Cost of Living Comparison

  1. Cost of Living
  2. United States
  3. China
  4. Comparison
USD
COMPARED TO
CNY

China is 34.1% cheaper than United States.

If you lived in China instead of United States, you would:
local_dining

pay 65.8% less for restaurants

  United States help_outline China help_outline  
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.02 $3.38
CN¥22.94
-75.9%
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $7.68 $5.09
CN¥34.49
-33.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.89 $0.50
CN¥3.37
-73.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) $1.53 $0.31
CN¥2.09
-79.8%
Average -65.8%
United States vs. China - Cost of restaurants
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
local_grocery_store

pay 28.3% less for groceries

  United States help_outline China help_outline  
Bread
1 loaf
 $2.69 $1.67
CN¥11.34
-37.9%
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.53 $6.37
CN¥43.23
+15.3%
Milk (1 gallon) $3.20 $7.30
CN¥49.52
+127.9%
Eggs
1 dozen
 $2.34 $1.88
CN¥12.72
-19.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) $4.12 $1.90
CN¥12.89
-53.8%
Apples (1 lb) $2.11 $0.88
CN¥5.94
-58.4%
Bananas (1 lb) $0.77 $0.56
CN¥3.82
-26.4%
Oranges (1 lb) $1.93 $0.85
CN¥5.77
-55.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb) $1.97 $0.59
CN¥4.00
-70.0%
Potatoes (1 lb) $1.30 $0.44
CN¥2.97
-66.2%
Onions (1 lb) $1.29 $0.44
CN¥2.98
-65.9%
Average -28.3%
United States vs. China - Cost of groceries
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
drive_eta

pay 26.6% less for transportation

  United States help_outline China help_outline  
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.62 $3.98
CN¥27.02
+52.3%
Monthly public transit pass $63.87 $17.52
CN¥118.82
-72.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $23,180.29 $20,890.38
CN¥141,686.89
-9.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) $17.33 $4.09
CN¥27.77
-76.4%
Average -26.6%
United States vs. China - Cost of transportation
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
home

pay 73.7% less for housing

  United States help_outline China help_outline  
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $67.35 $13.68
CN¥92.76
-79.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,222.86 $374.47
CN¥2,539.80
-69.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,029.07 $233.99
CN¥1,587.05
-77.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
 $127.79 $40.53
CN¥274.86
-68.3%
Average -73.7%
United States vs. China - Cost of housing
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
child_care

pay 22.5% less for childcare

  United States help_outline China help_outline  
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $886.13 $428.59
CN¥2,906.85
-51.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $15,193.33 $16,190.61
CN¥109,811.20
+6.6%
Average -22.5%
United States vs. China - Cost of childcare
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
gamepad

pay 37.6% less for entertainment and sports

  United States help_outline China help_outline  
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.50 $1.02
CN¥6.89
-77.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.17 $3.84
CN¥26.06
-7.9%
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $7.76 $3.18
CN¥21.54
-59.0%
Monthly membership at local gym $39.15 $40.09
CN¥271.89
+2.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema $11.52 $6.20
CN¥42.03
-46.2%
Average -37.6%
United States vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
store

pay 15.9% more for clothing

  United States help_outline China help_outline  
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $43.40 $64.09
CN¥434.70
+47.7%
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $36.02 $37.80
CN¥256.39
+4.9%
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $75.12 $91.61
CN¥621.35
+22.0%
Men's business shoes (leather) $95.18 $84.88
CN¥575.66
-10.8%
Average +15.9%
United States vs. China - Cost of clothing
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2021
More cost of living comparisons
United States vs. India
United States vs. Vietnam
United States vs. Ireland
China vs. Greece
China vs. Algeria
China vs. Iceland
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location (Ashburn, VA, United States) to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more
Contribute prices for China
Narrow your comparison by city:
Select a city in United States:
Select a city in China:
For example, try comparing the cost of living in Washington vs. Beijing
question_answer HAVE A QUESTION? ASK THE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about China. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.