Grocery Prices in USA vs China 

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Keep in mind that prices listed in US supermarkets are not the the real price you pay for the products since the taxes hasn’t been applied yet.

I am a very frugal Chinese. I buy things always at a big discount. A 50% discount for me and my coworkers is a very normal thing. I only buy things at the original price when it is never on sale. I'm not as poor as you think, just like the sense of achievement.😊

I think Beijing pricing should compare it to Washington DC . Or Shanghai to new York . Small cities usually cheaper in both countries .. usa or china .

Most people that live in China would buy a lot of what you purchased online, in group buys with their communities or at markets. And most people in China would probably not buy western ingredients. I think what you've compared is whether it's cheaper to live a westerner lifestyle in Beijing or Florida.

To calculate real comparable incomes between US and China, you have also to observe taxes, rent and other expenses such as healthcare and education costs.

I’ve been living in Shanghai, China for 11 years, and we have no problems finding any pasta. Also, I get American brands of many things. I make 4X more what I made in the US (Ohio for me) and things cost 1/3 of what they do in the US which is why I’ve been here 11 years.

Take away is to get a job in Florida and work from home in China - lol

I think it’s probably better to calculate income after tax. I know someone who moved from Hong Kong to New York City last year… at first she was super excited cuz the offer of her salary was really high in NY, but after moving there and paying taxes, it turned out she was earning less than HK by a lot.

I think that for Chinese people with low incomes, there are even more affordable options or substitutes available in China than in the US. Chinese people are generally frugal and tend to save money. The expectation of a high-quality life in China is lower than in the US. It seems that people in the US tend to carry a lot of financial weight in debt, such as mortgages and student loans. They have larger families to maintain, more cars, and are more dependent on gasoline. There also seems to be a greater emphasis on living with high-priced products. It's interesting to notice that, in general, Americans are more financially stressed compared to Chinese people, despite having higher incomes and more affordability.

Comparing prices between a Florida Walmart to that store in Beijing is sort of like comparing between Florida Walmart and a Whole Foods Market in Manhattan, NY. Most people in China are not shopping at these levels.

Thank you for showing some of the grocery prices. I know a fair comparison is difficult but really appreciate your effort. At least, people here get a glimpse of living cost in both places. 👍

I saw one of your ealier video and this is the second one, great video, keep up the good work and keep this channel alive.

comparing supermarket prices is useless, because supermarket in all Asian countries are usually higher than their local wet market on most common veggies and meat. And if you compare to repacked foods, all American products that aren't common in Asia are always going to be more expensive such as cheese and ice creams; but if you compare anything locally grown, especially veggies, they are way cheaper than the US.

What are the prices of utilities? eating out? house rental? cost of public transportation? gasoline? I guess maybe it's better to put everything relating to daily life together to make a comprehensive comparison. After all, groceries are only a small part of daily life. Anyways, good job! Now we learn some facts by this comparison, thanks.

Thank you so much for this video as it was truly eye opening to see price differences per capita. This really helped me understand lifestyles in China and America and I appreciate what I have even more now. Thank you

Very entertaining, I can see all the effort put into this video. Thanks.

Please also compare the apartment rental and transportation costs,

The most I ever made in my 50 years of working was $47K year. Retired I now make half that amount. There is no way we can afford to live in the US. Hence we currently reside in Ecuador where our cost of living is far below that of the US. Our groceries here are averaging us $238 monthly. Friends who return from the US can't believe the prices there.

The milk that stood next to what you picked up in China was Polish, from a cooperative not far from where I live. Huh, interesting that this gets out there... At least you get EU quality milk. PS. I would not say the USA store has many bread options, I guess it depends what you compare it to. It's all the same packaged stuff that tastes like bath sponge xd One thing I noticed on a recent US visit was the the nutritional facts on packaging do not list ingredients per 100g but by some other random quantity, different for each product making it harder for a customer to compare. You also don't have that simple A, B C D or E nutritional score on boxes of processed food like we do in Europe.

