Cost of living comparison
compared to
Beijing vs. Mount Pleasant Cost of Living Summary
Beijing is 27.2% cheaper than Mount Pleasant.
- Restaurants
-
pay 70.9% less in Beijing
- Groceries
-
pay 23.0% less in Beijing
- Transportation
-
pay 30.4% less in Beijing
- Housing
-
pay 42.6% less in Beijing
- Childcare
-
pay 3.4% less in Beijing
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 43.3% less in Beijing
- Clothing
-
pay 22.9% more in Beijing
Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, transportation, groceries, and childcare are lower in Beijing.
Beijing vs. Mount Pleasant Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Beijing instead of Mount Pleasant, you would:
pay 70.9% less for restaurants
|
Mount Pleasant
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$4.21
CN¥29.61
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$4.91
CN¥34.55
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.64
|
$0.48
CN¥3.38
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.82
|
$0.31
CN¥2.16
|
|
Mount Pleasant vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 23.0% less for groceries
|
Mount Pleasant
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.38
|
$1.71
CN¥12.02
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.73
|
$7.47
CN¥52.59
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.35
|
$6.64
CN¥46.76
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.79
|
$1.78
CN¥12.51
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.25
|
$1.53
CN¥10.78
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.08
|
$0.98
CN¥6.92
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.55
|
$0.77
CN¥5.42
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.65
|
$0.80
CN¥5.64
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.80
|
$0.60
CN¥4.24
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.98
|
$0.35
CN¥2.45
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.13
|
$0.41
CN¥2.90
|
|
Mount Pleasant vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 30.4% less for transportation
|
Mount Pleasant
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.40
|
$4.21
CN¥29.65
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$31.54
CN¥222.11
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$18,225.66
CN¥128,328.71
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.68
|
$4.63
CN¥32.58
|
|
Mount Pleasant vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 42.6% less for housing
|
Mount Pleasant
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$52.14
|
$12.93
CN¥91.05
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$768.00
|
$935.23
CN¥6,585.07
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$807.00
|
$504.41
CN¥3,551.57
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$192.03
|
$39.27
CN¥276.47
|
|
Mount Pleasant vs. Beijing - Cost of housing
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 3.4% less for childcare
|
Mount Pleasant
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,294.79
|
$710.76
CN¥5,004.56
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,800.00
|
$23,242.73
CN¥163,654.36
|
|
Mount Pleasant vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 43.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Mount Pleasant
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.00
|
$1.12
CN¥7.90
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.00
|
$2.90
CN¥20.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.00
|
$4.21
CN¥29.61
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym | ?? |
$57.84
CN¥407.23
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.00
|
$8.41
CN¥59.23
|
|
Mount Pleasant vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 22.9% more for clothing
|
Mount Pleasant
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$35.00
|
$62.30
CN¥438.66
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$31.00
|
$36.37
CN¥256.10
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.00
|
$81.74
CN¥575.54
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$100.00
|
$105.53
CN¥743.05
|
|
Mount Pleasant vs. Beijing - Cost of clothing
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in United States vs. China.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and China.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Beijing or Mount Pleasant. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.