Cost of living comparison

compared to

Chengdu vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Chengdu is 18.2% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 31.3% less in Chengdu
Groceries: pay 14.5% more in Chengdu
Transportation: pay 28.8% less in Chengdu
Housing: pay 6.8% less in Chengdu
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in Chengdu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.9% less in Chengdu
Clothing: pay 79.7% more in Chengdu

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

Chengdu vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 31.3% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Chengdu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.85 KES498.74	$2.78 CN¥20.41	-27.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 KES797.98	$4.87 CN¥35.71	-21.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 KES85.77	$0.45 CN¥3.27	-32.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 KES68.92	$0.30 CN¥2.20	-43.6%
Average			-31.3%

Nairobi vs. Chengdu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.5% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Chengdu
Bread 1 loaf	$0.56 KES72.23	$1.53 CN¥11.22	+174.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.59 KES723.49	$6.09 CN¥44.64	+8.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.35 KES433.79	$6.77 CN¥49.61	+101.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 KES220.38	$1.82 CN¥13.35	+6.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.71 KES350.70	$1.85 CN¥13.59	-31.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 KES163.56	$0.89 CN¥6.55	-29.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 KES64.67	$0.56 CN¥4.12	+12.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 KES113.09	$0.77 CN¥5.67	-11.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.16	$0.45 CN¥3.32	-1.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 KES62.45	$0.31 CN¥2.27	-35.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.56 KES72.00	$0.36 CN¥2.62	-35.8%
Average			+14.5%

Nairobi vs. Chengdu - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.8% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Chengdu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.17 KES799.16	$4.44 CN¥32.54	-28.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.83 KES3,989.92	$27.83 CN¥204.07	-9.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,266.80 KES2,493,702.01	$18,784.96 CN¥137,744.48	-2.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.87 KES1,795.47	$3.48 CN¥25.51	-74.9%
Average			-28.8%

Nairobi vs. Chengdu - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.8% less for housing

	Nairobi	Chengdu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.39 KES5,098.60	$11.82 CN¥86.67	-70.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$428.53 KES55,464.39	$316.25 CN¥2,318.93	-26.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$166.44 KES21,541.75	$175.33 CN¥1,285.62	+5.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$22.39 KES2,898.26	$36.71 CN¥269.19	+63.9%
Average			-6.8%

Nairobi vs. Chengdu - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Nairobi	Chengdu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$166.67 KES21,572.71	$379.82 CN¥2,785.12	+127.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,008.06 KES1,036,482.78	$14,784.46 CN¥108,410.01	+84.6%
Average			+106.2%

Nairobi vs. Chengdu - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Chengdu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 KES299.24	$1.11 CN¥8.16	-51.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.24 KES290.04	$3.16 CN¥23.19	+41.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.08 KES398.99	$3.48 CN¥25.51	+12.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.12 KES5,710.07	$34.49 CN¥252.92	-21.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.17 KES797.98	$5.57 CN¥40.81	-9.7%
Average			-5.9%

Nairobi vs. Chengdu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 79.7% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Chengdu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$16.84 KES2,179.97	$45.91 CN¥336.62	+172.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.95 KES2,970.28	$44.98 CN¥329.82	+96.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$61.84 KES8,003.60	$78.99 CN¥579.23	+27.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.50 KES6,795.30	$64.36 CN¥471.90	+22.6%
Average			+79.7%

Nairobi vs. Chengdu - 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: January 2025

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