I live in singapore n i also don't buy most of those foods. I last bought bread a month ago n ground beef about 20 years ago. Of course expats end up paying for d full cost of importing tiny bits of stuff locals dont eat

I think that the United States is very expensive. Very nice video. You folks make great content. Happy New Year 🎉💥

I lived in Beijing for a year in 1993. At that time there were just a few regular "stores" which no one shopped at. I think the competition with the traditional markets people still use keep prices low.

Not from either country, I love both China and US. Both have amazing people. It boils down to where suits your lifestyle and goals. Average people shouldnt worry much about politics, just provide and love yourself and your loved ones. Love this video😊

Look forward to more price comparisons thanks and cheers

The price of fridge pack soda went from $4.99 to the currently $7.99~$8.99 during the last 2-3 years.

Interesting video. Thank you.

Average disposable income is going to be very skewed in Florida where you have a lot of very rich people, retirees etc. Median income would be more telling or even better ask how much the store clerks make in both places and use that as a basis.

One of the things I'm concerned with here in the US is all the processed food which is making us obese. I try to be mindful of what I'm eating. Not everyone has access to quality food here in the US and that needs to change. This year I plan on joining a food co-op and help get better food in our community. I think the only way we can do this is getting involved in our communities and offering an alternative. The market only changes when there is compilation and the buying power of consumers.

So fun to watch! For those willing, you can really enjoy the best of the two worlds!

I'm actually not surprised, i live in a south east asian country, and while our money is small compared to the US dollars and our neighbors, our food and product prices are crazy high, this is by government design to help local products compete, by making foreign imported products higher price, almost as high as the US. BUT people are still willing to spend alot, even though our minimum salary is very low. Alas... we live in a materialistic/greedy era now, where buying branded pricey goods are looked up to, whereas buying cheap is looked down on or suspected to be low quality due to lack branding. I'm guessing China also experiencing the same thing, most big supermarkets would stock branded foreign goods, but for cheap local goods you usually gotta go to your local smaller stores or buy online nowadays. Also another thing to note is, due to the low currency, everything imported will also be pricier, while the up side is easier to attract foreign investors due to cheaper costs. My country is also copying this strategy from China, hence the costly imported goods, even though we export alot more.

the real indicator is how much money is left after all the expenses at the end of the month.

the welfare and tax are very different in china and usa therefore you cannot simply compare the salary.

Enjoyed this video 😊❤🎉

But in China the locals wouldn’t buy western processed crap but would be buying food from markets etc

There's no way your average person in Florida makes 54k. That only applies to college educated people with high paying jobs. 30k is the real number.

And Florida has almost the exact same population as Beijing, making the comparison pretty reasonable. Good job. I would prefer working and living in Florida, if only judging from the income/cost perspective, but the current geopolitical tension just makes me as a Chinese feel unsafe in the US.

It's not a really good comparison when you comparing western living standards to China's living standards, many Beijingers does not shop at Walmart for their "everyday" groceries. I lived in Hong Kong for a while and discover that I can save a lot by going to the "wet markets", as long as I don't buy western items or brands, I can do fairly well by shopping at where the local shops. The people shopping at a Beijing Walmart are like the same people shopping at Whole Foods in terms of income level, in contrast, the lowest price for groceries in the U.S. is Walmart. No doubt Beijing is very expensive comparing to other cities or towns but if you follow a local "aunties" where they buy their groceries, I will bet that they are saving money because they are the best in comparison shopping anywhere in Asia.

This is a very interesting video. According to the World Bank posted by Reuters, China's GDP per capita last year was $12,720 and the U.S. was $72,000. So there is no question that the prices in the U.S. are higher than the prices in China. What would be interesting is that you compare prices in two locations, one in China and one in the U.S. that share similar GDP per capita. I know Beijing and Shanghai are generally more expensive than smaller cities. I have lived in Germany in the past and remember that the groceries there were cheaper than the east coast of the U.S.

It seems like the USA is cheaper when it comes to horrible, fake hyper processed foods & China is cheaper when it comes to real wholesome foods. Maybe you should have included the big pharma bill for all the drugs to cure the illnesses of the proportion of people who overly consume hyper processed foods 😂

I like this video, although I never go to Walmart to buy things and have no concept of the price there.

