China / East Asia

Shanghai, China City Intelligence

Scores below are GCI modelled/editorial indicators, not official city statistics. Shanghai is one of the world's largest urban economies, with deep finance, manufacturing, and creative industries and a globally cited transit network. Shanghai is a east asia city of about 29.2M metro in China. On the composite city-intelligence score, Shanghai sits comfortably above the indexed median (80/100).

Last updated
2026-10-17
Data year (model edition)
2025
Population
29.2M metro

What these numbers represent

GCI scores and planning amounts are modelled or editorial indicators, not measured city statistics or official estimates. Country assumptions are not local observations. Institutional references explain context; they do not supply these scores.

Shanghai's legacy safety module indicator is 86/100. The separate quality-of-life safety composite is 65/100, calculated from low-crime (32%), personal safety (30%), night safety (20%) and road safety (18%) model components. The personal-safety component is 67/100. These are different indicators, not conflicting observations of one statistic. None measures an individual's risk or replaces current local safety guidance.

Source-backed temperature context is available in the NASA POWER climate reference. It is gridded reanalysis, not a weather-station measurement, and does not validate GCI's other scores.

Content and provenance reviewed 2026-10-17; this is not a new observation date. For GCI models, data year means model edition, not a measurement period. Source-backed datasets state their own periods. Read the data categories and limitations.

Shanghai at a glance

8 of 8 published intelligence dimensions. Positions compare Shanghai with other indexed cities in China.

Strongest in China

  • Safety
  • Internet
  • Air quality
  • Economy

Trade-offs in China

  • Affordability
How this is calculated

Where a position is shown, it compares Shanghai with the other indexed cities in China — using the data currently published on this site, not any external benchmark. Cities whose indicators are still pending integration are excluded from those comparisons entirely, and no position is shown for a country with fewer than 10 comparable cities. Where too many cities share the same published value to separate them honestly, the card says “Typical for this country” instead of a stronger claim, and positions describe rank order rather than a fixed percentage.

Plan a trip to Shanghai

Booking sites for places to stay, flights, airport transfers, car hire, travel insurance and calls abroad for Shanghai. What each one offers here is decided by that site, not by GCI.

Partner links. If you book after following one, Global City Intelligence may earn a commission; on GCI’s hotel booking site that commission is part of the price you see. GCI does not check prices or availability. How partner links work

Cities similar to Shanghai

Cities with comparable characteristics based on the indicators currently published by Global City Intelligence.

Explore all cities similar to Shanghai

Explore alternatives to Shanghai

Cities that stay broadly comparable to Shanghai while improving one named indicator. Each result states what it gains and what it gives up.

Choose an indicator to see alternatives.

How recommendations are calculated

Recommendations use the indicators currently published on this site — they are not external rankings. Each indicator is scaled to a common range before cities are compared, so no single measure dominates because of its units, and only cities with a complete set of published indicators take part. Cities whose data is still pending integration are excluded entirely. An alternative must stay broadly comparable to Shanghai and improve the indicator you chose by a margin large enough to be meaningful rather than rounding noise; where it gives something up in exchange, that is stated on the card.

View of Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai, China

Oriental Pearl Tower

Image credit: Image: Dottie Day / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Composite profile

Overall score

80/100

Shanghai is most useful for users comparing economic depth, mobility, and digital infrastructure against air-quality and climate-exposure considerations.

Overall80/100
Affordability64/100
Air quality64/100
Energy78/100

Overall city intelligence

Strong

80/100

Strong economic and connectivity depth balanced against air-quality and climate exposure.

Public transit

Globally leading

Among the world's most extensive metro networks.

Economic depth

Globally leading

Finance, manufacturing, and trade ecosystems shape opportunity.

Shanghai data table

The table is part of the initial server-rendered HTML and mirrors the key city score cards.

Shanghai city intelligence data table
MetricValueContext
Overall score80/100Composite score across major city intelligence modules.
Cost of Living64/100Shanghai is among China's most expensive metros, with central rents balanced against deep services, food, and transit access.
Air Quality64/100Shanghai's air-quality profile reflects ongoing improvement with seasonal particulate exposure remaining the main focus.
Energy78/100Shanghai benefits from rapid national renewable build-out, leading EV adoption, and active building-efficiency work.
Safety86/100Shanghai is among the safer large global cities, with low violent-crime context and consistent neighborhood experience.
Internet Speed86/100Shanghai delivers fast fiber broadband and dense mobile coverage, supporting a deep digital-services and finance economy.
Climate Risk68/100Shanghai carries meaningful climate exposure from coastal flooding, typhoons, and rising heat, balanced by major adaptation programs.
Resilience76/100Climate adaptation and infrastructure continuity context.

