Cost of living comparison

Lugano, Switzerland

compared to

China

China vs. Lugano Cost of Living Summary

China is 62.7% cheaper than Lugano.

Restaurants: pay 86.7% less in China
Groceries: pay 56.4% less in China
Transportation: pay 63.8% less in China
Housing: pay 81.4% less in China
Childcare: pay 45.1% less in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 61.8% less in China
Clothing: pay 43.6% less in China

Expenses including restaurants, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, groceries, and childcare are lower in China.

China vs. Lugano Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 86.7% less for restaurants

	Lugano	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$28.51 CHF23.34	$2.85 CN¥20.83	-90.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$20.53 CHF16.80	$5.07 CN¥36.96	-75.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$4.68 CHF3.83	$0.49 CN¥3.57	-89.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.65 CHF2.99	$0.30 CN¥2.19	-91.8%
Average			-86.7%

Lugano vs. China - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 56.4% less for groceries

	Lugano	China
Bread 1 loaf	$4.09 CHF3.34	$1.59 CN¥11.61	-61.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$12.55 CHF10.27	$5.85 CN¥42.68	-53.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.99 CHF6.54	$6.86 CN¥50.05	-14.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.54 CHF5.36	$1.60 CN¥11.65	-75.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$13.62 CHF11.15	$1.54 CN¥11.24	-88.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.16 CHF0.95	$0.76 CN¥5.56	-34.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.88 CHF0.72	$0.57 CN¥4.18	-34.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.16 CHF0.95	$0.65 CN¥4.77	-43.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.54 CHF2.90	$0.52 CN¥3.82	-85.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 CHF0.83	$0.32 CN¥2.34	-68.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.03 CHF0.84	$0.40 CN¥2.92	-61.0%
Average			-56.4%

Lugano vs. China - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 63.8% less for transportation

	Lugano	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.80 CHF6.38	$4.44 CN¥32.43	-43.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$81.93 CHF67.06	$22.47 CN¥163.94	-72.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,408.50 CHF30,618.19	$19,071.53 CN¥139,142.09	-49.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$42.77 CHF35.01	$3.97 CN¥29.00	-90.7%
Average			-63.8%

Lugano vs. China - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 81.4% less for housing

	Lugano	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$57.58 CHF47.13	$11.70 CN¥85.32	-79.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,653.73 CHF1,353.55	$328.33 CN¥2,395.43	-80.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,368.60 CHF1,120.18	$205.78 CN¥1,501.33	-85.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$212.22 CHF173.70	$40.46 CN¥295.18	-80.9%
Average			-81.4%

Lugano vs. China - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.1% less for childcare

	Lugano	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,197.53 CHF980.16	$459.70 CN¥3,353.87	-61.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,661.32 CHF21,003.33	$18,318.08 CN¥133,645.05	-28.6%
Average			-45.1%

Lugano vs. China - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 61.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Lugano	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.84 CHF5.60	$1.09 CN¥7.96	-84.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.95 CHF3.23	$3.07 CN¥22.38	-22.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.12 CHF7.47	$3.23 CN¥23.59	-64.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$142.02 CHF116.24	$41.41 CN¥302.11	-70.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$18.02 CHF14.75	$5.93 CN¥43.23	-67.1%
Average			-61.8%

Lugano vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 43.6% less for clothing

	Lugano	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$118.12 CHF96.68	$48.23 CN¥351.84	-59.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.92 CHF32.67	$31.67 CN¥231.07	-20.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$135.43 CHF110.85	$72.53 CN¥529.14	-46.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$145.98 CHF119.49	$75.53 CN¥551.09	-48.3%
Average			-43.6%

Lugano vs. China - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: April 2025

More cost comparisons

Lugano vs.

Paris

Lugano vs.

Reykjavik

Lugano vs.

Cairo

Lugano vs.

Ottawa

Lugano vs.

Vienna

Lugano vs.

Warsaw

Lugano vs.

Mexico City

Lugano vs.

Hanoi

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Switzerland vs. China. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Switzerland and China.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Lugano

Add prices for China

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about China or Lugano. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.