Most of Chinese low income people only buy things from wet market or local farmers market. Which is insane cheaper than those city grocery’s . Expecilly in small town in China, the agricultural stuff is ridiculous cheaper

Yeah. If you live a western lifestyle in China, it's going cost you more than a westerner living a western lifestyle in America. Same thing if i want to live a Chinese lifestyle in NY, or Florida than in China, it would cost more sering I'll have to shop at a Chinese or Asian supermarket.

Yes, close comparison but thank you for doing that. I think food and grocery items are fine in the US overall, but I also compare my salary growth versus grocery price growth, which makes me cry sometimes😔Not a whole lot of change in term of salary growth in comparison to food prices, which makes living a lot more harder, well, at least for my family. And in NYC, rent is super expensive also. 😩

I think the Gini coefficient and people's daily food diet need to be calculated in. China's average income is more "Average" than the US's with 10% of the population owning 90% of the wealth. Also an average Chinese does not consume much of slice bread and milk but rice and soya milk, or pork instead of more expensive beef.

Obviously Beijing, a Capitol city & Florida not exactly Apple to Apple, but good comparison nonetheless, Thank you! It showcase the standard of living in China went from a dirt poor developing country, is catching up to World's most powerful & richest country fast! I also notice you're comparing some Westernize Brands & Items, like Lay's & pasta and such, imported brands and Western items tend to be little pricer in China too, just a thought!

Western items in Beijing are expensive! But there is a lot of things in Beijing that are cheaper in china vs US

Thanks very interesting. BUt I agree some of the other comments here as well. I would agree that Beijing being the capital city and being tier 1, therefore, it is more expensive. Especially if you shop for expat-preferred items and brands, I would imagine it is more dear.

Walmart in US can usually offer the same goods with the lowest price. However, Walmart in China tends to be more expensive than shopping online....

Very surprising. I think it would be interesting to see a video comparing other cost of living, for example rent, utilities and transportation costs. In the US most of us must own a car to get to work and buy basic necessities, but it seems not the case in China?

As you mentioned, rent wasn’t considered and it is a bigger expense.

I believe at this point in time, the US is struggling with inflation while China is struggling with deflation.

Price comparison starts with purchasing power comparison. Purchasing power is the amount of goods and services that can be purchased with a unit of currency.

If you buy those food which the local people buy in China, the results would be different.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I have watched some chinese vlogger videos about food prices. i think some of the foods are the same price as in my canadian city. but most of the vegetables are cheaper in China though.

very informative 👍👍

If you only focus on shopping without transportation, waste management costs etc, China might seem expensive, but if you factor in all expenses from the average monthly salary, it's substantially more expensive in the U.S than China.

Without going into other ancillary factors such as rent and taxes, as may have been mentioned in some other comments, i would like to point out one important real life factor that should be considered: the average American shops for groceries at a supermarket, but most Chinese, including the average dweller in Beijing, does so in markets, traditional markets, where prices are more down to earth.

Florida is pretty cheap. I may do a similar comparison video if I go back to NY over the next break. I'm sure it'll be VERY different.

You should go to Fudi, there's one in Wukesong inside the newly refurbished Wanda center

I think per capita GDP figures for Beijing is incorrect. Even China whole has higher per capita GDP than 10,000 something you have given for Beijing. Beijing's per capita GDP is close to 28,000 dollars.

Guns, dopes, psychie drugs( that leads to suicide) are WAAAAAY cheaper in US

This is a fun video😂

Should do a full comparison, e.g. transportation, rent, health care, income, taxes, etc.

I think you should compare how much of income can be saved. As the matter of the fact, I found it is harder to save in Canada now than before pandemic, even though my salary increases every year. We’re reducing unnecessary spending a lot and still feel tight.

In terms of shopping experience, different classes, so to speak, in china, have WAY more choices than americans, esp lower class. , In fact, Stats of its own say that 80% americans do their shopping in fewer than 20 shops in their lifetime.

