Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Parramatta and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,244 a month against $2,908 in Parramatta, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

141

Cost of Living Index in Parramatta
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Parramatta Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Parramatta

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,908

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,908 in Parramatta versus $1,244 in Shanghai.

Parramatta $2,908
Shanghai $1,244

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,053 in Parramatta versus $1,999 in Shanghai.

Parramatta $4,053
Shanghai $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,198 in Parramatta versus $2,755 in Shanghai.

Parramatta $5,198
Shanghai $2,755

Living in Parramatta is roughly 134% more expensive than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Parramatta is 115% above, Shanghai is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.09

$4.56 ¥30.47

282.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.2 A$128

$30.21 ¥202

195.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.95 A$17.20

$5.25 ¥35.13

127.62%

Cappuccino

$3.91 A$5.63

$3.28 ¥21.94

19.21%

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

$3.03 A$4.36

$0.57 ¥3.84

431.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 A$3.77

$0.36 ¥2.39

627.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.30 A$11.94

$1.23 ¥8.23

574.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.16 A$10.30

$2.27 ¥15.18

215.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 A$2.31

$1.84 ¥12.30

-12.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.76 A$3.97

$1.96 ¥13.08

40.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.36 A$3.39

$1.03 ¥6.87

129.13%

Eggs

$5.41 A$7.78

$1.67 ¥11.16

223.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 A$17.38

$16.96 ¥113

-28.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.83 A$14.15

$3.19 ¥21.33

208.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.05 A$21.66

$12.90 ¥86.3

16.67%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.86

$2.24 ¥15.00

81.70%

Banana (1kg)

$3.09 A$4.45

$1.66 ¥11.13

86.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.34 A$4.81

$2.02 ¥13.54

65.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.17 A$7.44

$1.66 ¥11.08

211.45%

Potato (1kg)

$3.09 A$4.45

$0.77 ¥5.17

301.30%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$0.93 ¥6.21

160.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.54 A$3.65

$0.63 ¥4.19

303.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 A$1.90

$0.60 ¥3.99

120.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.84 A$64.5

$3.80 ¥25.44

1080.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.69 A$19.70

$10.87 ¥72.7

25.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.08 A$5.87

$0.82 ¥5.51

397.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.02 A$5.78

$1.61 ¥10.76

149.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 ¥4.11

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$199

$29.40 ¥197

369.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.41 A$4.91

$2.11 ¥14.11

61.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 A$2.33

$0.43 ¥2.87

276.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.33 A$58.0

$9.06 ¥60.6

345.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 A$1.96

$1.33 ¥8.89

2.26%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$19.0K ¥127.2K

52.24%

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

$29.8K A$42.8K

$18.7K ¥125.1K

59.04%

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

$221 A$318

$57.8 ¥387

281.85%

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

$27.03 A$38.90

$8.09 ¥54.1

234.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.2 A$79.4

$10.48 ¥70.0

426.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.61 A$49.80

$65.7 ¥439

-47.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.71 A$28.37

$17.82 ¥119

10.61%

Cinema Ticket

$16.14 A$23.23

$8.95 ¥59.9

80.34%

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

$2,204 A$3,172

$1,414 ¥9,451

55.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.6K A$29.7K

$27.9K ¥186.2K

-26.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.1 A$114

$54.0 ¥361

46.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 A$79.7

$37.09 ¥248

49.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 A$153

$74.3 ¥496

43.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$187

$106 ¥706

23.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,828 A$2,630

$1,055 ¥7,056

73.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,542 A$2,219

$585 ¥3,910

163.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,928 A$5,653

$2,485 ¥16.6K

58.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,132 A$3,068

$1,232 ¥8,240

73.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,204 A$6,049

$13.9K ¥93.1K

-69.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,283 A$4,724

$6,253 ¥41.8K

-47.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,103 A$5,904

$1,711 ¥11.4K

139.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.36

73.81%

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

Last update for Parramatta: October 10, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Parramatta

$1.5K 53%

Shanghai

$585 47% 62.1% $957

Groceries & Markets

Parramatta

$379 13%

Shanghai

$235 18.9% 38.1% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Parramatta

$303 10.4%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 74.8% $227

Eating Out

Parramatta

$301 10.3%

Shanghai

$106 8.5% 64.7% $195

Clothing & Footwear

Parramatta

$167 5.7%

Shanghai

$122 9.8% 27% $45

Getting Around

Parramatta

$150 * 5.1%

Shanghai

$36 2.9% 75.8% $113

Sport & Entertainment

Parramatta

$67 2.3%

Shanghai

$84 6.7% 25% $17

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 $1,828 in Parramatta and $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Parramatta pays 140% 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: $89.0 in Parramatta vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $235 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Parramatta

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

01:16 1:16 AM

22:16 10:16 PM

3 h behind Parramatta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,745

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Parramatta Shanghai 7,870 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Parramatta
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

Parramatta vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shanghai is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 134% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 140% higher in Parramatta, 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: $1,828 in Parramatta versus $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,908 per month in Parramatta versus $1,244 in Shanghai – a 134% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Shanghai runs roughly 369% less than in Parramatta. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,244 in Shanghai versus $2,908 in Parramatta, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Parramatta. The gap between the two cities makes Shanghai 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, Parramatta 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 Shanghai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 134% less than in Parramatta. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.