Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Wanganui Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 8.7% cheaper than Wanganui.

Restaurants: pay 59.8% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 13.7% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 21.7% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 20.4% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 61.8% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.5% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 8.4% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Wanganui Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 59.8% less for restaurants

	Wanganui	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.04 NZ$21.15	$4.47 CN¥29.86	-62.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.40 NZ$14.75	$5.22 CN¥34.84	-37.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.24 NZ$3.93	$0.60 CN¥4.00	-73.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.96 NZ$3.44	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-81.1%
Average			-59.8%

Wanganui vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.7% less for groceries

	Wanganui	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$0.97 NZ$1.71	$1.98 CN¥13.18	+102.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.80 NZ$4.91	$8.60 CN¥57.38	+207.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.04 NZ$8.84	$6.88 CN¥45.90	+36.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.34 NZ$9.37	$1.70 CN¥11.33	-68.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.30 NZ$5.80	$1.48 CN¥9.86	-55.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.01 NZ$1.78	$0.99 CN¥6.63	-2.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86 NZ$1.51	$0.77 CN¥5.14	-10.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 NZ$1.47	$0.90 CN¥6.03	+8.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.52 NZ$2.67	$0.77 CN¥5.13	-49.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.75 NZ$1.31	$0.36 CN¥2.39	-52.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 NZ$1.07	$0.43 CN¥2.89	-28.7%
Average			-13.7%

Wanganui vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.7% less for transportation

	Wanganui	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.95 NZ$10.45	$4.96 CN¥33.13	-16.6%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$29.83 CN¥199.09
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,604.12 NZ$46,710.77	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-27.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$5.67 CN¥37.83
Average			-21.7%

Wanganui vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.4% more for housing

	Wanganui	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$47.34 NZ$83.11	$10.55 CN¥70.41	-77.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$896.33 NZ$1,573.75	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	+15.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$224.08 NZ$393.44	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	+162.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$149.94 NZ$263.26	$44.06 CN¥294.03	-70.6%
Average			+20.4%

Wanganui vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 61.8% more for childcare

	Wanganui	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$667.20 NZ$1,171.46	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	+111.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,408.19 NZ$39,343.66	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+23.6%
Average			+61.8%

Wanganui vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Wanganui	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.55 NZ$9.74	$1.19 CN¥7.96	-78.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.36 NZ$5.90	$3.35 CN¥22.36	-0.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$22.91 NZ$40.23	$3.73 CN¥24.89	-83.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.61 NZ$59.02	$65.69 CN¥438.41	+95.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.60 NZ$9.84	$8.95 CN¥59.73	+59.7%
Average			-18.5%

Wanganui vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.4% less for clothing

	Wanganui	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.62 NZ$108.20	$54.37 CN¥362.87	-11.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.81 NZ$66.39	$37.09 CN¥247.57	-1.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$93.83 NZ$164.75	$75.49 CN¥503.82	-19.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$104.57 NZ$183.60	$105.70 CN¥705.47	+1.1%
Average			-8.4%

Wanganui vs. Shanghai - 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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