Cost of living comparison
Beijing is 3.5 times more expensive than Chennai.
If you lived in Beijing instead of Chennai, you would:
pay 56.2% more for restaurants
|
Chennai
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$1.78
₹150.03
|
$4.17
CN¥29.97
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.45
₹375.91
|
$5.57
CN¥39.96
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.43
₹36.65
|
$0.50
CN¥3.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.20
₹17.27
|
$0.31
CN¥2.22
|
|
pay 82.5% more for groceries
|
Chennai
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.54
₹45.57
|
$1.43
CN¥10.30
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.76
₹317.73
|
$7.31
CN¥52.46
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.45
₹206.51
|
$7.17
CN¥51.47
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$0.93
₹78.32
|
$1.74
CN¥12.48
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.61
₹136.26
|
$1.53
CN¥10.99
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.27
₹107.00
|
$0.92
CN¥6.59
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.41
₹34.41
|
$0.71
CN¥5.11
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.63
₹52.85
|
$0.89
CN¥6.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.26
₹21.71
|
$0.58
CN¥4.18
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.23
₹19.31
|
$0.37
CN¥2.64
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.24
₹20.18
|
$0.47
CN¥3.38
|
|
pay 55.7% more for transportation
|
Chennai
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.63
₹390.47
|
$4.36
CN¥31.30
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$11.85
₹1,000.18
|
$33.40
CN¥239.75
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$17,776.60
₹1,500,263.98
|
$20,872.18
CN¥149,845.55
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$3.56
₹300.05
|
$4.59
CN¥32.97
|
|
pay 2.9 times more for housing
|
Chennai
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$10.05
₹848.25
|
$13.28
CN¥95.37
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$195.87
₹16,530.83
|
$929.88
CN¥6,675.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$116.42
₹9,825.26
|
$492.44
CN¥3,535.34
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$31.71
₹2,675.88
|
$42.04
CN¥301.81
|
|
pay 12.6 times more for childcare
|
Chennai
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$84.21
₹7,107.02
|
$763.49
CN¥5,481.28
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$1,425.36
₹120,293.89
|
$22,913.01
CN¥164,497.11
|
|
pay 90.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Chennai
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.01
₹170.03
|
$1.11
CN¥7.99
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.83
₹154.81
|
$3.60
CN¥25.87
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.21
₹355.06
|
$3.48
CN¥24.97
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$19.49
₹1,644.81
|
$65.46
CN¥469.93
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$2.96
₹250.04
|
$8.35
CN¥59.94
|
|
pay 2.1 times more for clothing
|
Chennai
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$26.09
₹2,202.04
|
$62.65
CN¥449.81
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$24.99
₹2,108.70
|
$34.69
CN¥249.02
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$47.54
₹4,012.24
|
$83.45
CN¥599.13
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$35.84
₹3,024.77
|
$107.64
CN¥772.74
|
|
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