Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jiaxing and Batam

For one person, living is cheaper in Batam: $586 a month against $637 in Jiaxing, rent and utilities included – about $610 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Jiaxing
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Jiaxing Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Batam
Learn more

Batam Living Index

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Jiaxing

🇨🇳 China

$637

/mo nomad

Batam

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Jiaxing and in Batam

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $637 in Jiaxing versus $586 in Batam.

Jiaxing $637
Batam $586

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,073 in Jiaxing versus $984 in Batam.

Jiaxing $1,073
Batam $984

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,509 in Jiaxing versus $1,382 in Batam.

Jiaxing $1,509
Batam $1,382

Living in Jiaxing is roughly 9% more expensive than in Batam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Jiaxing 53% lower, Batam 57% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.02 ¥20.04

$1.95 Rp 35.3K

54.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.92 ¥152

$8.07 Rp 146.4K

184.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.45 ¥29.57

$3.90 Rp 70.8K

14.10%

Cappuccino

$3.13 ¥20.79

$2.05 Rp 37.1K

52.68%

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

$0.49 ¥3.24

$0.61 Rp 11.1K

-19.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.09

$0.30 Rp 5,454

3.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.72 ¥4.76

$2.47 Rp 44.7K

-70.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 ¥14.51

$3.66 Rp 66.5K

-40.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.90 ¥12.65

$1.12 Rp 20.4K

69.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.01 ¥13.37

$1.09 Rp 19.8K

84.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.57 ¥3.81

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

-29.63%

Eggs

$1.91 ¥12.72

$1.22 Rp 22.1K

56.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.68 ¥51.0

$7.45 Rp 135.1K

3.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ¥22.18

$2.47 Rp 44.8K

35.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.57 ¥50.3

$4.31 Rp 78.1K

75.64%

Apples (1kg)

$1.60 ¥10.66

$2.17 Rp 39.3K

-26.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.15 ¥7.64

$2.00 Rp 36.3K

-42.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.01 ¥6.70

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

-48.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.64 ¥4.27

$1.03 Rp 18.8K

-37.86%

Potato (1kg)

$0.57 ¥3.81

$0.95 Rp 17.2K

-40.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 ¥5.32

$1.96 Rp 35.5K

-59.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.51 ¥3.41

$1.29 Rp 23.4K

-60.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ¥3.90

$0.44 Rp 8,044

34.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.32 ¥35.34

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

95.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.91 ¥79.1

$13.78 Rp 250.0K

-13.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 ¥4.87

$1.68 Rp 30.5K

-56.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.37 ¥9.09

$2.33 Rp 42.3K

-41.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ¥1.53

$0.41 Rp 7,427

-43.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.82 ¥112

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 ¥7.79

$1.13 Rp 20.5K

3.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.42 ¥2.81

$0.58 Rp 10.6K

-27.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.45 ¥49.49

$3.42 Rp 62.1K

117.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 ¥8.37

$0.84 Rp 15.2K

50.00%

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

$19.4K ¥129.2K

$27.6K Rp 500.0M

-29.46%

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

$19.0K ¥126.2K

$24.6K Rp 446.2M

-22.80%

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

$36.89 ¥245

$67.8 Rp 1.2M

-45.59%

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

$11.70 ¥77.8

$4.09 Rp 74.3K

186.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$5.10 ¥33.86

$22.58 Rp 409.6K

-77.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.89 ¥252

$27.03 Rp 490.3K

40.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.48 ¥49.67

$5.66 Rp 102.6K

32.16%

Cinema Ticket

$5.28 ¥35.08

$2.66 Rp 48.3K

98.50%

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

$431 ¥2,863

$83.0 Rp 1.5M

418.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K ¥86.1K

$3,186 Rp 57.8M

306.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.02 ¥233

$31.46 Rp 570.6K

11.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.81 ¥145

$17.99 Rp 326.3K

21.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$63.5 ¥422

$64.4 Rp 1.2M

-1.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$45.49 ¥302

$23.72 Rp 430.3K

91.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$282 ¥1,871

$265 Rp 4.8M

6.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$177 ¥1,176

$145 Rp 2.6M

21.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$774 ¥5,141

$796 Rp 14.4M

-2.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$444 ¥2,948

$499 Rp 9.1M

-11.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,887 ¥25.8K

$542 Rp 9.8M

617.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,072 ¥13.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$736 ¥4,892

$334 Rp 6.1M

120.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.13

13.17

-76.23%

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

Last update for Jiaxing: October 25, 2026

Last update for Batam: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Jiaxing

$177 27.8%

Batam

$145 24.8% 18% $32

Groceries & Markets

Jiaxing

$176 27.7%

Batam

$172 29.3% 2.7% $4.7

Eating Out

Jiaxing

$86 13.5%

Batam

$75 12.8% 12.8% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Jiaxing

$75 11.7%

Batam

$62 10.6% 17% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jiaxing

$54 8.4%

Batam

$94 16.1% 76% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Jiaxing

$48 7.6%

Batam

$32 5.5% 33.2% $16

Getting Around

Jiaxing

$21 3.3%

Batam

$5.7 * 1% 72.9% $15

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $282 in Jiaxing and $265 in Batam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Jiaxing pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $23 in Jiaxing vs $8 in Batam for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $176 vs $172 per month, with Batam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Jiaxing

🇮🇩 Batam

🕒 Local time

14:08 2:08 PM

13:08 1:08 PM

1 h behind Jiaxing

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,563,700

1,196,396

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18,138 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,252 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Jiaxing Batam 3,740 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Jiaxing
Batam

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

Jiaxing vs Batam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Batam is about 8% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Jiaxing is about 2.2 times higher, 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: $282 in Jiaxing versus $265 in Batam. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Jiaxing. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $637 per month in Jiaxing versus $586 in Batam – Batam is about 8% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Batam 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.

It comes down to priorities – Batam wins on affordability, Jiaxing on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.