Ye Hang, a Shanghai native who worked at a New York Internet company for two years, concurred with the study's basic finding - that Shanghai is expensive.

"The cost of living in New York is relatively less than Shanghai," Ye said.

Ye said rent on a "nice one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn or Queens, which involves only around a half-hour commute to downtown Manhattan", could be had for $1,500. An equivalent place in Shanghai, he said, would fetch more than 3,000 yuan (nearly $500) - a harder hit to the wallet in real terms.

While there are concerns that high living costs may deter talent, Theleen said it is a problem not unique to Shanghai.