Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Yangsan and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,244 a month against $1,534 in Yangsan, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. The total is higher in Yangsan despite lower rent and utilities.

75

Cost of Living Index in Yangsan
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Yangsan Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Yangsan

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,534

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,534 in Yangsan versus $1,244 in Shanghai.

Yangsan $1,534
Shanghai $1,244

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,428 in Yangsan versus $1,999 in Shanghai.

Yangsan $2,428
Shanghai $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Yangsan versus $2,755 in Shanghai.

Yangsan $3,323
Shanghai $2,755

Living in Yangsan is roughly 23% more expensive than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Yangsan is 14% above, Shanghai is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.45 ₩9,900

$4.56 ¥30.47

63.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.24 ₩65.5K

$30.21 ¥202

62.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.53 ₩8,678

$5.25 ¥35.13

24.38%

Cappuccino

$3.73 ₩4,962

$3.28 ¥21.94

13.72%

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

$1.86 ₩2,468

$0.57 ¥3.84

226.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 ₩1,904

$0.36 ¥2.39

297.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.63 ₩4,825

$1.23 ¥8.23

195.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.20 ₩5,582

$2.27 ¥15.18

85.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.23 ₩2,967

$1.84 ¥12.30

21.20%

White Bread (500g)

$3.15 ₩4,182

$1.96 ¥13.08

60.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.08 ₩4,099

$1.03 ¥6.87

199.03%

Eggs

$2.63 ₩3,493

$1.67 ¥11.16

57.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.02 ₩14.7K

$16.96 ¥113

-35.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 ₩14.1K

$3.19 ¥21.33

233.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.91 ₩33.1K

$12.90 ¥86.3

93.10%

Apples (1kg)

$11.00 ₩14.6K

$2.24 ¥15.00

391.07%

Banana (1kg)

$3.54 ₩4,703

$1.66 ¥11.13

113.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$8.15 ₩10.8K

$2.02 ¥13.54

303.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.88 ₩7,822

$1.66 ¥11.08

254.22%

Potato (1kg)

$6.01 ₩7,987

$0.77 ¥5.17

680.52%

Onion (1kg)

$3.35 ₩4,452

$0.93 ¥6.21

260.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.85 ₩3,784

$0.63 ¥4.19

352.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 ₩1,707

$0.60 ¥3.99

113.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.32 ₩4,409

$3.80 ¥25.44

-12.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.32 ₩24.4K

$10.87 ¥72.7

68.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.39 ₩3,174

$0.82 ¥5.51

191.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.36 ₩4,472

$1.61 ¥10.76

108.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.14 ₩1,516

$0.61 ¥4.11

86.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.40 ¥197

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.60 ₩4,784

$2.11 ¥14.11

70.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₩1,042

$0.43 ¥2.87

81.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.88 ₩22.4K

$9.06 ¥60.6

86.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 ₩1,880

$1.33 ¥8.89

6.02%

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

$29.2K ₩38.8M

$19.0K ¥127.2K

53.23%

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

$33.0K ₩43.8M

$18.7K ¥125.1K

76.26%

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

$200 ₩265.4K

$57.8 ¥387

245.34%

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

$35.82 ₩47.6K

$8.09 ¥54.1

342.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.15 ₩36.1K

$10.48 ¥70.0

159.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.3 ₩68.2K

$65.7 ¥439

-21.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.73 ₩15.6K

$17.82 ¥119

-34.18%

Cinema Ticket

$11.70 ₩15.6K

$8.95 ¥59.9

30.73%

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

$633 ₩842.0K

$1,414 ¥9,451

-55.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.6K ₩28.7M

$27.9K ¥186.2K

-22.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 ₩136.5K

$54.0 ¥361

90.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$64.1 ₩85.2K

$37.09 ¥248

72.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ₩125.4K

$74.3 ¥496

27.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 ₩165.5K

$106 ¥706

17.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$488 ₩648.5K

$1,055 ¥7,056

-53.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$364 ₩484.6K

$585 ¥3,910

-37.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 ₩1.6M

$2,485 ¥16.6K

-52.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$753 ₩1.0M

$1,232 ¥8,240

-38.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,989 ₩9.3M

$13.9K ¥93.1K

-49.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,593 ₩7.4M

$6,253 ¥41.8K

-10.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,664 ₩2.2M

$1,711 ¥11.4K

-2.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.22

3.36

25.60%

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

Last update for Yangsan: 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

Yangsan

$483 31.5%

Shanghai

$235 18.9% 51.4% $248

Accommodation & Living

Yangsan

$364 23.8%

Shanghai

$585 47% 60.4% $220

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Yangsan

$263 17.1%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 70.9% $186

Clothing & Footwear

Yangsan

$173 11.3%

Shanghai

$122 9.8% 29.7% $52

Eating Out

Yangsan

$164 10.7%

Shanghai

$106 8.5% 35.2% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Yangsan

$75 4.9%

Shanghai

$84 6.7% 12% $8.9

Getting Around

Yangsan

$12 * 0.8%

Shanghai

$36 2.9% 199% $24

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 $488 in Yangsan and $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $49.00 in Yangsan vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $483 vs $235 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Yangsan

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

04:25 4:25 AM

03:25 3:25 AM

1 h behind Yangsan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

335,474

24,870,895

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to KRW – South Korean Won Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to KRW in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Yangsan Shanghai 840 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Yangsan
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

Yangsan vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yangsan and Shanghai differ by about 23% in total monthly costs ($1,534 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 3% 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: $488 in Yangsan versus $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 106% higher in Yangsan. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,534 per month in Yangsan versus $1,244 in Shanghai – a 23% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,244 in Shanghai versus $1,534 in Yangsan, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Yangsan. 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, Yangsan 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 23% less than in Yangsan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.