Safety

Deterministic safety estimates from our index — planning signals derived from country priors and city data, not official crime statistics.

Safety

Overall safety65/100
Low crime66/100
Personal safety67/100
Night safety57/100
Road safety67/100

Shanghai is estimated to be a generally safe city (65/100 in our safety index), with solid personal-safety indicators, though night-time scores run lower.

Quality of Life

A composite quality-of-life estimate and its component indicators.

Quality of Life

Quality of life71/100
Healthcare76/100
Education81/100
Green space44/100
Cleanliness70/100
Infrastructure84/100
Mobility75/100

Shanghai has a high quality-of-life estimate (71/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, public transport and infrastructure.

Family Friendliness

How the city scores for raising a family, with the indicators that drive it.

Family Friendliness

Family friendliness67/100
Education81/100
Green space44/100
Overall safety65/100

Shanghai scores moderate for family living (67/100), helped by education access and healthcare.

Digital Nomad Suitability

Suitability for remote workers, based on connectivity, mobility, and livability.

Digital Nomad Suitability

Digital nomad suitability75/100
Walkability90/100
Cycling68/100
Infrastructure84/100

Shanghai is high for remote workers (75/100), based on connectivity, affordability and walkability and day-to-day amenities.

Retirement Suitability

Suitability for retirement, weighing healthcare, affordability, climate, and environment.

Retirement Suitability

Retirement suitability69/100
Healthcare76/100
Cleanliness70/100
Outdoor lifestyle29/100

Shanghai is high for retirement (69/100), appealing for healthcare access, affordability and a comfortable climate.

Emergency and public safety in Shanghai

Local public safety guidance for Shanghai, with the country-level emergency contacts that apply when calling for police, fire, or ambulance.

Unverified

For the universal emergency contacts that apply in Shanghai, including police, fire, and ambulance, see the China emergency profile, which currently lists no verified national contacts.

Methodology and the wider source registry are documented on the scoring methodology and data sources pages.

Healthcare and hospitals in Shanghai

Healthcare context for Shanghai, with national-level information from China where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only and does not provide medical advice.

Unverified

For the national healthcare and public-health context that applies in Shanghai, see the China healthcare profile, which currently lists no verified national healthcare information.

Related sections: emergency and public safety, scoring methodology, and data sources.

Transport and mobility in Shanghai

Local mobility context for Shanghai, with national-level context from China where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only.

Unverified

For national transport authorities and operators that apply in Shanghai, see the China transport profile, which currently lists no verified national transport information.

Related sections: emergency and public safety, healthcare and hospitals, cities directory, countries directory, scoring methodology, data sources.

Air quality dataset

Source-attributed air-quality dataset for Shanghai. Verified measurements are surfaced when published from accepted official datasets; transparent fallback is shown otherwise.

Air quality dataset for Shanghai

Verified data unavailableLast updated 2026-05-16 / data year 2025

Verified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location

Source-attributed values for Shanghai will appear here after the platform integrates verified measurements from accepted official publishers. Until then, structured air-quality module context remains available on the dedicated module page.

Shanghai air-quality dataset coverage
MetricValueData yearStatus
Air qualityVerified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location.

Data provenance

Source attribution

  • Global City Intelligence — air-quality dataset

    Verified data unavailable
    Publisher
    Global City Intelligence
    Last verified
    2026-05-16

    The air-quality dataset begins empty by design. Verified city-level measurements appear here only after they are sourced from accepted publishers (WHO, EEA, US EPA, OpenAQ, OECD, or official national/city environmental agencies).

Quick answers

Planning answers about Shanghai based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records. They are not official assessments; verify practical decisions with local primary sources.

Quick answers about Shanghai

Is Shanghai worth visiting?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Yes — strong quality of life (71/100) and a industrial city economy.

Is Shanghai good for families?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Strong (67/100) on safety, schools and green space.

Is Shanghai affordable?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: More affordable than average; about 8,350 CNY/month for one person (estimate).

