Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tsu and Shanghai

For one person, living costs are similar in Tsu and in Shanghai: $1,269 and $1,244 a month, rent and utilities included.

62

Cost of Living Index in Tsu
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Tsu Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Tsu

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,269

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tsu versus $1,244 in Shanghai.

Tsu $1,269
Shanghai $1,244

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,979 in Tsu versus $1,999 in Shanghai.

Tsu $1,979
Shanghai $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,688 in Tsu versus $2,755 in Shanghai.

Tsu $2,688
Shanghai $2,755

Living in Tsu is roughly 2% more expensive than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tsu 6% lower, Shanghai 8% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.48 ¥1,023

$4.56 ¥30.47

42.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.81 ¥2,814

$30.21 ¥202

-41.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.84 ¥606

$5.25 ¥35.13

-26.86%

Cappuccino

$2.34 ¥370

$3.28 ¥21.94

-28.66%

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

$1.19 ¥188

$0.57 ¥3.84

108.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 ¥98.8

$0.36 ¥2.39

75.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.00 ¥317

$1.23 ¥8.23

62.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.34 ¥369

$2.27 ¥15.18

3.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ¥238

$1.84 ¥12.30

-17.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 ¥199

$1.96 ¥13.08

-35.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.42 ¥856

$1.03 ¥6.87

426.21%

Eggs

$1.99 ¥315

$1.67 ¥11.16

19.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.71 ¥2,008

$16.96 ¥113

-25.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.73 ¥1,537

$3.19 ¥21.33

205.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$32.13 ¥5,076

$12.90 ¥86.3

149.07%

Apples (1kg)

$3.78 ¥596

$2.24 ¥15.00

68.75%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 ¥361

$1.66 ¥11.13

37.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.23 ¥985

$2.02 ¥13.54

208.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.19 ¥661

$1.66 ¥11.08

152.41%

Potato (1kg)

$3.86 ¥610

$0.77 ¥5.17

401.30%

Onion (1kg)

$3.53 ¥558

$0.93 ¥6.21

279.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 ¥202

$0.63 ¥4.19

103.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 ¥159

$0.60 ¥3.99

68.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.52 ¥557

$3.80 ¥25.44

-7.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.02 ¥1,266

$10.87 ¥72.7

-26.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 ¥321

$0.82 ¥5.51

147.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 ¥230

$1.61 ¥10.76

-9.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 ¥236

$0.61 ¥4.11

145.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.4 ¥8,283

$29.40 ¥197

78.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 ¥502

$2.11 ¥14.11

50.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.08 ¥486

$0.43 ¥2.87

616.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.27 ¥4,151

$9.06 ¥60.6

189.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.07 ¥169

$1.33 ¥8.89

-19.55%

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

$19.0K ¥3.0M

$19.0K ¥127.2K

-0.28%

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

$16.3K ¥2.6M

$18.7K ¥125.1K

-12.85%

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

$147 ¥23.3K

$57.8 ¥387

154.96%

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

$24.31 ¥3,840

$8.09 ¥54.1

200.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.93 ¥6,940

$10.48 ¥70.0

319.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.9 ¥8,195

$65.7 ¥439

-21.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.83 ¥2,028

$17.82 ¥119

-28.00%

Cinema Ticket

$8.17 ¥1,290

$8.95 ¥59.9

-8.72%

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

$318 ¥50.3K

$1,414 ¥9,451

-77.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,203 ¥980.0K

$27.9K ¥186.2K

-77.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.88 ¥7,880

$54.0 ¥361

-7.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.95 ¥3,941

$37.09 ¥248

-32.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.99 ¥7,108

$74.3 ¥496

-39.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.1 ¥10.4K

$106 ¥706

-37.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$521 ¥82.4K

$1,055 ¥7,056

-50.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$327 ¥51.7K

$585 ¥3,910

-44.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 ¥175.9K

$2,485 ¥16.6K

-55.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$726 ¥114.7K

$1,232 ¥8,240

-41.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,165 ¥658.0K

$13.9K ¥93.1K

-70.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,745 ¥275.8K

$6,253 ¥41.8K

-72.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,509 ¥238.4K

$1,711 ¥11.4K

-11.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.9

3.36

-43.45%

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

Last update for Tsu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Tsu

$384 30.2%

Shanghai

$235 18.9% 38.8% $149

Accommodation & Living

Tsu

$327 25.8%

Shanghai

$585 47% 78.8% $258

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tsu

$216 17%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 64.6% $139

Eating Out

Tsu

$113 8.9%

Shanghai

$106 8.5% 6.5% $7.3

Clothing & Footwear

Tsu

$84 6.6%

Shanghai

$122 9.8% 45.7% $38

Getting Around

Tsu

$77 6.1%

Shanghai

$36 2.9% 53.1% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Tsu

$68 5.4%

Shanghai

$84 6.7% 22.6% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $521 in Tsu and $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays 13% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $18.00 in Tsu vs $30.00 in Shanghai. Groceries flip the comparison at $384 vs $235, with Shanghai cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Tsu

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

17:26 5:26 PM

16:26 4:26 PM

1 h behind Tsu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

279,241

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 19, 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 19, 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

Tsu Shanghai 1,450 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Tsu
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

Tsu vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tsu and Shanghai differ by about 2% in total monthly costs ($1,269 vs $1,244 including rent). Shanghai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 13% 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: $521 in Tsu versus $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $318 in Tsu versus $1,414 in Shanghai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 64% higher in Tsu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,244 in Shanghai versus $1,269 in Tsu, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Tsu. 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, Tsu 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 2% less than in Tsu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.