Cost of living comparison

compared to

North Charleston vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

North Charleston is 2.7 times more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 5.5 times more in North Charleston
Groceries: pay 2.8 times more in North Charleston
Transportation: pay 90.3% more in North Charleston
Housing: pay 4.0 times more in North Charleston
Childcare: pay 27.1% more in North Charleston
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.3 times more in North Charleston
Clothing: pay 5.4% more in North Charleston

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

North Charleston vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in North Charleston instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 5.5 times more for restaurants

	Beijing	North Charleston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.61	$21.50	+411.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.55	$12.00	+144.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.38	$3.00	+525.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.16	$2.50	+714.4%
Average			+448.9%

Beijing vs. North Charleston - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.8 times more for groceries

	Beijing	North Charleston
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.02	$3.67	+114.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.59	$7.93	+6.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.76	$3.94	-40.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.51	$4.73	+166.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.78	$6.25	+307.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.92	$4.04	+310.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.42	$0.83	+7.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.64	$2.12	+165.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.24	$2.47	+309.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.45	$1.95	+459.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.90	$1.15	+178.8%
Average			+180.4%

Beijing vs. North Charleston - Cost of groceries

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pay 90.3% more for transportation

	Beijing	North Charleston
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.65	$2.99	-28.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥222.11	$50.00	+58.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,328.71	$35,699.74	+95.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.58	$15.53	+235.6%
Average			+90.3%

Beijing vs. North Charleston - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.0 times more for housing

	Beijing	North Charleston
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.05	$83.60	+546.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,585.07	$2,026.67	+116.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,551.57	$1,500.00	+197.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥276.47	$170.33	+333.8%
Average			+298.6%

Beijing vs. North Charleston - Cost of housing

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pay 27.1% more for childcare

	Beijing	North Charleston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,004.56	$1,366.67	+92.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥163,654.36	$14,400.00	-38.0%
Average			+27.1%

Beijing vs. North Charleston - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	North Charleston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.90	$6.00	+435.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.43	$5.92	+103.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.61	$8.00	+90.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥407.23	$17.49	-69.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.23	$14.00	+66.4%
Average			+125.1%

Beijing vs. North Charleston - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.4% more for clothing

	Beijing	North Charleston
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥438.66	$55.00	-11.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥256.10	$36.00	-1.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥575.54	$95.80	+17.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥743.05	$123.50	+17.0%
Average			+5.4%

Beijing vs. North Charleston - 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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