The US pay much more Income tax,sales tax, property tax. Also The US pay much more at medicine, hospital, public transit and other services.

however, in the US, housing is the largest expenditure which is higher than china from percentage standpoint. i live in austin tx, average rent plus utility is around $1900 for one bedroom apartment, and the median household income is $78,965, take home pay is around $58k, 39% of it goes to rent. if you own your house, it's even higher. when i was living in shanghai years ago, my rent was less than 20% of my take home pay, in both countries, i have/had a high-paying job.

14$ for toilet paper just blew my mind not gonna lie 🤣😂😭

I think the products chosen are frequently consumed by Chinese people, not those that Westerners like and Beijing people don't use. So it's quite fair. I am in Beijing.

Thank you for your on the ground investigation. Before my commenting, some context. I normally live in Australia, my wife's home town is in the Northwest China in a no tier town. A few of the items on your list are considered "fancy". Pasta and plain sliced bread. My son love these and pasta was not easy to find and when we did it was about five times the cost of Australia. Plain sliced bread was hard to find also as most breads have things or in them or they are flavoured in some way. I ended up making my own bread. :o And yes, forget about cheese. That was extremely expensive compare to Australia. Milk was odd, locally it was ok and cheap, but the imported was not very cheap. Now looking at your prices compare to Australia (We also have inflation issues and still do). I am assuming this video is recent and In December of 2023. I see that Australia may be cheaper? But of course you need to compare the income versus cost of food. I say this because when I was in New York back in 2005, I found US prices was way cheaper than Australia. That was when the Australia dollar was in parity with the US (1AUD = 1USD) too.

I think one thing you need to take into consideration is that in Beijing, people's income is usually equal to their disposable income, but Florida's habits don't like that. People usually subtract taxes from their income and assume the rest is disposable, but in reality you can't cut some spend on money like back on health insurance as well as subscriptionnal costs. You could theoretically go without insurance, but I'm afraid that's not a good idea, so end up you need to buy it anyway. As another example, I can't imagine what it would be like for a young American not to subscripe a Netflix membership. I think these hidden expenses are what make Americans look wealthy but have a hard time saving money. In fact, I experienced this kind of culture shock when I was studying in the UK, some of my classmates were supposed to be making much more money than me, but I found that in practice they were spending very sparingly.

In the US, many cow don't eat grass. So many people buy organic milk. It's $5-6 for a half a gallon. I pay $7 for 100% grass-fed milk and $8 for a quart of goat milk. We don't have a Walmart in San Francisco. Eggs are really expensive. It can be $10 for a dozen eggs if you want to buy quality eggs (pasture raised and organic). We have to look for organic, grass-fed, pasture raised, wild-caught and so forth.

Thank you for the interesting video sharing🙏👍🙏

America is the place where Uncle Sam taxes everything that moves and doesn't move; in short, he'll tax till the citizenry goes bankrupt if not for the loopholes.🤑🤑🤑🤑

Is Walmart a more expensive place to purchase groceries in China as opposed to buying from local grocery stores? Walmart is one of the cheaper grocery stores in the USA.

16:45 the chart here explains the difference as China is mostly still a developing country. The disposable income per capital is growing while the economy develops. Most of the global south is still climbing on the curve and they pay higher percentage to cover the living costs

I grew up in FL, but moved out of the country a little over 10 years ago, I think this disposable income in FL sounds a bit high.

You should add Canada into the mix. Our prices are insane.

What about tax? Is disposable income net or gross in one you are working on?

Things are more expensive in the US but you get paid way more in the US than in China. I feel that one is able to save more if income is high.

I think you forget one important factor that Walmart in the US is one of the cheapest places to buy groceries. However, that's not the case for Walmart in China. Lower income Chinese don't go to Walmart. They can get much cheaper groceries elsewhere. On top of that, the items you purchased are geared toward US customers so it's more expensive in China. Take Lays potato chips for example. It's a popular snack in the US so it's cheap. But that's not considered a popular snack in China.

Actually, the variety of chips and everything else in the U.S. are extremely limited when compared to what one can find in China. Even American brands such as Cheetos or Lays offer many times more varieties and flavors of their snacks only in China, not in the U.S.. In the U.S. the aisles only appear to have huge quantities or "varieties" of items. But when you look closer, you discover that they are mostly the same few kinds, with very little variation.

