Cost of living comparison

compared to

Phnom Penh vs. China Cost of Living Summary

Phnom Penh is 34.3% more expensive than China overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Phnom Penh
Groceries: pay 69.5% more in Phnom Penh
Transportation: pay 58.1% more in Phnom Penh
Housing: pay 72.7% more in Phnom Penh
Childcare: pay 39.4% less in Phnom Penh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.0% less in Phnom Penh
Clothing: pay 15.6% less in Phnom Penh

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

Phnom Penh vs. China Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Phnom Penh instead of China, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	China	Phnom Penh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.90 CN¥20.50	$5.00 KHR20,025.00	+72.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.02 CN¥35.49	$7.00 KHR28,035.00	+39.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 CN¥3.36	$0.93 KHR3,722.29	+95.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.28 CN¥1.96	$0.91 KHR3,657.75	+230.3%
Average			+109.6%

China vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 69.5% more for groceries

	China	Phnom Penh
Bread 1 loaf	$1.63 CN¥11.52	$1.65 KHR6,610.31	+1.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.32 CN¥44.71	$6.70 KHR26,833.50	+6.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 CN¥47.44	$8.17 KHR32,711.86	+21.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.56 CN¥11.05	$1.82 KHR7,284.65	+16.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.52 CN¥10.78	$2.01 KHR8,043.68	+31.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.74 CN¥5.25	$1.81 KHR7,251.42	+143.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.55 CN¥3.86	$0.88 KHR3,542.45	+62.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.62 CN¥4.41	$1.91 KHR7,666.22	+207.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 CN¥3.57	$0.73 KHR2,942.96	+45.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 CN¥2.13	$0.88 KHR3,512.17	+191.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.39 CN¥2.79	$0.54 KHR2,149.69	+36.1%
Average			+69.5%

China vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of groceries

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pay 58.1% more for transportation

	China	Phnom Penh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.34 CN¥30.68	$4.33 KHR17,341.84	-0.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.32 CN¥143.78	$9.60 KHR38,448.00	-52.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,143.98 CN¥135,449.43	$49,000.00 KHR196,245,000.00	+156.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.94 CN¥27.89	$9.05 KHR36,256.50	+129.6%
Average			+58.1%

China vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of transportation

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pay 72.7% more for housing

	China	Phnom Penh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.18 CN¥79.08	$21.29 KHR85,250.07	+90.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$304.90 CN¥2,157.22	$481.60 KHR1,928,817.37	+58.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$195.65 CN¥1,384.25	$273.92 KHR1,097,042.67	+40.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.04 CN¥290.39	$82.99 KHR332,359.07	+102.2%
Average			+72.7%

China vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of housing

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pay 39.4% less for childcare

	China	Phnom Penh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$390.25 CN¥2,761.13	$293.33 KHR1,174,800.00	-24.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,493.57 CN¥109,621.66	$7,141.67 KHR28,602,375.00	-53.9%
Average			-39.4%

China vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.0% less for entertainment and sports

	China	Phnom Penh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.04 CN¥7.37	$1.21 KHR4,838.88	+16.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.84 CN¥20.07	$2.53 KHR10,117.89	-10.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.36 CN¥23.77	$1.88 KHR7,509.38	-44.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.13 CN¥290.99	$41.67 KHR166,875.00	+1.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.98 CN¥42.33	$3.75 KHR15,018.75	-37.3%
Average			-15.0%

China vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.6% less for clothing

	China	Phnom Penh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.93 CN¥324.95	$25.75 KHR103,128.75	-43.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.93 CN¥218.85	$23.33 KHR93,450.00	-24.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.26 CN¥504.18	$88.00 KHR352,440.00	+23.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.88 CN¥515.65	$60.20 KHR241,101.00	-17.4%
Average			-15.6%

China vs. Phnom Penh - 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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