Cost of living comparison

compared to

Des Plaines vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Des Plaines is 2.6 times more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 4.8 times more in Des Plaines
Groceries: pay 2.3 times more in Des Plaines
Transportation: pay 93.3% more in Des Plaines
Housing: pay 3.6 times more in Des Plaines
Childcare: pay 67.5% more in Des Plaines
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.0 times more in Des Plaines
Clothing: pay 18.8% more in Des Plaines

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

Des Plaines vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Des Plaines instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.8 times more for restaurants

	Beijing	Des Plaines
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.76	$15.50	+268.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.72	$12.00	+144.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.39	$2.75	+472.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$2.25	+633.0%
Average			+379.6%

Beijing vs. Des Plaines - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.3 times more for groceries

	Beijing	Des Plaines
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.07	$3.90	+128.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.84	$7.05	-5.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.99	$3.49	-47.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.57	$4.13	+132.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.83	$5.56	+263.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.95	$2.02	+105.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.44	$0.77	-0.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.66	$1.85	+131.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.26	$2.09	+246.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.47	$1.16	+231.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.92	$1.26	+205.3%
Average			+126.5%

Beijing vs. Des Plaines - Cost of groceries

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pay 93.3% more for transportation

	Beijing	Des Plaines
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.80	$3.46	-17.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥223.19	$60.00	+90.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,952.02	$29,500.00	+61.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.73	$15.68	+239.0%
Average			+93.3%

Beijing vs. Des Plaines - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.6 times more for housing

	Beijing	Des Plaines
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.49	$72.85	+463.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,617.06	$1,700.00	+81.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,568.82	$1,600.00	+217.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.81	$141.41	+260.2%
Average			+255.6%

Beijing vs. Des Plaines - Cost of housing

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pay 67.5% more for childcare

	Beijing	Des Plaines
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,028.87	$1,628.82	+129.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥164,449.26	$24,601.00	+5.8%
Average			+67.5%

Beijing vs. Des Plaines - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.0 times more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Des Plaines
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.94	$6.50	+479.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.53	$5.53	+90.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.76	$14.50	+244.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥409.21	$124.50	+115.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.52	$15.00	+78.3%
Average			+201.7%

Beijing vs. Des Plaines - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.8% more for clothing

	Beijing	Des Plaines
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥440.79	$64.24	+3.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥257.35	$48.33	+32.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥578.34	$99.48	+21.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥746.66	$124.00	+17.5%
Average			+18.8%

Beijing vs. Des Plaines - 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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