Cost of living comparison

compared to

Bloomington vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Bloomington is 2.2 times more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants
pay 4.1 times more in Bloomington
Groceries
pay 93.2% more in Bloomington
Transportation
pay 85.1% more in Bloomington
Housing
pay 3.4 times more in Bloomington
Childcare
pay 42.9% more in Bloomington
Entertainment and Sports
pay 88.6% more in Bloomington
Clothing
pay 4.8% more in Bloomington

The cost of restaurants, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, transportation, and childcare in Bloomington are more expensive than in Beijing. Notably, restaurants, housing, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Bloomington.

Bloomington vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bloomington instead of Beijing, you would:

pay 4.1 times more for restaurants

 
Beijing
Bloomington
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.21
CN¥29.76
$15.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.91
CN¥34.72
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.48
CN¥3.39
$2.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 93.2% more for groceries

 
Beijing
Bloomington
Bread
1 loaf
$1.71
CN¥12.07
$2.91
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.47
CN¥52.84
$6.74
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.64
CN¥46.99
$3.84
 

Improve prices ·

pay 85.1% more for transportation

 
Beijing
Bloomington
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.21
CN¥29.80
$2.94
 
Monthly public transit pass $31.54
CN¥223.19
$40.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $18,225.66
CN¥128,952.02
$36,336.95
 

Improve prices ·

pay 3.4 times more for housing

 
Beijing
Bloomington
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$12.93
CN¥91.49
$71.50
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $935.23
CN¥6,617.06
$1,100.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $504.41
CN¥3,568.82
??

Improve prices ·

pay 42.9% more for childcare

 
Beijing
Bloomington
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $710.76
CN¥5,028.87
$1,303.33
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,242.73
CN¥164,449.26
$23,800.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 88.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
Beijing
Bloomington
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.12
CN¥7.94
$5.20
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.90
CN¥20.53
$2.50
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.21
CN¥29.76
$7.90
 

Improve prices ·

pay 4.8% more for clothing

 
Beijing
Bloomington
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$62.30
CN¥440.79
$55.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$36.37
CN¥257.35
$38.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$81.74
CN¥578.34
$85.00
 

Improve prices ·
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
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in China vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within China and United States.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Bloomington or Beijing. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.