Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cali vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Cali is 10.3% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 93.8% more in Cali
Groceries: pay 2.6% less in Cali
Transportation: pay 70.8% more in Cali
Housing: pay 0.6% less in Cali
Childcare: pay 69.2% less in Cali
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.0% less in Cali
Clothing: pay 10.2% more in Cali

The cost of restaurants, transportation, and clothing in Cali are more expensive than in Beijing. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, and housing are lower in Cali. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Cali.

Cali vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 93.8% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Cali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.67	$3.88 COP14,761.42	-7.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.62	$8.00 COP30,408.52	+63.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.38	$1.25 COP4,735.95	+159.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$0.80 COP3,038.39	+160.3%
Average			+93.8%

Beijing vs. Cali - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.6% less for groceries

	Beijing	Cali
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.04	$1.55 COP5,904.57	-9.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.69	$2.26 COP8,604.17	-69.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.85	$4.96 COP18,874.12	-25.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.53	$2.42 COP9,184.88	+36.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.80	$2.55 COP9,712.85	+66.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.93	$1.18 COP4,504.85	+20.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.43	$0.48 COP1,830.15	-37.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.65	$0.46 COP1,731.95	-43.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.25	$0.58 COP2,222.22	-2.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.46	$0.38 COP1,443.19	+8.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.91	$0.52 COP1,986.36	+26.6%
Average			-2.6%

Beijing vs. Cali - Cost of groceries

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pay 70.8% more for transportation

	Beijing	Cali
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.71	$3.89 COP14,809.24	-7.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥222.53	$21.66 COP82,368.71	-31.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,572.93	$23,292.32 COP88,568,506.73	+27.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.64	$18.25 COP69,378.66	+294.4%
Average			+70.8%

Beijing vs. Cali - Cost of transportation

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pay 0.6% less for housing

	Beijing	Cali
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.22	$23.29 COP88,568.51	+80.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,597.60	$263.98 COP1,003,776.41	-71.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,558.33	$200.57 COP762,673.25	-60.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.00	$58.69 COP223,181.41	+49.5%
Average			-0.6%

Beijing vs. Cali - Cost of housing

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pay 69.2% less for childcare

	Beijing	Cali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,014.09	$241.55 COP918,488.22	-66.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥163,965.81	$6,383.82 COP24,274,331.47	-72.5%
Average			-69.2%

Beijing vs. Cali - Cost of childcare

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pay 30.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Cali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.91	$1.36 COP5,166.50	+21.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.47	$1.75 COP6,669.97	-39.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.67	$3.09 COP11,759.93	-26.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥408.00	$21.22 COP80,695.75	-63.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.34	$4.92 COP18,697.80	-41.5%
Average			-30.0%

Beijing vs. Cali - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.2% more for clothing

	Beijing	Cali
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥439.49	$68.32 COP259,800.95	+9.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥256.59	$47.17 COP179,351.23	+29.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥576.64	$90.06 COP342,464.89	+10.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥744.46	$96.22 COP365,886.34	-8.8%
Average			+10.2%

Beijing vs. Cali - Cost of clothing

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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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