Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wakayama and Shanghai

For one person, living costs are similar in Wakayama and in Shanghai: $1,276 and $1,256 a month, rent and utilities included.

61

Cost of Living Index in Wakayama
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Wakayama Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Wakayama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,276

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,256

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,276 in Wakayama versus $1,256 in Shanghai.

Wakayama $1,276
Shanghai $1,256

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,031 in Wakayama versus $1,999 in Shanghai.

Wakayama $2,031
Shanghai $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,785 in Wakayama versus $2,743 in Shanghai.

Wakayama $2,785
Shanghai $2,743

Living in Wakayama 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: Wakayama 6% lower, Shanghai 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.47 ¥1,022

$4.45 ¥29.78

45.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.22 ¥4,932

$30.29 ¥203

3.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.89 ¥773

$5.09 ¥34.01

-3.93%

Cappuccino

$2.46 ¥389

$3.43 ¥22.96

-28.28%

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

$1.25 ¥197

$0.62 ¥4.15

101.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 ¥136

$0.39 ¥2.58

120.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.20 ¥506

$1.23 ¥8.25

160.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 ¥293

$2.21 ¥14.81

-16.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ¥248

$1.85 ¥12.37

-15.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 ¥242

$1.95 ¥13.02

-21.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.27 ¥675

$1.00 ¥6.67

327.00%

Eggs

$2.11 ¥334

$1.71 ¥11.43

23.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.04 ¥2,534

$17.47 ¥117

-8.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.05 ¥1,114

$3.24 ¥21.66

117.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.10 ¥2,701

$12.99 ¥86.8

31.64%

Apples (1kg)

$8.20 ¥1,296

$2.24 ¥14.98

266.07%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 ¥478

$1.68 ¥11.25

79.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.15 ¥814

$1.95 ¥13.03

164.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.94 ¥1,255

$1.73 ¥11.60

358.96%

Potato (1kg)

$4.01 ¥633

$0.76 ¥5.10

427.63%

Onion (1kg)

$4.59 ¥726

$0.92 ¥6.15

398.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 ¥179

$0.66 ¥4.41

72.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 ¥139

$0.60 ¥4.00

46.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 ¥630

$3.69 ¥24.65

8.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.33 ¥1,475

$10.92 ¥73.0

-14.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.49 ¥393

$0.87 ¥5.85

186.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 ¥340

$1.63 ¥10.87

31.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 ¥236

$0.62 ¥4.13

141.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.8 ¥8,496

$30.38 ¥203

77.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.07 ¥485

$2.06 ¥13.79

49.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.91 ¥460

$0.46 ¥3.08

532.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.69 ¥2,478

$8.84 ¥59.1

77.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 ¥167

$1.33 ¥8.86

-20.30%

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

$22.0K ¥3.5M

$19.3K ¥128.7K

14.17%

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

$15.0K ¥2.4M

$18.2K ¥122.0K

-17.56%

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

$117 ¥18.4K

$57.1 ¥382

104.41%

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

$23.45 ¥3,705

$8.07 ¥53.9

190.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.45 ¥4,968

$10.70 ¥71.5

193.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.3 ¥8,109

$64.6 ¥432

-20.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.29 ¥116

Cinema Ticket

$11.21 ¥1,771

$9.05 ¥60.5

23.87%

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

$564 ¥89.1K

$1,441 ¥9,638

-60.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ¥2.3M

$28.2K ¥188.4K

-47.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.37 ¥7,800

$53.5 ¥358

-7.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.42 ¥5,596

$37.05 ¥248

-4.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.4 ¥9,385

$77.0 ¥515

-22.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 ¥15.6K

$104 ¥694

-4.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$526 ¥83.1K

$1,023 ¥6,841

-48.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$337 ¥53.3K

$594 ¥3,971

-43.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,093 ¥172.7K

$2,563 ¥17.1K

-57.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$738 ¥116.5K

$1,213 ¥8,107

-39.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,206 ¥664.5K

$13.5K ¥90.4K

-68.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,756 ¥277.4K

$6,247 ¥41.8K

-71.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,965 ¥626.4K

$1,699 ¥11.4K

133.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.67

3.36

-50.30%

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

Last update for Wakayama: October 17, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Wakayama

$382 30%

Shanghai

$238 18.9% 37.9% $145

Accommodation & Living

Wakayama

$337 26.4%

Shanghai

$594 47.3% 76.1% $257

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wakayama

$172 13.5%

Shanghai

$76 6% 55.8% $96

Eating Out

Wakayama

$124 9.7%

Shanghai

$107 8.5% 14% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Wakayama

$109 8.6%

Shanghai

$122 9.7% 11.8% $13

Getting Around

Wakayama

$77 6.1%

Shanghai

$37 3% 51.9% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Wakayama

$74 5.8%

Shanghai

$83 6.6% 12.1% $9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $526 in Wakayama and $1,023 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wakayama pays 133% 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: $31.00 in Wakayama vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $382 vs $238 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Wakayama

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

03:31 3:31 AM

02:31 2:31 AM

1 h behind Wakayama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

362,163

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 20, 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 20, 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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Between locations

Wakayama Shanghai 1,320 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Wakayama
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

Wakayama vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Wakayama and Shanghai differ by about 2% in total monthly costs ($1,276 vs $1,256 including rent). Shanghai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 133% higher in Wakayama, 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: $526 in Wakayama versus $1,023 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $564 in Wakayama versus $1,441 in Shanghai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 61% higher in Wakayama. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,256 in Shanghai versus $1,276 in Wakayama, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Wakayama. 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.

Expats usually find Shanghai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Wakayama. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.