Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shanghai and Boryeong

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,222 a month against $1,491 in Boryeong, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. The total is higher in Boryeong despite lower rent and utilities.

59

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index
72

Cost of Living Index in Boryeong
Learn more

Boryeong Living Index

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Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,222

/mo nomad

Boryeong

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,491

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Shanghai and in Boryeong

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,222 in Shanghai versus $1,491 in Boryeong.

Shanghai $1,222
Boryeong $1,491

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,971 in Shanghai versus $2,407 in Boryeong.

Shanghai $1,971
Boryeong $2,407

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,720 in Shanghai versus $3,324 in Boryeong.

Shanghai $2,720
Boryeong $3,324

Living in Shanghai costs roughly 18% less than in Boryeong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Shanghai is 10% below, Boryeong is 10% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.53 ¥30.11

$8.93 ₩12.0K

-49.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.16 ¥201

$68.1 ₩91.4K

-55.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.11 ¥34.04

$7.32 ₩9,826

-30.19%

Cappuccino

$3.41 ¥22.70

$4.08 ₩5,473

-16.42%

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

$0.58 ¥3.85

$1.56 ₩2,096

-62.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.35 ¥2.36

$0.75 ₩1,002

-53.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ¥8.22

$3.77 ₩5,062

-67.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 ¥15.37

$5.85 ₩7,862

-60.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 ¥12.52

$2.12 ₩2,845

-11.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 ¥12.88

$3.15 ₩4,228

-38.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 ¥6.52

$4.19 ₩5,623

-76.61%

Eggs

$1.70 ¥11.31

$3.53 ₩4,734

-51.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.02 ¥113

$17.85 ₩24.0K

-4.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.22 ¥21.41

$10.63 ₩14.3K

-69.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.93 ¥86.0

$26.69 ₩35.8K

-51.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 ¥14.31

$7.90 ₩10.6K

-72.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.48

$3.38 ₩4,545

-48.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 ¥13.51

$5.76 ₩7,735

-64.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.54

$6.16 ₩8,270

-71.92%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 ¥5.51

$3.68 ₩4,945

-77.45%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.13

$2.62 ₩3,519

-64.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 ¥4.48

$2.92 ₩3,927

-77.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ¥3.92

$1.14 ₩1,532

-48.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 ¥25.10

$3.48 ₩4,671

8.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.03 ¥73.4

$18.49 ₩24.8K

-40.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ¥6.00

$2.28 ₩3,060

-60.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ¥10.67

$3.27 ₩4,389

-51.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 ¥3.81

$1.16 ₩1,558

-50.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.62 ¥197

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ¥14.25

$3.65 ₩4,899

-41.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 ¥3.10

$0.64 ₩863

-26.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.74 ¥58.2

$8.75 ₩11.7K

-0.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 ¥8.93

$1.45 ₩1,952

-7.59%

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

$19.3K ¥128.1K

$29.2K ₩39.2M

-34.05%

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

$18.3K ¥121.7K

$28.5K ₩38.3M

-35.97%

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

$58.9 ¥392

$212 ₩285.3K

-72.27%

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

$7.90 ¥52.5

$35.99 ₩48.3K

-78.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.60 ¥70.5

$20.61 ₩27.7K

-48.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.8 ¥431

$54.2 ₩72.8K

19.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.47 ¥116

$14.07 ₩18.9K

24.16%

Cinema Ticket

$9.06 ¥60.3

$11.14 ₩15.0K

-18.67%

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

$1,587 ¥10.6K

$379 ₩509.4K

318.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K ¥187.9K

$22.5K ₩30.2M

25.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 ¥363

$58.5 ₩78.6K

-6.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.21 ¥248

$32.86 ₩44.1K

13.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.6 ¥496

$69.3 ₩93.1K

7.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 ¥707

$84.1 ₩112.9K

26.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 ¥6,826

$489 ₩656.2K

109.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$559 ¥3,722

$361 ₩484.9K

54.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,618 ¥17.4K

$1,184 ₩1.6M

121.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,191 ¥7,926

$758 ₩1.0M

57.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.4K ¥89.0K

$7,113 ₩9.6M

87.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,527 ¥43.4K

$5,616 ₩7.5M

16.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 ¥11.4K

$1,484 ₩2.0M

15.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

4.08

-17.65%

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

Last update for Shanghai: October 25, 2026

Last update for Boryeong: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shanghai

$559 45.8%

Boryeong

$361 24.2% 35.4% $198

Groceries & Markets

Shanghai

$237 19.4%

Boryeong

$481 32.2% 103% $244

Clothing & Footwear

Shanghai

$123 10%

Boryeong

$110 7.4% 10.2% $13

Eating Out

Shanghai

$107 8.8%

Boryeong

$182 12.2% 70.2% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Shanghai

$83 6.8%

Boryeong

$77 5.1% 7.7% $6.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shanghai

$77 6.3%

Boryeong

$269 18% 248% $192

Getting Around

Shanghai

$36 3%

Boryeong

$12 * 0.8% 68.4% $25

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 $1,026 in Shanghai and $489 in Boryeong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays 15% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30 in Shanghai vs $68 in Boryeong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $481 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🇰🇷 Boryeong

🕒 Local time

22:42 10:42 PM

23:42 11:42 PM

1 h ahead of Shanghai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,870,895

103,620

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,343 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD). 1 EUR = 1,494 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Shanghai Boryeong 740 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Shanghai
Boryeong

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

Shanghai vs Boryeong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shanghai and Boryeong differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($1,222 vs $1,491 including rent). Shanghai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 15% higher in Shanghai, 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: $1,026 in Shanghai versus $489 in Boryeong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,587 in Shanghai versus $379 in Boryeong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Shanghai – a meal for two runs $30 versus $68 in Boryeong. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Shanghai gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.