When is the best time to visit Shanghai?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Late spring to early autumn; warmest in Jul, coldest in Jan.

What are Shanghai's main industries?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Mainly manufacturing, automotive, tourism.

What is the climate in Shanghai?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: A humid continental climate, averaging about 18.5°C.

Does Shanghai have universities?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Higher education is strong (72/100).

What is healthcare like in Shanghai?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Healthcare access is strong (67/100).

Is Shanghai good for retirement?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Retirement suitability is strong (68/100).

What nature is near Shanghai?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: No major nature destinations are indexed within day-trip range.

Explore Shanghai modules

City pages link to module and ranking pages so crawlers can move through the topic cluster naturally.

Cost of Living in Shanghai

Shanghai is among China's most expensive metros, with central rents balanced against deep services, food, and transit access.

Air Quality in Shanghai

Shanghai's air-quality profile reflects ongoing improvement with seasonal particulate exposure remaining the main focus.

Energy in Shanghai

Shanghai benefits from rapid national renewable build-out, leading EV adoption, and active building-efficiency work.

Safety in Shanghai

Shanghai is among the safer large global cities, with low violent-crime context and consistent neighborhood experience.

Internet Speed in Shanghai

Shanghai delivers fast fiber broadband and dense mobile coverage, supporting a deep digital-services and finance economy.

Climate Risk in Shanghai

Shanghai carries meaningful climate exposure from coastal flooding, typhoons, and rising heat, balanced by major adaptation programs.

City rankings

Compare this city against other indexed cities in crawlable ranking tables.

Cost of living in Shanghai

Cost of living estimates for Shanghai — monthly budgets, rent, food, and transport in the local currency, plus an affordability score for comparison. Planning estimates derived from country baselines, not live prices.

Climate in Shanghai

Climate profile for Shanghai — Humid Continental climate, annual average 18.5°C, comfort score 81/100. Month-by-month temperatures, rainfall, sunshine, and the best months to visit. Deterministic planning estimates, not a forecast.

Economy and jobs in Shanghai

Economy and jobs profile for Shanghai — industrial city, economy score 69/100, key industries including manufacturing, automotive, tourism. Employment, salary, startup, remote-work, and career indicators. Deterministic planning estimates.

Universities and education in Shanghai

Education profile for Shanghai — student city, education score 71/100, 8 representative universities, plus research, student life, and international-student indicators. Deterministic dataset, not institutional rankings.

Healthcare and retirement in Shanghai

Healthcare and retirement profile for Shanghai — regional healthcare center, healthcare score 67/100, retirement score 68/100. Medical access, specialist and emergency care, affordability, and retirement suitability. Deterministic planning estimates.

Nearby weekend places from Shanghai

Source-backed nearby place records for local-first weekend planning, with verification status, official source links, Wikidata identity, and visual context.

Estimate a monthly budget for Shanghai

Estimate a monthly budget for Shanghai using your own housing, food, transport, healthcare, and lifestyle inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official cost-of-living measurement.

Plan a trip budget for Shanghai

Plan a trip budget for Shanghai using your own accommodation, food, local transport, activities, travel, healthcare buffer, and emergency buffer inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official travel cost estimate.

Explore Shanghai

Shanghai across Global City Intelligence — comparisons, rankings, places and editorial coverage.

Explore rankings

Global ranking pages. Linking to one says nothing about how Shanghai places in it.

Around Shanghai

8 indexed destinations within reach — 0 cities and 8 natural places — grouped by measured straight-line distance.

Nearby
Suzhou Creek 2 kmPoint Island 11 kmGongqing Forest Park 12 km
Day-trip distance
Hangzhou Bay 118 km
Weekend distance
West Lake 168 km

Explore everything within reach of Shanghai

Nature near Shanghai

8 classified outdoor destinations within weekend reach, grouped by what kind of place they are. Distances are straight-line kilometres from the city centre.

  • 2islands
  • 2rivers
  • 1coast
  • 1forest
  • 1lake
  • 1mountain

Explore nature near Shanghai

Nearby cities from Shanghai

Where else nearby you could spend a day or a weekend from Shanghai. Links are derived from geographic proximity, shared region, shared natural-recreation areas, transport corridors, and country borders — not popularity or tourism rankings.

Taipei, Taiwan

Cross-border · about 690 km from Shanghai. Explore Taipei's city intelligence profile.

