Cost of living comparison

Turkey

compared to

China

China vs. Turkey Cost of Living Summary

China is 22.3% cheaper than Turkey overall.

Restaurants: pay 51.6% less in China
Groceries: pay 21.3% more in China
Transportation: pay 36.1% less in China
Housing: pay 31.0% less in China
Childcare: pay 7.2% more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.3% less in China
Clothing: pay 8.7% less in China

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

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China vs. Turkey Cost Breakdown

If you lived in China instead of Turkey, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 51.6% less for restaurants

	Turkey	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.80 TRY386.28	$3.02 CN¥20.18	-61.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.25 TRY408.38	$5.16 CN¥34.52	-37.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.28 TRY63.31	$0.51 CN¥3.39	-60.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.44 TRY22.00	$0.29 CN¥1.97	-33.6%
Average			-51.6%

Turkey vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.3% more for groceries

	Turkey	China
Bread 1 loaf	$0.96 TRY47.63	$1.66 CN¥11.09	+72.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.58 TRY226.89	$6.71 CN¥44.88	+46.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.74 TRY185.39	$6.65 CN¥44.53	+77.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.15 TRY106.63	$1.57 CN¥10.47	-27.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.91 TRY94.53	$1.52 CN¥10.14	-20.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.80 TRY39.56	$0.83 CN¥5.55	+3.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86 TRY42.40	$0.59 CN¥3.92	-31.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.46 TRY22.93	$0.67 CN¥4.46	+43.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 TRY27.10	$0.58 CN¥3.90	+6.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 TRY11.59	$0.33 CN¥2.18	+39.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.19 TRY9.29	$0.40 CN¥2.67	+112.8%
Average			+21.3%

Turkey vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 36.1% less for transportation

	Turkey	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.08 TRY251.45	$4.77 CN¥31.92	-6.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$32.35 TRY1,602.00	$20.77 CN¥138.99	-35.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$43,081.17 TRY2M	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	-56.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.30 TRY410.92	$4.24 CN¥28.39	-48.9%
Average			-36.1%

Turkey vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 31.0% less for housing

	Turkey	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.65 TRY675.87	$11.27 CN¥75.42	-17.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$475.20 TRY23,529.06	$336.09 CN¥2,248.74	-29.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$347.61 TRY17,211.40	$212.64 CN¥1,422.74	-38.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$51.15 TRY2,532.59	$42.92 CN¥287.14	-16.1%
Average			-31.0%

Turkey vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 7.2% more for childcare

	Turkey	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$606.51 TRY30,030.78	$500.54 CN¥3,348.99	-17.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,566.63 TRY672K	$18,908.16 CN¥127K	+39.4%
Average			+7.2%

Turkey vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Turkey	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.02 TRY149.34	$1.12 CN¥7.52	-62.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.43 TRY169.90	$2.84 CN¥19.00	-17.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.16 TRY106.77	$3.71 CN¥24.79	+71.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$53.35 TRY2,641.36	$41.75 CN¥279.37	-21.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.91 TRY292.72	$6.28 CN¥41.99	+6.2%
Average			-20.3%

Turkey vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.7% less for clothing

	Turkey	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.05 TRY2,230.83	$46.40 CN¥310.43	+3.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.92 TRY1,927.26	$33.97 CN¥227.29	-12.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.74 TRY4,492.86	$73.79 CN¥493.72	-18.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$83.15 TRY4,117.06	$78.93 CN¥528.10	-5.1%
Average			-8.7%

Turkey vs. China - 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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