Cost of living comparison

compared to

Rapid City vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Rapid City is 2.2 times more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 4.7 times more in Rapid City
Groceries: pay 2.2 times more in Rapid City
Transportation: pay 61.4% more in Rapid City
Housing: pay 2.8 times more in Rapid City
Childcare: pay 1.5% less in Rapid City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 95.0% more in Rapid City
Clothing: pay 26.3% more in Rapid City

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

Rapid City vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Rapid City instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.7 times more for restaurants

	Beijing	Rapid City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$15.00	+256.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.69	$10.43	+112.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.39	$3.63	+657.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$1.66	+441.9%
Average			+367.1%

Beijing vs. Rapid City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.2 times more for groceries

	Beijing	Rapid City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.07	$2.97	+74.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.80	$6.61	-11.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.96	$3.96	-40.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.56	$4.38	+146.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.83	$4.31	+181.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.95	$2.22	+125.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.44	$0.70	-9.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.66	$1.76	+119.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.26	$1.79	+196.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.46	$1.26	+260.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.92	$1.43	+247.5%
Average			+117.3%

Beijing vs. Rapid City - Cost of groceries

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pay 61.4% more for transportation

	Beijing	Rapid City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.77	$3.08	-26.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥223.02	$30.00	-4.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	$35,500.00	+94.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.71	$13.07	+182.5%
Average			+61.4%

Beijing vs. Rapid City - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.8 times more for housing

	Beijing	Rapid City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.43	$57.00	+340.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	$1,030.00	+10.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	$1,138.80	+125.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.61	$131.52	+234.9%
Average			+177.9%

Beijing vs. Rapid City - Cost of housing

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pay 1.5% less for childcare

	Beijing	Rapid City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	$700.00	-1.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	??
Average			-1.5%

Beijing vs. Rapid City - Cost of childcare

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pay 95.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Rapid City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.93	$3.75	+234.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.52	$5.33	+83.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$9.50	+125.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥408.91	$51.00	-11.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.47	$12.00	+42.7%
Average			+95.0%

Beijing vs. Rapid City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 26.3% more for clothing

	Beijing	Rapid City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥440.46	$61.67	-1.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥257.16	$75.00	+106.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥577.91	$78.33	-4.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥746.11	$110.00	+4.2%
Average			+26.3%

Beijing vs. Rapid City - 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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