Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Haikou and Dushanbe

For one person, living is cheaper in Haikou: $806 a month against $948 in Dushanbe, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Haikou
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Haikou Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Dushanbe
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Dushanbe Living Index

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Haikou

🇨🇳 China

$806

/mo nomad

Dushanbe

🇹🇯 Tajikistan

$948

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Haikou and in Dushanbe

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

A single person spends $806 per month in Haikou vs $948 in Dushanbe, rent included.

Haikou $806
Dushanbe $948

A couple spends around $1,152 per month in Haikou vs $1,410 in Dushanbe, rent included.

Haikou $1,152
Dushanbe $1,410

A family of three spends $1,497 per month in Haikou vs $1,872 in Dushanbe, rent included.

Haikou $1,497
Dushanbe $1,872

Haikou is about 15% cheaper than Dushanbe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Haikou and Dushanbe are more affordable than the global median – Haikou 40% lower, Dushanbe 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ¥29.41

$4.83 TJS 44.62

-8.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.72 ¥98.3

$20.59 TJS 190

-28.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.02 ¥40.20

$5.58 TJS 51.5

7.89%

Cappuccino

$2.43 ¥16.23

$1.82 TJS 16.85

33.52%

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

$0.86 ¥5.73

$0.61 TJS 5.65

40.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 ¥2.26

$0.33 TJS 3.08

3.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 ¥10.05

$1.16 TJS 10.73

30.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 ¥18.15

$2.46 TJS 22.73

10.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 ¥14.24

$1.06 TJS 9.78

100.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 ¥9.89

$0.59 TJS 5.44

150.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.66 ¥4.39

$2.32 TJS 21.46

-71.55%

Eggs

$1.36 ¥9.06

$1.76 TJS 16.29

-22.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.19 TJS 103

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.92 ¥26.20

$4.45 TJS 41.08

-11.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.42 ¥103

$11.72 TJS 108

31.57%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 ¥11.29

$1.92 TJS 17.71

-11.98%

Banana (1kg)

$0.87 ¥5.79

$2.92 TJS 26.96

-70.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.11 ¥7.39

$2.73 TJS 25.19

-59.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.23

$1.22 TJS 11.28

-23.77%

Potato (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.94

$0.60 TJS 5.53

48.33%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.85

$0.41 TJS 3.75

78.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.47 ¥3.11

$1.25 TJS 11.53

-62.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 ¥3.83

$0.66 TJS 6.11

-13.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.09 ¥20.65

$3.89 TJS 35.91

-20.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.76 ¥58.5

$11.41 TJS 105

-23.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 ¥3.83

$1.53 TJS 14.11

-62.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 ¥8.22

$2.08 TJS 19.25

-40.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 ¥6.16

$0.26 TJS 2.39

253.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ¥356

$32.21 TJS 298

65.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.19 ¥14.64

$1.11 TJS 10.23

97.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ¥2.86

$0.31 TJS 2.91

38.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.58 TJS 60.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 ¥8.14

$1.18 TJS 10.87

3.39%

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

$16.4K TJS 151.8K

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

$24.5K TJS 226.6K

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

$35.41 ¥236

$67.7 TJS 625

-47.66%

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

$13.21 ¥88.2

$10.12 TJS 93.5

30.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.38 ¥89.3

$17.24 TJS 159

-22.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.67 ¥305

$46.46 TJS 429

-1.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.33 ¥42.30

$14.20 TJS 131

-55.42%

Cinema Ticket

$4.50 ¥30.06

$5.40 TJS 49.90

-16.67%

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

$862 ¥5,753

$83.7 TJS 773

929.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.5K ¥130.2K

$5,749 TJS 53.1K

239.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.00 ¥180

$24.06 TJS 222

12.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.89 ¥233

$52.3 TJS 483

-33.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.76 ¥299

$79.0 TJS 729

-43.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.57 ¥251

$57.2 TJS 528

-34.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ¥2,519

$635 TJS 5,867

-40.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$294 ¥1,964

$354 TJS 3,269

-16.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$570 ¥3,803

$882 TJS 8,147

-35.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$369 ¥2,466

$569 TJS 5,253

-35.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,154 ¥21.1K

$1,290 TJS 11.9K

144.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,183 ¥14.6K

$709 TJS 6,547

207.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$727 ¥4,852

$435 TJS 4,017

67.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

23.17

-83.38%

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

Last update for Haikou: October 12, 2026

Last update for Dushanbe: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Haikou

$294 36.5%

Dushanbe

$354 37.4% 20.3% $60

Groceries & Markets

Haikou

$169 * 20.9%

Dushanbe

$218 23% 29.4% $50

Eating Out

Haikou

$100 12.4%

Dushanbe

$92 9.7% 8.4% $8.4

Clothing & Footwear

Haikou

$65 8.1%

Dushanbe

$96 10.1% 47.3% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Haikou

$62 7.7%

Dushanbe

$95 10% 53.3% $33

Getting Around

Haikou

$61 7.6%

Dushanbe

$36 3.8% 41.4% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Haikou

$55 6.8%

Dushanbe

$57 6% 4.7% $2.6

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $377 in Haikou versus $635 in Dushanbe. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 67% higher in Haikou, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $15.00 in Haikou versus $21.00 in Dushanbe. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $169 vs $218 – making Haikou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Haikou

🇹🇯 Dushanbe

🕒 Local time

17:42 5:42 PM

14:42 2:42 PM

3 h behind Haikou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,873,358

679,400 Capital

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Tajikistani Somoni TJS ЅМ

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100 TJS = 10.83 USD

100 TJS = 9.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TJS, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Tajikistani Somoni exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.24 TJS (1 TJS = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.38 TJS (100 TJS = 9.63 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Haikou Dushanbe 4,460 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Haikou
Dushanbe

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

Haikou vs Dushanbe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Dushanbe is pricier by about 18%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,209 per month in Haikou and $1,421 in Dushanbe. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Haikou, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $862 per month in Haikou and $83.7 in Dushanbe. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 29% more in Dushanbe, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Haikou, where all-in costs run around $806, than in Dushanbe at $948. In Haikou it covers expenses comfortably, while in Dushanbe it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Haikou – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Haikou. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Dushanbe makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.