Affordable for rich Western foreigners. This is not the same case for the Chinese factory workers being paid at low estimates 6000$/yr and highest estimate I saw was 13000$/yr.

Nice video

This is very interesting, but I wonder how much time passed between the shopping sprees.

....actually I was surprised that the people in Bejing only have 40% less, as China is still in some sense a developing country. I know from other developing countries that the cost of living compared to income is much more expensive, some countries have e.g. 10% of an US income but prices in supermarkets are even more expensive than the US (when I was younger I had the misconception that poorer countries must have cheaper prices, but this is not true, in some African countreis you pay 3$ for a bottle of water of 5$ for a bag of rice). Interesting abot China is to watch the slope of the income curve, in a few years income mght double for most jobs. And of course, don't orget that the US has actually no middle class, only an upper class and a lower class so the middle income might also be a bit misleading. But still very interesting what you found.

Those making average income in China wouldn’t be shopping in a Walmart though.

Excellent videos. Can you have someone that lives in other Tier cities not Beijing do the same thing? Or New York as a comparison between cities? I have a feeling the prices at Walmart probably don't change that much state to state in the US (but not sure), but is that also true in China? Are there Walmart or equivalent in outer non urban regions like Xinjiang?

Do chinese people regularly buy their veggies and meat in the store? In asia where I've been many just go to open markets like tge butchershop and veggie markets instead of retail stores. Though i suppose things like Detergent are mostly bought from stores

Well, one thing this video did not point out is if the consumer is is USA citizen & using value USA dollars in China, then of course it appears much less cost to purchase items in China. And conversely if a Chinese person traveled here and purchased items in USA using their Yen, more expensive. I do appreciate the comparison. It confirmed for me in the USA grocery items are very expensive for me here.

Good morning, John, I am in Texas since 1991. The grocery here has been great. When will back China? I visited China twice in this year. I saw many great things in China, the foods are amazing and cheap. I love the subway and bullet trains. Just feel too much pressure folks to be successful and be richer. I prefer lay back. I will stay in Texas for good.

I guess in small town America, Walmart prices are decent. You should compare fast food chains. Many RU-vidrs have complained about those prices are quite high in the US.

Chinese people living in the United States will definitely spend more on groceries than Americans. Because food costs are higher than local food prices. My family (4 people in CA) spends $3,000 on groceries every month. I don’t think the people spend 21000RMB on groceries who are living in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen

The tax , rent and medical cost are much higher in US. Therefore even more money you made in US still the buying power is less in Us

Do you deduct taxes in your incomes?

I am 77 years old, was born poor in the UK, am now rich in Australia, and it appears to me that everyone in the world is getting richer, including me. The problem is that everything is now wrapped in plastic, which was unknown when I was a kid. It is a plastic world and we will probably end up eating plastic food.

You forgot the buying habits of a local in Beijing vs the buying habits of a local in the US (or Florida). People in China have their own local supermarts or wet markets (produce are fresher) to go to where prices could be much lower than say that Walmart in Beijing which you go to. I'm neither from Beijing nor Florida so I don't know about Florida, whether do you have your own version of wet markets where things are priced more cheaply or the supermarts are the go-to places. I have been to China so I know they have their own local markets. For example, in my country, going to my own local supermarts the items are definitely cheaper than going to a foreign one. However, as an expat earning a much higher sal than a local, things in Beijing are still cheaper than in the developed countries except for international brands, that's my pov.

you need to look at the middle class income in a city, such as Guangzhou, Chongqing, Shanghai, etc. then look at how much they have to spend on the necessities such as food, housing, insurance, etc. Here in Texas, the home insurance, auto insurance, were doubled from 2022 and will be doubled again in 2024 based on the bill statements. WTH is going on here in the US.....

Interesting video. I think you are in essence right that grocery is a larger part of everyone's disposable income in China given the few inconsistency like you are comparing Beijing to Florida and you are buying mostly a western diet. Further, given the disparity of income in income where the top 10% in the state made much more than the rest so a comparison using Median Income might be more accurate. I think if we add Healthcare, transportation, rent, and taxes, the picture would be more on China's side.