Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shizuoka and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Shizuoka: $1,138 a month against $1,244 in Shanghai, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Shanghai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

55

Cost of Living Index in Shizuoka
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Shizuoka Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Shizuoka

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,138

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,138 in Shizuoka versus $1,244 in Shanghai.

Shizuoka $1,138
Shanghai $1,244

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,789 in Shizuoka versus $1,999 in Shanghai.

Shizuoka $1,789
Shanghai $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,441 in Shizuoka versus $2,755 in Shanghai.

Shizuoka $2,441
Shanghai $2,755

Living in Shizuoka costs roughly 9% less than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Shizuoka 16% lower, Shanghai 8% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.42 ¥1,015

$4.56 ¥30.47

40.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.81 ¥5,026

$30.21 ¥202

5.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.08 ¥802

$5.25 ¥35.13

-3.24%

Cappuccino

$2.96 ¥468

$3.28 ¥21.94

-9.76%

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

$0.97 ¥152

$0.57 ¥3.84

70.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 ¥119

$0.36 ¥2.39

111.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.75 ¥435

$1.23 ¥8.23

123.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ¥605

$2.27 ¥15.18

68.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ¥239

$1.84 ¥12.30

-17.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 ¥198

$1.96 ¥13.08

-36.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.49 ¥709

$1.03 ¥6.87

335.92%

Eggs

$1.83 ¥289

$1.67 ¥11.16

9.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.11 ¥1,123

$16.96 ¥113

-58.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.40 ¥853

$3.19 ¥21.33

69.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.11 ¥2,229

$12.90 ¥86.3

9.38%

Apples (1kg)

$3.29 ¥519

$2.24 ¥15.00

46.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 ¥305

$1.66 ¥11.13

16.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.42 ¥541

$2.02 ¥13.54

69.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.13 ¥495

$1.66 ¥11.08

88.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ¥239

$0.77 ¥5.17

96.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 ¥179

$0.93 ¥6.21

21.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 ¥176

$0.63 ¥4.19

76.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 ¥135

$0.60 ¥3.99

43.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.86 ¥610

$3.80 ¥25.44

1.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.70 ¥1,375

$10.87 ¥72.7

-19.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 ¥233

$0.82 ¥5.51

80.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 ¥512

$1.61 ¥10.76

101.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.79 ¥283

$0.61 ¥4.11

193.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ¥8,514

$29.40 ¥197

83.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.46 ¥546

$2.11 ¥14.11

63.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.86 ¥293

$0.43 ¥2.87

332.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.01 ¥3,003

$9.06 ¥60.6

109.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 ¥165

$1.33 ¥8.89

-21.80%

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

$21.7K ¥3.4M

$19.0K ¥127.2K

14.00%

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

$15.3K ¥2.4M

$18.7K ¥125.1K

-18.34%

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

$138 ¥21.8K

$57.8 ¥387

138.80%

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

$15.18 ¥2,398

$8.09 ¥54.1

87.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.16 ¥4,764

$10.48 ¥70.0

187.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.6 ¥8,316

$65.7 ¥439

-19.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.82 ¥1,709

$17.82 ¥119

-39.28%

Cinema Ticket

$12.21 ¥1,928

$8.95 ¥59.9

36.42%

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

$320 ¥50.5K

$1,414 ¥9,451

-77.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K ¥2.1M

$27.9K ¥186.2K

-52.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.49 ¥2,921

$54.0 ¥361

-65.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ¥3,378

$37.09 ¥248

-42.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.6 ¥9,725

$74.3 ¥496

-17.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.5 ¥14.3K

$106 ¥706

-14.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$331 ¥52.3K

$1,055 ¥7,056

-68.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$333 ¥52.6K

$585 ¥3,910

-43.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,084 ¥171.2K

$2,485 ¥16.6K

-56.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$731 ¥115.5K

$1,232 ¥8,240

-40.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,146 ¥655.0K

$13.9K ¥93.1K

-70.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,741 ¥275.0K

$6,253 ¥41.8K

-72.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,232 ¥352.7K

$1,711 ¥11.4K

30.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

-70.24%

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

Last update for Shizuoka: October 11, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shizuoka

$333 29.3%

Shanghai

$585 47% 75.8% $252

Groceries & Markets

Shizuoka

$254 22.3%

Shanghai

$235 18.9% 7.5% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shizuoka

$183 16.1%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 58.4% $107

Eating Out

Shizuoka

$131 11.5%

Shanghai

$106 8.5% 18.8% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Shizuoka

$86 7.6%

Shanghai

$122 9.8% 41.1% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Shizuoka

$77 6.8%

Shanghai

$84 6.7% 8.5% $6.5

Getting Around

Shizuoka

$74 6.5%

Shanghai

$36 2.9% 51.1% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $331 in Shizuoka and $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shizuoka pays 30% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Shizuoka vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $254 vs $235 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Shizuoka

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

09:51 9:51 AM

08:51 8:51 AM

1 h behind Shizuoka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

701,803

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 18, 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 18, 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 →

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Shizuoka Shanghai 1,630 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

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Shizuoka
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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

Shizuoka vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shizuoka and Shanghai differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($1,138 vs $1,244 including rent). Shizuoka is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 30% higher in Shizuoka, 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: $331 in Shizuoka versus $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $320 in Shizuoka versus $1,414 in Shanghai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Shanghai pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,138 in Shizuoka versus $1,244 in Shanghai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Shizuoka but tight or insufficient in Shanghai. The gap between the two cities makes Shizuoka 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, Shizuoka 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 Shizuoka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Shanghai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.