Cost of living comparison
compared to
Shanghai vs. Waterloo Cost of Living Summary
Shanghai is 26.8% cheaper than Waterloo.
Shanghai vs. Waterloo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Shanghai instead of Waterloo, you would:
pay 66.1% less for restaurants
|
Waterloo
|
Shanghai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.00
|
$4.47
CN¥29.87
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.00
|
$5.22
CN¥34.85
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.65
|
$0.60
CN¥4.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$0.37
CN¥2.47
|
|
Waterloo vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants
pay 36.1% less for groceries
|
Waterloo
|
Shanghai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.37
|
$1.98
CN¥13.19
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.61
|
$8.60
CN¥57.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.64
|
$6.88
CN¥45.91
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.69
|
$1.70
CN¥11.33
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.98
|
$1.48
CN¥9.87
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.13
|
$0.99
CN¥6.63
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.71
|
$0.77
CN¥5.14
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$0.90
CN¥6.03
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.99
|
$0.77
CN¥5.14
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.51
|
$0.36
CN¥2.39
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$0.43
CN¥2.89
|
|
Waterloo vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries
pay 24.7% less for transportation
|
Waterloo
|
Shanghai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.74
|
$4.96
CN¥33.13
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$29.83
CN¥199.12
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,957.00
|
$19,374.76
CN¥129K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.00
|
$5.67
CN¥37.83
|
|
Waterloo vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation
pay 21.9% less for housing
|
Waterloo
|
Shanghai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$60.00
|
$10.55
CN¥70.42
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$851.67
|
$1,036.96
CN¥6,921.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$746.50
|
$588.71
CN¥3,929.69
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$114.71
|
$44.06
CN¥294.08
|
|
Waterloo vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing
pay 1.5% less for childcare
|
Waterloo
|
Shanghai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,722.92
|
$1,413.50
CN¥9,435.22
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,429.75
|
$27,686.22
CN¥185K
|
|
Waterloo vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare
pay 28.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Waterloo
|
Shanghai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.00
|
$1.19
CN¥7.96
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.73
|
$3.35
CN¥22.36
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.11
|
$3.73
CN¥24.89
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$27.00
|
$65.69
CN¥438.48
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$8.95
CN¥59.74
|
|
Waterloo vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 83.2% more for clothing
|
Waterloo
|
Shanghai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$20.00
|
$54.37
CN¥362.93
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$15.00
|
$37.09
CN¥247.61
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$59.50
|
$75.49
CN¥503.90
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$80.00
|
$105.70
CN¥705.59
|
|
Waterloo vs. Shanghai - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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