Cost of living in China 2026: a monthly budget for one person, a couple and a family

China is not one price level. A one-bedroom in central Shanghai costs three times as much as one outside the centre of Chengdu, and an international school can cost more than the rent. This guide builds a monthly budget line by line, shows where each number comes from and says plainly which totals are our own arithmetic. Figures are as of October 2026 and indicative. We convert at 1 euro = 7.5 yuan: the European Central Bank's reference rate ranged from 7.50 to 7.57 yuan in the first nine days of October 2026 and an aggregator showed 7.50 on 16 October. A different rate shifts every euro figure.

How to read the numbers

• Rents and living costs come from Numbeo, a crowd-sourced site (pages updated 2 to 20 October 2026). Samples differ a lot: Shanghai 162 contributors, Beijing 124, Shenzhen 91, Chengdu 47 and Xiamen only 20, so treat Xiamen as indicative.
• Numbeo's monthly estimate excluding rent is a modelled basket and its page does not say what it includes. We use it as one line and add health insurance separately.
• Totals are our own sum of the lines, not a statistic. For scale: China's National Bureau of Statistics reported national per capita consumption expenditure of 29,476 yuan for 2025, about 2,456 yuan or 327 euro a month, averaged over urban and rural residents. It is not a budget for a foreign renter.

Rent in five cities

One-bedroom, centre and outside the centre, per month (Numbeo, October 2026): - Shanghai: 6,952 and 3,947 yuan, about 927 and 526 euro. - Beijing: 6,280 and 3,560 yuan, about 837 and 475 euro. - Shenzhen: 5,095 and 3,192 yuan, about 679 and 426 euro. - Chengdu: 3,144 and 1,690 yuan, about 419 and 225 euro. - Xiamen: 2,338 and 1,778 yuan, about 312 and 237 euro. Few contributors, so indicative.

A three-bedroom in the centre costs 16,947 yuan in Shanghai (about 2,260 euro), 15,835 in Beijing (2,111), 13,218 in Shenzhen (1,762), 5,490 in Chengdu (732) and 5,533 in Xiamen (738).

One person

Modest: a one-bedroom outside the centre of Chengdu. - Rent: 1,690 yuan (Numbeo, 15 October 2026). - Everything else except rent: 3,163 yuan (Numbeo estimate for Chengdu). - Private health insurance: 1,000 yuan, our assumption inside the 7,000 to 72,000 yuan a year that a guide gives for private plans in Beijing. - Our sum: 1,690 + 3,163 + 1,000 = 5,853 yuan, about 780 euro a month.

Comfortable: a one-bedroom in the centre of Shanghai. - Rent: 6,952 yuan (Numbeo, 20 October 2026). - Everything else except rent: 4,083 yuan (Numbeo). - Private health insurance: 2,500 yuan, our assumption inside the same range. - Gym membership: 440 yuan (Numbeo); it may overlap with Numbeo's basket. - Our sum: 6,952 + 4,083 + 2,500 + 440 = 13,976 yuan, about 1,863 euro a month.

Without rent a single person costs 4,083 yuan in Shanghai (about 544 euro), 4,033 in Shenzhen (538), 3,953 in Beijing (527), 3,449 in Xiamen (460) and 3,163 in Chengdu (422), all Numbeo.

A couple

Our couple budgets are an upper bound: one rent plus twice the single lines, because Numbeo gives no couple figure. Shared costs make the real number lower. - Modest, Chengdu: 1,690 + 2 x (3,163 + 1,000) = 10,016 yuan, about 1,335 euro. - Comfortable, Shanghai: 6,952 + 2 x (4,083 + 2,500 + 440) = 20,999 yuan, about 2,800 euro.

A family of four

International school fees are not included here, because we cannot tell whether Numbeo's family basket already contains them. - Modest, Chengdu: a three-bedroom outside the centre 3,558 yuan, everything else 11,764 yuan, health insurance for four at the adult 1,000 yuan each, 4,000 yuan. Our sum: 19,323 yuan, about 2,576 euro. - Comfortable, Shanghai: a three-bedroom in the centre 16,947 yuan, everything else 15,297 yuan, insurance for four at 2,500 yuan each, 10,000 yuan. Our sum: 42,244 yuan, about 5,633 euro.

Adding international school as an upper bound: Numbeo's Shanghai average is 185,625 yuan a year per child, 15,469 yuan a month, about 2,063 euro. Two children add about 4,125 euro a month, taking the comfortable family to roughly 9,758 euro, with a possible overlap. Named schools cost more than the averages: a fee aggregator lists Shanghai American School at 246,000 to 311,000 yuan for 2026-27, the British International School Shanghai (Pudong) at 278,390 to 388,970 and the International School of Beijing at 155,800 to 361,800. We could not find Western Academy of Beijing or the British School of Beijing. Check each school's own fee schedule. Private preschool is cheaper than school but still large: 9,477 yuan a month in Shanghai (about 1,264 euro), 4,380 in Beijing (584), 3,546 in Shenzhen (473) and 2,490 in Chengdu (332), Numbeo.

