Cost of living comparison

compared to

China vs. Virgin Islands Cost of Living Summary

China is 61.0% cheaper than Virgin Islands overall.

Restaurants: pay 78.5% less in China
Groceries: pay 72.1% less in China
Transportation: pay 58.2% less in China
Housing: pay 84.3% less in China
Childcare: pay 34.6% less in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 56.3% less in China
Clothing: pay 43.1% less in China

Expenses including housing, restaurants, groceries, transportation, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in China.

China vs. Virgin Islands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in China instead of Virgin Islands, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 78.5% less for restaurants

	Virgin Islands	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$25.50	$2.90 CN¥20.50	-88.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.48	$5.02 CN¥35.49	-52.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.10	$0.47 CN¥3.36	-84.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.42	$0.28 CN¥1.96	-88.6%
Average			-78.5%

Virgin Islands vs. China - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 72.1% less for groceries

	Virgin Islands	China
Bread 1 loaf	$6.43	$1.63 CN¥11.52	-74.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.40	$6.32 CN¥44.71	-24.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.85	$6.70 CN¥47.44	-31.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.46	$1.56 CN¥11.05	-79.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.78	$1.52 CN¥10.78	-87.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$4.66	$0.74 CN¥5.25	-84.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$2.67	$0.55 CN¥3.86	-79.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.50	$0.62 CN¥4.41	-82.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$4.69	$0.50 CN¥3.57	-89.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.28	$0.30 CN¥2.13	-76.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$2.53	$0.39 CN¥2.79	-84.4%
Average			-72.1%

Virgin Islands vs. China - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 58.2% less for transportation

	Virgin Islands	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.28	$4.34 CN¥30.68	-17.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$60.00	$20.32 CN¥143.78	-66.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$45,000.00	$19,143.98 CN¥135,449.43	-57.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$44.85	$3.94 CN¥27.89	-91.2%
Average			-58.2%

Virgin Islands vs. China - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 84.3% less for housing

	Virgin Islands	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$98.46	$11.18 CN¥79.08	-88.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,513.89	$304.90 CN¥2,157.22	-79.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,216.50	$195.65 CN¥1,384.25	-83.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$272.68	$41.04 CN¥290.39	-84.9%
Average			-84.3%

Virgin Islands vs. China - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 34.6% less for childcare

	Virgin Islands	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,287.50	$390.25 CN¥2,761.13	-69.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,433.33	$15,493.57 CN¥109,621.66	+0.4%
Average			-34.6%

Virgin Islands vs. China - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 56.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Virgin Islands	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.50	$1.04 CN¥7.37	-84.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.93	$2.84 CN¥20.07	-59.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.50	$3.36 CN¥23.77	-25.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$118.33	$41.13 CN¥290.99	-65.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.50	$5.98 CN¥42.33	-48.0%
Average			-56.3%

Virgin Islands vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 43.1% less for clothing

	Virgin Islands	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.67	$45.93 CN¥324.95	-35.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$62.33	$30.93 CN¥218.85	-50.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$146.25	$71.26 CN¥504.18	-51.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.67	$72.88 CN¥515.65	-34.7%
Average			-43.1%

Virgin Islands 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: December 2025

More cost comparisons

Virgin Islands vs.

Iceland

Virgin Islands vs.

Ukraine

Virgin Islands vs.

Australia

Virgin Islands vs.

Vietnam

Virgin Islands vs.

Ecuador

Virgin Islands vs.

Russia

Virgin Islands vs.

Greece

Virgin Islands vs.

Germany

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Charlotte Amalie vs. Beijing

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Virgin Islands

Add prices for China

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about China or Virgin Islands. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.