Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hiroshima and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Hiroshima: $963 a month against $1,244 in Shanghai, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Shanghai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

47

Cost of Living Index in Hiroshima
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Hiroshima Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
Learn more

Shanghai Living Index

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Hiroshima

🇯🇵 Japan

$963

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hiroshima and in Shanghai

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

A single person spends $963 per month in Hiroshima vs $1,244 in Shanghai, rent included.

Hiroshima $963
Shanghai $1,244

A couple spends around $1,548 per month in Hiroshima vs $1,999 in Shanghai, rent included.

Hiroshima $1,548
Shanghai $1,999

A family of three spends $2,134 per month in Hiroshima vs $2,755 in Shanghai, rent included.

Hiroshima $2,134
Shanghai $2,755

Hiroshima is about 23% cheaper than Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Hiroshima and Shanghai are more affordable than the global median – Hiroshima 29% lower, Shanghai 8% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.86 ¥926

$4.56 ¥30.47

28.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.49 ¥4,975

$30.21 ¥202

4.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.11 ¥807

$5.25 ¥35.13

-2.67%

Cappuccino

$2.75 ¥434

$3.28 ¥21.94

-16.16%

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

$0.96 ¥151

$0.57 ¥3.84

68.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 ¥101

$0.36 ¥2.39

77.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.69 ¥425

$1.23 ¥8.23

118.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.88 ¥613

$2.27 ¥15.18

70.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 ¥228

$1.84 ¥12.30

-21.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 ¥245

$1.96 ¥13.08

-20.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.80 ¥759

$1.03 ¥6.87

366.02%

Eggs

$2.06 ¥326

$1.67 ¥11.16

23.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.89 ¥773

$16.96 ¥113

-71.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.89 ¥931

$3.19 ¥21.33

84.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.07 ¥1,749

$12.90 ¥86.3

-14.19%

Apples (1kg)

$3.29 ¥520

$2.24 ¥15.00

46.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 ¥307

$1.66 ¥11.13

16.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.80 ¥600

$2.02 ¥13.54

88.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.88 ¥613

$1.66 ¥11.08

133.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.54 ¥244

$0.77 ¥5.17

100.00%

Onion (1kg)

$3.43 ¥542

$0.93 ¥6.21

268.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ¥215

$0.63 ¥4.19

115.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 ¥129

$0.60 ¥3.99

35.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 ¥626

$3.80 ¥25.44

4.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.84 ¥1,239

$10.87 ¥72.7

-27.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 ¥307

$0.82 ¥5.51

136.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 ¥391

$1.61 ¥10.76

54.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.92 ¥304

$0.61 ¥4.11

214.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.30 ¥5,261

$29.40 ¥197

13.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.74 ¥591

$2.11 ¥14.11

77.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.25 ¥197

$0.43 ¥2.87

190.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.23 ¥3,354

$9.06 ¥60.6

134.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ¥175

$1.33 ¥8.89

-16.54%

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

$21.9K ¥3.5M

$19.0K ¥127.2K

15.11%

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

$14.7K ¥2.3M

$18.7K ¥125.1K

-21.49%

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

$136 ¥21.5K

$57.8 ¥387

135.76%

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

$24.40 ¥3,855

$8.09 ¥54.1

201.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.36 ¥4,796

$10.48 ¥70.0

189.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.9 ¥8,511

$65.7 ¥439

-17.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.87 ¥769

$17.82 ¥119

-72.67%

Cinema Ticket

$11.80 ¥1,865

$8.95 ¥59.9

31.84%

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

$155 ¥24.4K

$1,414 ¥9,451

-89.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,376 ¥533.4K

$27.9K ¥186.2K

-87.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.92 ¥4,410

$54.0 ¥361

-48.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.33 ¥4,001

$37.09 ¥248

-31.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$47.84 ¥7,558

$74.3 ¥496

-35.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$62.5 ¥9,878

$106 ¥706

-40.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$239 ¥37.8K

$1,055 ¥7,056

-77.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ¥30.4K

$585 ¥3,910

-67.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$618 ¥97.7K

$2,485 ¥16.6K

-75.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$501 ¥79.1K

$1,232 ¥8,240

-59.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,001 ¥474.2K

$13.9K ¥93.1K

-78.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,413 ¥223.2K

$6,253 ¥41.8K

-77.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,006 ¥316.9K

$1,711 ¥11.4K

17.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.21

3.36

-34.23%

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

Last update for Hiroshima: October 12, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Hiroshima

$255 26.4%

Shanghai

$235 18.9% 7.8% $20

Accommodation & Living

Hiroshima

$192 20%

Shanghai

$585 47% 204% $393

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hiroshima

$191 19.9%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 60% $115

Eating Out

Hiroshima

$123 12.8%

Shanghai

$106 8.5% 13.7% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Hiroshima

$77 8.1%

Shanghai

$84 6.7% 7.9% $6.1

Clothing & Footwear

Hiroshima

$74 7.7%

Shanghai

$122 9.8% 65.6% $48

Getting Around

Hiroshima

$51 5.3%

Shanghai

$36 2.9% 29.2% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $239 in Hiroshima versus $1,055 in Shanghai. 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 17% higher in Hiroshima, 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 $31.00 in Hiroshima versus $30.00 in Shanghai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $235 – making Shanghai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Hiroshima

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

23:58 11:58 PM

22:58 10:58 PM

1 h behind Hiroshima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,200,754

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Hiroshima Shanghai 1,080 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Hiroshima
Shanghai

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

Hiroshima vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shanghai costs about 29% more than Hiroshima, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,444 per month in Hiroshima and $1,865 in Shanghai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $963 in Hiroshima and $1,244 in Shanghai. That's a gap of about 29%.

Public transport costs about 13% less in Hiroshima. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Hiroshima, where all-in costs run around $963, than in Shanghai at $1,244. In Hiroshima it covers expenses comfortably, while in Shanghai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Hiroshima – 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 Hiroshima. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Shanghai makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.