Cost of living comparison
compared to
Beijing vs. Alton Cost of Living Summary
Beijing is 31.3% cheaper than Alton.
- Restaurants
-
pay 75.3% less in Beijing
- Groceries
-
pay 30.9% less in Beijing
- Transportation
-
pay 27.9% less in Beijing
- Housing
-
pay 41.7% less in Beijing
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 12.6% less in Beijing
- Clothing
-
pay 0.8% more in Beijing
Expenses including restaurants, housing, groceries, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Beijing.
Beijing vs. Alton Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Beijing instead of Alton, you would:
pay 75.3% less for restaurants
|
Alton
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.50
|
$4.21
CN¥29.76
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$4.91
CN¥34.72
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$0.48
CN¥3.39
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.88
|
$0.31
CN¥2.17
|
|
Alton vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants
pay 30.9% less for groceries
|
Alton
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.42
|
$1.71
CN¥12.07
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.95
|
$7.47
CN¥52.84
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.06
|
$6.64
CN¥46.99
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.67
|
$1.78
CN¥12.57
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$1.53
CN¥10.83
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.10
|
$0.98
CN¥6.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$0.77
CN¥5.44
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$3.17
|
$0.80
CN¥5.66
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.30
|
$0.60
CN¥4.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.33
|
$0.35
CN¥2.47
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.97
|
$0.41
CN¥2.92
|
|
Alton vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries
pay 27.9% less for transportation
|
Alton
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.07
|
$4.21
CN¥29.80
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$31.54
CN¥223.19
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,036.53
|
$18,225.66
CN¥128,952.02
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.42
|
$4.63
CN¥32.73
|
|
Alton vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation
pay 41.7% less for housing
|
Alton
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.19
|
$12.93
CN¥91.49
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$750.00
|
$935.23
CN¥6,617.06
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$700.00
|
$504.41
CN¥3,568.82
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$205.18
|
$39.27
CN¥277.81
|
|
Alton vs. Beijing - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Alton
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$710.76
CN¥5,028.87
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$23,242.73
CN¥164,449.26
|
Alton vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare
pay 12.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Alton
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$1.12
CN¥7.94
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.09
|
$2.90
CN¥20.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.00
|
$4.21
CN¥29.76
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$25.00
|
$57.84
CN¥409.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$8.41
CN¥59.52
|
|
Alton vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.8% more for clothing
|
Alton
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$40.00
|
$62.30
CN¥440.79
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.50
|
$36.37
CN¥257.35
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$75.00
|
$81.74
CN¥578.34
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$192.50
|
$105.53
CN¥746.66
|
|
Alton vs. Beijing - Cost of clothing
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: December 2025
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