Utilities, food and transport

• Basic utilities for an 85 m2 flat (Numbeo): 428 yuan in Shenzhen, 390 in Beijing, 386 in Shanghai, 317 in Chengdu and 294 in Xiamen, about 39 to 57 euro.
• Broadband of 60 Mbps and up costs 70 to 110 yuan a month and a mobile plan with 10 GB or more 54 to 67 yuan, about 9 to 15 and 7 to 9 euro.
• An inexpensive restaurant meal: 30 yuan in Shanghai and Beijing, 25 in Shenzhen, 20 in Xiamen and 19 in Chengdu, about 2.5 to 4 euro.
• Monthly public transport pass: 230 yuan in Beijing, 200 in Shanghai, 165 in Chengdu, 150 in Shenzhen and 80 in Xiamen, about 11 to 31 euro. A single ride is 2.5 to 4.5 yuan.
• Shanghai metro fares start at 3 yuan for 6 km or less, with 1 yuan more for each further 10 km, and the average fare in 2025 was 4.23 yuan. Two proposals to raise the average by about 1 yuan were published on 19 August 2026, with a public hearing on 7 September. We did not find the outcome. A taxi starts at 14 yuan for 3 km, 16 for an electric car, with a 30% surcharge from 23:00 to 05:00, according to one travel guide. Ride-hailing through DiDi can be reached from inside Alipay, a third-party tip. We did not find a reliable statement of what foreign bank cards can do in mobile payment apps, so check inside the apps before you arrive.

Health

• Employed foreigners with a work or residence permit are required to take part in China's social insurance, which includes basic medical insurance, according to Shanghai and Beijing government pages. Employers register them within 30 days of the work permit. The public system has limits on coverage and on which hospitals you can use, so expat guides say most people add a private or international plan.
• Private premiums vary widely and come from brokers: one guide gives USD 100 to 300 a month for international plans and under USD 100 for basic inpatient cover, another RMB 7,000 to 72,000 a year in Beijing. Get written quotes by age.
• We found no published consultation price for Shanghai or Beijing international hospitals. The only table, for Chongqing, shows private specialist visits at 500 to 2,000 yuan, a rough benchmark only. See also healthcare abroad for owners.

Hidden and one-off costs

• A residence permit costs 400 yuan for less than a year and 800 for a longer one according to Beijing public security and Peking University pages, with a penalty of 500 yuan a day for a late application and a permanent residence application fee of 1,500 yuan in Beijing. These pages are undated and not from the National Immigration Administration: confirm the current fee there. Visa and residence routes are in visas, residence permits and permanent residence for foreigners in China.
• Rental deposit and agency fees: we found no reliable figure, so we give none. Ask for them in writing.
• International school registration and application fees come on top of tuition: 32,000 yuan at Shanghai American School and 2,800 at the International School of Beijing according to the aggregator.

If you own property here

We did not research running costs of owning an apartment in China, such as management fees and any property tax, so we give no figure. The rules for who can buy and how are in the China property guide for foreign buyers and the city comparison is in the best cities for foreign buyers. Hong Kong is a separate market: see cost of living in Hong Kong and the China and Hong Kong hub.

Cheaper and dearer than expected

• Cheaper: local food and public transport. A meal at 19 to 30 yuan and a ride at 2.5 to 4.5 yuan are among the lowest in our other country guides, for example Thailand.
• Cheaper: second-tier rent. A one-bedroom in the centre of Chengdu (419 euro) costs less than half of Shanghai (927 euro).
• Dearer: international schooling, at 100,000 to 185,625 yuan a year on average and much more at named schools.
• Dearer: rent in Shanghai and Beijing, and private health cover for older applicants.

FAQ

How much do I need a month? On our own sums about 780 euro for one person living modestly in Chengdu and about 1,860 euro in central Shanghai, before older-age insurance and any international school.

Is Numbeo reliable? It is crowd-sourced and Xiamen has only 20 contributors. Use it for scale and check rents on local listing sites for the district you want.

Can I compare this with other countries? Only roughly. The method is the same as in the cross-country cost comparison, but China is not yet included there and schools are listed separately.

What this means for a normal resident

• Budget by city, not by country: Chengdu and Shanghai differ by a factor of two to three.
• Add health insurance and a reserve for serious treatment before choosing a visa route, and ask whether your employer registers you in social insurance.
• Do not count on a school line unless you have seen the school's own fee schedule. See schools abroad for children.
• Confirm current residence permit fees with the immigration authority, not a university page.
• Rent for a season before any purchase decision.

An independent buyer-side adviser, such as D.H. Realting in Warsaw, can help you compare cities and bring in a local lawyer before you commit.