Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ongjin and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Ongjin: $710 a month against $1,250 in Shanghai, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Ongjin
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Ongjin Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Ongjin

🇰🇵 North Korea

$710

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,250

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ongjin 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 Ongjin and in Shanghai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $710 in Ongjin versus $1,250 in Shanghai.

Ongjin $710
Shanghai $1,250

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,126 in Ongjin versus $2,019 in Shanghai.

Ongjin $1,126
Shanghai $2,019

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,543 in Ongjin versus $2,789 in Shanghai.

Ongjin $1,543
Shanghai $2,789

Living in Ongjin costs roughly 43% less than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ongjin 47% lower, Shanghai 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.79 $2.79

$4.55 ¥30.45

-38.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.34 $23.34

$29.52 ¥198

-20.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.98 $7.98

$5.10 ¥34.13

56.47%

Cappuccino

$1.16 $1.16

$3.42 ¥22.92

-66.08%

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

$0.98 $0.98

$0.61 ¥4.12

60.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 $0.98

$0.36 ¥2.41

172.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.64 $6.64

$1.21 ¥8.08

448.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 $2.26

$2.29 ¥15.33

-1.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.93 $0.93

$1.86 ¥12.48

-50.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 $1.57

$2.01 ¥13.47

-21.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 $2.26

$1.02 ¥6.84

121.57%

Eggs

$3.28 $3.28

$1.72 ¥11.48

90.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.66 $4.66

$17.19 ¥115

-72.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.29 $2.29

$3.35 ¥22.43

-31.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.67 $5.67

$12.80 ¥85.7

-55.70%

Apples (1kg)

$6.80 $6.80

$2.17 ¥14.54

213.36%

Banana (1kg)

$4.63 $4.63

$1.74 ¥11.67

166.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 $2.34

$1.94 ¥12.99

20.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 $2.29

$1.68 ¥11.25

36.31%

Potato (1kg)

$3.50 $3.50

$0.77 ¥5.18

354.55%

Onion (1kg)

$3.33 $3.33

$0.93 ¥6.22

258.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.31 $2.31

$0.62 ¥4.17

272.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 $0.43

$0.58 ¥3.88

-25.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.67 $4.67

$3.83 ¥25.64

21.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 $7.81

$10.94 ¥73.2

-28.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 $1.11

$0.84 ¥5.60

32.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 $2.23

$1.60 ¥10.73

39.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.00 $1.00

$0.59 ¥3.92

69.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.98 $39.98

$30.27 ¥203

32.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 $1.57

$2.06 ¥13.79

-23.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.23 $2.23

$0.47 ¥3.13

374.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.01 $41.01

$8.80 ¥58.9

366.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.75 $0.75

$1.27 ¥8.53

-40.94%

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

$23.0K $23.0K

$19.6K ¥131.2K

17.32%

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

$27.9K $27.9K

$18.6K ¥124.4K

50.15%

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

$33.78 $33.78

$57.2 ¥383

-40.98%

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

$11.46 $11.46

$8.06 ¥53.9

42.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.71 $45.71

$10.52 ¥70.4

334.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.61 $43.61

$64.6 ¥433

-32.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.96 $14.96

$17.63 ¥118

-15.14%

Cinema Ticket

$7.75 $7.75

$8.84 ¥59.1

-12.33%

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

$109 $109

$1,437 ¥9,620

-92.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,117 $2,117

$28.1K ¥187.9K

-92.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$22.72 $22.72

$54.7 ¥366

-58.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.97 $27.97

$36.43 ¥244

-23.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.6 $61.6

$75.4 ¥504

-18.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.1 $84.1

$104 ¥696

-19.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$89.2 $89.2

$1,039 ¥6,956

-91.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$91.3 $91.3

$589 ¥3,940

-84.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,244 $2,244

$2,487 ¥16.6K

-9.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$136 $136

$1,237 ¥8,282

-89.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,691 $1,691

$13.6K ¥90.9K

-87.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,423 $1,423

$6,191 ¥41.4K

-77.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$214 $214

$1,715 ¥11.5K

-87.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.11

3.36

111.61%

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

Last update for Ongjin: October 5, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ongjin

$229 31.8%

Shanghai

$237 19% 3.3% $7.5

Eating Out

Ongjin

$106 14.7%

Shanghai

$107 8.6% 1.5% $1.5

Accommodation & Living

Ongjin

$91 12.7%

Shanghai

$589 47.1% 545% $497

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ongjin

$91 12.6%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 16.6% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Ongjin

$88 12.3%

Shanghai

$122 9.7% 37.7% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Ongjin

$59 8.2%

Shanghai

$82 6.6% 39.2% $23

Getting Around

Ongjin

$57 7.9%

Shanghai

$37 3% 34.7% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $89.2 in Ongjin and $1,039 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays 700% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $23.00 in Ongjin vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $229 vs $237 per month, with Ongjin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇵 Ongjin

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

16:12 4:12 PM

15:12 3:12 PM

1 h behind Ongjin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

152,878

24,870,895

💱 Currency

USD USD

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

1 CNY = 0.149 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

CNY to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ongjin Shanghai 830 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Ongjin
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

Ongjin vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ongjin is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 76% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 700% lower in Shanghai. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $89.2 in Ongjin versus $1,039 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

Dining out is cheaper in Ongjin – a meal for two runs $23.00 versus $30.00 in Shanghai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $710 in Ongjin versus $1,250 in Shanghai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ongjin but tight or insufficient in Shanghai. The gap between the two cities makes Ongjin the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Ongjin and Shanghai are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Ongjin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 76% less than in Shanghai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.