Cost of living comparison
Austin is 2.4 times more expensive than Beijing.
If you lived in Austin instead of Beijing, you would:
pay 4.6 times more for restaurants
|
Beijing
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.15
CN¥29.59
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.54
CN¥39.45
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.50
CN¥3.59
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.31
CN¥2.21
|
$2.19
|
|
pay 2.2 times more for groceries
|
Beijing
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.43
CN¥10.19
|
$3.55
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.83
CN¥48.62
|
$6.81
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.46
CN¥53.15
|
$3.95
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.75
CN¥12.45
|
$3.41
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.44
CN¥10.28
|
$5.30
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.96
CN¥6.83
|
$2.59
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
CN¥5.65
|
$0.71
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.87
CN¥6.21
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
CN¥4.11
|
$1.67
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.37
CN¥2.62
|
$1.26
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.49
CN¥3.47
|
$1.24
|
|
pay 83.4% more for transportation
|
Beijing
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.35
CN¥31.00
|
$3.07
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$34.62
CN¥246.55
|
$45.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$20,773.90
CN¥147,933.00
|
$35,639.19
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$4.68
CN¥33.33
|
$16.92
|
|
pay 3.3 times more for housing
|
Beijing
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$13.59
CN¥96.77
|
$66.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$969.73
CN¥6,905.52
|
$2,348.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$561.86
CN¥4,001.05
|
$1,570.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$42.17
CN¥300.30
|
$132.48
|
|
pay 31.1% more for childcare
|
Beijing
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$836.50
CN¥5,956.78
|
$1,476.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$25,256.69
CN¥179,855.38
|
$21,625.00
|
|
pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Beijing
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.38
CN¥9.86
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.73
CN¥26.58
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.46
CN¥24.66
|
$8.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$62.16
CN¥442.65
|
$57.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.31
CN¥59.17
|
$14.50
|
|
pay 21.5% more for clothing
|
Beijing
|
Austin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$65.57
CN¥466.93
|
$61.92
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$35.21
CN¥250.74
|
$55.85
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$85.31
CN¥607.47
|
$98.04
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.58
CN¥801.71
|
$132.87
|
|
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