Wuhan, China

Same region · about 688 km from Shanghai. Explore Wuhan's city intelligence profile.

Busan, South Korea

Cross-border · about 832 km from Shanghai. Explore Busan's city intelligence profile.

Incheon, South Korea

Cross-border · about 840 km from Shanghai. Explore Incheon's city intelligence profile.

Daegu, South Korea

Cross-border · about 838 km from Shanghai. Explore Daegu's city intelligence profile.

Shanghai FAQ

Common questions about living in, visiting, working in, studying in and retiring to Shanghai, answered from the indexed cost-of-living, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data on this profile.

Frequently asked questions about Shanghai

Is Shanghai worth visiting?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Shanghai has a high quality-of-life estimate (71/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, public transport and infrastructure. Visitors can also reach nature such as nearby parks and countryside within weekend range.

What is it like to live in Shanghai?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Shanghai has a high quality-of-life estimate (71/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, public transport and infrastructure. It indexes 71/100 for overall quality of life.

How much does it cost to live in Shanghai?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: A single resident of Shanghai spends roughly 8,350 CNY per month, with a one-bedroom rent near 4,440 CNY. Overall the city is more affordable than average for China. These are modelled estimates, not live quotes — verify locally.

What should I know about moving to Shanghai?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Plan for below-average living costs and check current rents before relocating. Shanghai is high for remote workers (75/100), based on connectivity, affordability and walkability and day-to-day amenities.

What is the job market like in Shanghai?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Shanghai's labour market is strong, with opportunities concentrated in manufacturing, technology and education and research. Shanghai has a manufacturing-oriented economy with strengths in manufacturing, automotive and tourism.

Is Shanghai good for digital nomads and remote work?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Shanghai offers solid infrastructure and amenities for remote professionals, with a remote-work score of 70/100.

What are the education options in Shanghai?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Shanghai is a student-oriented city with a mix of universities and research activity in our dataset, spanning fields such as Computer Science, Engineering and Social Sciences.

Is Shanghai a good place to study?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Shanghai offers a strong student environment, supported by walkable neighborhoods, relatively affordable living and strong quality of life.

What is healthcare like in Shanghai?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Shanghai has a regional healthcare center, supported by hospitals, specialist services, and public-health infrastructure, with a healthcare score of 67/100. Residents have strong access to healthcare across primary, specialist, and emergency care.

Is Shanghai a good place to retire?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Shanghai offers a combination of healthcare access, safety, and amenities that may appeal to retirees, with a retirement score of 68/100. Residents benefit from walkable streets and broad urban amenities and day-to-day services.

What is the climate like in Shanghai?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Shanghai has a humid continental climate, averaging about 18.5°C annually with roughly 650 mm of rain. The hottest month is Jul and the coldest Jan. The driest is typically Jan.

Is Shanghai a safe place to live?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Shanghai is estimated to be a generally safe city (65/100 in our safety index), with solid personal-safety indicators, though night-time scores run lower.

How easy is it to get around Shanghai?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Shanghai indexes a walkability score of 90 and a cycling score of 68 out of 100. Check the local operator for live transit routes and fares.

What nature and outdoor places are near Shanghai?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Shanghai has limited indexed nature destinations within day-trip range.

Is Shanghai good for families?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Shanghai scores moderate for family living (67/100), helped by education access and healthcare.

What outdoor activities are there around Shanghai?

Planning context based on GCI modelled indicators and linked place records, not an official or measured assessment: Shanghai rates 29/100 for outdoor lifestyle and 44/100 for green space.

Interpretation

Shanghai is most useful for users comparing economic depth, mobility, and digital infrastructure against air-quality and climate-exposure considerations. Its standout dimensions are safety (86/100) and internet speed (86/100). The area most worth watching is air quality (64/100), where the model registers practical gaps. These comparisons describe GCI modelled indicators. Content reviewed 2026-10-17; model edition 2025, not an observation year. Institutional references are background, not sources for these scores.

Country context is available on the China country page. Related rankings include Overall Intelligence, Quality of Life, Remote Work. See where Shanghai appears in global rankings or read the scoring methodology.

Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation. Verified datasets are being integrated; official sources should be used for critical decisions.

Methodology references

These publications provide background context, not the underlying city values or an endorsement of GCI scores. Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation; verified datasets are being integrated and official sources should be used for critical decisions.