Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Takamatsu and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Takamatsu: $1,191 a month against $1,256 in Shanghai, rent and utilities included – about $780 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Shanghai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

57

Cost of Living Index in Takamatsu
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Takamatsu Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Takamatsu

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,191

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,256

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,191 in Takamatsu versus $1,256 in Shanghai.

Takamatsu $1,191
Shanghai $1,256

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,881 in Takamatsu versus $1,999 in Shanghai.

Takamatsu $1,881
Shanghai $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,571 in Takamatsu versus $2,743 in Shanghai.

Takamatsu $2,571
Shanghai $2,743

Living in Takamatsu costs roughly 5% less than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Takamatsu 12% lower, Shanghai 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.20 ¥980

$4.45 ¥29.78

39.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.99 ¥5,054

$30.29 ¥203

5.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.12 ¥809

$5.09 ¥34.01

0.59%

Cappuccino

$3.13 ¥495

$3.43 ¥22.96

-8.75%

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

$1.19 ¥189

$0.62 ¥4.15

91.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.80 ¥126

$0.39 ¥2.58

105.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.60 ¥410

$1.23 ¥8.25

111.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 ¥508

$2.21 ¥14.81

45.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ¥238

$1.85 ¥12.37

-18.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.60 ¥252

$1.95 ¥13.02

-17.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 ¥278

$1.00 ¥6.67

76.00%

Eggs

$2.29 ¥361

$1.71 ¥11.43

33.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.37 ¥1,639

$17.47 ¥117

-40.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.60 ¥1,043

$3.24 ¥21.66

103.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.83 ¥2,659

$12.99 ¥86.8

29.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.69 ¥583

$2.24 ¥14.98

64.73%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 ¥360

$1.68 ¥11.25

35.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.90 ¥458

$1.95 ¥13.03

48.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 ¥671

$1.73 ¥11.60

145.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.48 ¥391

$0.76 ¥5.10

226.32%

Onion (1kg)

$2.46 ¥389

$0.92 ¥6.15

167.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 ¥201

$0.66 ¥4.41

92.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 ¥124

$0.60 ¥4.00

31.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.67 ¥580

$3.69 ¥24.65

-0.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.63 ¥1,048

$10.92 ¥73.0

-39.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 ¥298

$0.87 ¥5.85

116.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 ¥333

$1.63 ¥10.87

29.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.46 ¥231

$0.62 ¥4.13

135.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ¥8,414

$30.38 ¥203

75.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.18 ¥503

$2.06 ¥13.79

54.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.79 ¥442

$0.46 ¥3.08

506.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.60 ¥2,938

$8.84 ¥59.1

110.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 ¥168

$1.33 ¥8.86

-20.30%

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

$21.5K ¥3.4M

$19.3K ¥128.7K

11.63%

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

$15.1K ¥2.4M

$18.2K ¥122.0K

-17.28%

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

$137 ¥21.6K

$57.1 ¥382

139.45%

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

$23.78 ¥3,757

$8.07 ¥53.9

194.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.79 ¥4,865

$10.70 ¥71.5

187.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.7 ¥8,161

$64.6 ¥432

-20.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.11 ¥491

$17.29 ¥116

-82.01%

Cinema Ticket

$11.79 ¥1,862

$9.05 ¥60.5

30.28%

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

$521 ¥82.3K

$1,441 ¥9,638

-63.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.7K ¥2.0M

$28.2K ¥188.4K

-55.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.96 ¥7,736

$53.5 ¥358

-8.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.24 ¥4,936

$37.05 ¥248

-15.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.1 ¥9,499

$77.0 ¥515

-21.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.5 ¥14.3K

$104 ¥694

-12.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$529 ¥83.6K

$1,023 ¥6,841

-48.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 ¥52.8K

$594 ¥3,971

-43.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,089 ¥172.0K

$2,563 ¥17.1K

-57.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$735 ¥116.1K

$1,213 ¥8,107

-39.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,144 ¥654.7K

$13.5K ¥90.4K

-69.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,783 ¥281.6K

$6,247 ¥41.8K

-71.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,761 ¥278.1K

$1,699 ¥11.4K

3.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.21

3.36

-34.23%

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

Last update for Takamatsu: October 20, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Takamatsu

$334 28.1%

Shanghai

$594 47.3% 77.7% $260

Groceries & Markets

Takamatsu

$280 23.5%

Shanghai

$238 18.9% 15.3% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Takamatsu

$191 16.1%

Shanghai

$76 6% 60.3% $115

Eating Out

Takamatsu

$130 10.9%

Shanghai

$107 8.5% 17.9% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Takamatsu

$104 8.7%

Shanghai

$122 9.7% 17.6% $18

Getting Around

Takamatsu

$76 6.4%

Shanghai

$37 3% 51.2% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Takamatsu

$75 6.3%

Shanghai

$83 6.6% 9.9% $7.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $529 in Takamatsu and $1,023 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Takamatsu pays 4% 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 Takamatsu vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $280 vs $238 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Takamatsu

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

12:15 12:15 PM

11:15 11:15 AM

1 h behind Takamatsu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

426,514

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 21, 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 21, 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Takamatsu Shanghai 1,220 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Takamatsu
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

Takamatsu vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Takamatsu and Shanghai differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($1,191 vs $1,256 including rent). Takamatsu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 4% higher in Takamatsu, 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: $529 in Takamatsu versus $1,023 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $521 in Takamatsu versus $1,441 in Shanghai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Shanghai pay roughly 18% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,191 in Takamatsu versus $1,256 in Shanghai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Takamatsu but tight or insufficient in Shanghai. The gap between the two cities makes Takamatsu 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, Takamatsu 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 Takamatsu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Shanghai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.