85	$55.36 ¥8,747	-23.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$91.98 CN¥615.39	$63.27 ¥9,997	-31.2%
Average			-32.1%

Shenzhen vs. Saitama - 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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