Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dongguan and Karaganda

For one person, living is cheaper in Dongguan: $815 a month against $929 in Karaganda, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Dongguan
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Dongguan Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Karaganda
Learn more

Karaganda Living Index

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Dongguan

🇨🇳 China

$815

/mo nomad

Karaganda

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$929

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dongguan and in Karaganda

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Dongguan and in Karaganda actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $815 in Dongguan versus $929 in Karaganda.

Dongguan $815
Karaganda $929

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,295 in Dongguan versus $1,498 in Karaganda.

Dongguan $1,295
Karaganda $1,498

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,775 in Dongguan versus $2,067 in Karaganda.

Dongguan $1,775
Karaganda $2,067

Living in Dongguan costs roughly 12% less than in Karaganda, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dongguan 40% lower, Karaganda 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.64 ¥17.64

$9.92 ₸4,483

-73.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.83 ¥153

$34.77 ₸15.7K

-34.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.20 ¥34.75

$5.62 ₸2,540

-7.47%

Cappuccino

$2.61 ¥17.44

$1.90 ₸861

37.37%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.48 ¥3.18

$0.87 ₸392

-44.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.09

$0.64 ₸290

-51.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.88 ¥5.90

$1.37 ₸618

-35.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 ¥14.88

$2.81 ₸1,271

-20.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 ¥10.61

$1.33 ₸602

19.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.63 ¥10.93

$0.48 ₸219

239.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.97 ¥6.50

$1.34 ₸605

-27.61%

Eggs

$1.59 ¥10.66

$1.87 ₸845

-14.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.14 ¥141

$13.37 ₸6,043

58.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.28 ¥21.96

$5.55 ₸2,510

-40.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.27 ¥95.4

$11.16 ₸5,043

27.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 ¥15.03

$1.51 ₸683

49.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 ¥10.45

$1.89 ₸857

-17.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 ¥12.39

$2.78 ₸1,255

-33.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ¥9.98

$2.09 ₸944

-28.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 ¥6.95

$0.63 ₸284

65.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 ¥8.30

$0.54 ₸245

129.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 ¥3.75

$1.04 ₸469

-46.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ¥3.90

$0.70 ₸315

-17.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 ¥29.79

$2.18 ₸985

104.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.18 ¥81.5

$8.40 ₸3,798

45.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 ¥6.17

$1.36 ₸616

-32.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 ¥11.74

$2.11 ₸955

-16.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 ¥2.37

$0.23 ₸104

52.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.38 ¥150

$15.45 ₸6,982

44.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ¥7.86

$1.23 ₸558

-4.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 ¥2.75

$1.24 ₸562

-66.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.44 ¥29.68

$3.22 ₸1,457

37.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ¥8.77

$0.52 ₸236

151.92%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$19.3K ¥129.0K

$21.6K ₸9.8M

-10.82%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$17.6K ¥117.9K

$32.3K ₸14.6M

-45.33%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$63.1 ¥422

$72.6 ₸32.8K

-13.12%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$9.11 ¥60.9

$9.86 ₸4,457

-7.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.96 ¥86.7

$11.82 ₸5,342

9.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 ¥345

$45.55 ₸20.6K

13.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.09 ¥108

$18.09 ₸8,179

-11.06%

Cinema Ticket

$7.53 ¥50.3

$5.29 ₸2,390

42.34%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$531 ¥3,550

$133 ₸59.9K

300.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.3K ¥162.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.78 ¥313

$60.5 ₸27.4K

-22.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.30 ¥269

$57.6 ₸26.0K

-30.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.5 ¥485

$79.0 ₸35.7K

-8.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$39.04 ¥261

$85.7 ₸38.7K

-54.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$380 ¥2,538

$400 ₸180.6K

-5.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$219 ¥1,461

$274 ₸123.7K

-20.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$662 ¥4,423

$730 ₸330.1K

-9.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$431 ¥2,884

$543 ₸245.7K

-20.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,650 ¥37.8K

$1,053 ₸475.8K

436.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,075 ¥20.6K

$695 ₸314.0K

342.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$856 ¥5,725

$566 ₸256.1K

51.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.35

19.25

-82.60%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Dongguan: October 19, 2026

Last update for Karaganda: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Dongguan

$248 30.4%

Karaganda

$216 23.3% 12.8% $32

Accommodation & Living

Dongguan

$219 26.8%

Karaganda

$274 29.5% 25.3% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Dongguan

$89 11%

Karaganda

$127 13.7% 42.4% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dongguan

$85 10.5%

Karaganda

$94 10.2% 10.7% $9.1

Eating Out

Dongguan

$80 9.8%

Karaganda

$138 14.8% 71.9% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Dongguan

$67 8.2%

Karaganda

$56 6% 15.8% $11

Getting Around

Dongguan

$27 3.3%

Karaganda

$24 2.6% 11.9% $3.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $380 in Dongguan and $400 in Karaganda. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dongguan pays 51% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23.00 in Dongguan vs $35.00 in Karaganda. Groceries flip the comparison at $248 vs $216, with Karaganda cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Dongguan

🇰🇿 Karaganda

🕒 Local time

19:37 7:37 PM

17:37 5:37 PM

2 h behind Dongguan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,254,100

520,486

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 452 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD). 1 EUR = 508 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

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Dongguan Karaganda 4,610 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Dongguan
Karaganda

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Dongguan vs Karaganda: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dongguan is cheaper overall, especially in clothing and eating out. The 14% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 51% higher in Dongguan, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $380 in Dongguan versus $400 in Karaganda. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Dongguan runs roughly 45% less than in Karaganda. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $531 in Dongguan versus $133 in Karaganda. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Dongguan gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Dongguan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Karaganda. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.