Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Korea vs. District of Columbia Cost of Living Summary
North Korea is 85.4% cheaper than District of Columbia.
North Korea vs. District of Columbia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Korea instead of District of Columbia, you would:
pay 50.4% less for restaurants
|
District of Columbia
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$28.00
|
$4.81
KPW4,327
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$21.26
KPW19,136
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.17
|
$2.21
KPW1,985
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.64
|
$1.28
KPW1,153
|
|
District of Columbia vs. North Korea - Cost of restaurants
pay 47.8% less for groceries
|
District of Columbia
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.11
|
$2.30
KPW2,071
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.53
|
?? | |
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.95
|
$3.55
KPW3,195
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.64
|
$2.00
KPW1,798
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.63
|
?? | |
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.17
|
?? | |
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.06
|
?? | |
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.27
|
?? | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.64
|
?? | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.29
|
?? | |
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.73
|
?? | |
District of Columbia vs. North Korea - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
District of Columbia
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
?? | |
| Monthly public transit pass |
$120.00
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,375.00
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
?? |
District of Columbia vs. North Korea - Cost of transportation
pay 96.4% less for housing
|
District of Columbia
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.77
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,717.33
|
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,228.89
|
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$161.22
|
?? | |
District of Columbia vs. North Korea - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
District of Columbia
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,221.33
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$41,506.00
|
?? |
District of Columbia vs. North Korea - Cost of childcare
pay 43.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
District of Columbia
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$9.00
|
$13.44
KPW12,093
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.15
|
$1.12
KPW1,008
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.94
|
?? | |
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$114.30
|
$75.02
KPW67,520
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
?? | |
District of Columbia vs. North Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
District of Columbia
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$71.42
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.11
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.50
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.16
|
?? |
District of Columbia vs. North Korea - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: District of Columbia vs. North Korea
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Quality of Life Comparison · 2 statistics
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Size Comparison · See true size
District of Columbia is about 681 times smaller than North Korea.
→
Moving from District of Columbia to North Korea · Cost, visas & climate
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cost of living in United States vs. North Korea.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and North Korea.
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