Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Nairobi, Kenya

Nairobi vs. China Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 15.7% more expensive than China overall.

Restaurants: pay 42.4% more in Nairobi
Groceries: pay 11.4% more in Nairobi
Transportation: pay 81.5% more in Nairobi
Housing: pay 50.9% more in Nairobi
Childcare: pay 60.0% less in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.2% more in Nairobi
Clothing: pay 34.4% less in Nairobi

The cost of transportation, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Nairobi are more expensive than in China. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Nairobi. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Nairobi.

Nairobi vs. China Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nairobi instead of China, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 42.4% more for restaurants

	China	Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.85 CN¥20.63	$3.85 KES498.43	+35.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.07 CN¥36.60	$6.17 KES797.49	+21.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 CN¥3.54	$0.66 KES85.72	+35.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 CN¥2.17	$0.53 KES68.87	+77.3%
Average			+42.4%

China vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.4% more for groceries

	China	Nairobi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.59 CN¥11.50	$0.56 KES72.19	-64.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.85 CN¥42.27	$5.59 KES723.04	-4.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.86 CN¥49.57	$3.35 KES433.53	-51.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.60 CN¥11.53	$1.70 KES220.24	+6.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.54 CN¥11.13	$2.71 KES350.48	+75.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.76 CN¥5.51	$1.26 KES163.46	+65.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.57 CN¥4.14	$0.50 KES64.63	-12.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.65 CN¥4.72	$0.87 KES113.02	+33.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 CN¥3.78	$0.46 KES59.13	-12.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.32	$0.48 KES62.41	+50.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.89	$0.56 KES71.96	+38.9%
Average			+11.4%

China vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries

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pay 81.5% more for transportation

	China	Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.44 CN¥32.11	$6.17 KES798.66	+38.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.47 CN¥162.35	$30.83 KES3,987.46	+37.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,071.53 CN¥137,798.50	$19,266.80 KES2,492,160.67	+1.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.97 CN¥28.72	$13.87 KES1,794.36	+249.0%
Average			+81.5%

China vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.9% more for housing

	China	Nairobi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.70 CN¥84.50	$39.39 KES5,095.45	+236.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$328.33 CN¥2,372.30	$428.53 KES55,430.11	+30.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$205.78 CN¥1,486.83	$166.44 KES21,528.43	-19.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$40.46 CN¥292.33	$22.39 KES2,896.47	-44.7%
Average			+50.9%

China vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing

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pay 60.0% less for childcare

	China	Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$459.70 CN¥3,321.48	$166.67 KES21,559.38	-63.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,318.08 CN¥132,354.54	$8,008.06 KES1,035,842.14	-56.3%
Average			-60.0%

China vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.2% more for entertainment and sports

	China	Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.09 CN¥7.88	$2.31 KES299.06	+112.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.07 CN¥22.16	$2.24 KES289.86	-26.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.23 CN¥23.36	$3.08 KES398.75	-4.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.41 CN¥299.19	$44.12 KES5,706.54	+6.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.93 CN¥42.81	$6.17 KES797.49	+4.1%
Average			+18.2%

China vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 34.4% less for clothing

	China	Nairobi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.23 CN¥348.44	$16.84 KES2,178.62	-65.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.67 CN¥228.84	$22.95 KES2,968.44	-27.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.53 CN¥524.03	$61.84 KES7,998.65	-14.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$75.53 CN¥545.76	$52.50 KES6,791.10	-30.5%
Average			-34.4%

China vs. Nairobi - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: May 2025

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