Cost of living comparison
compared to
District of Columbia vs. North Korea Cost of Living Summary
District of Columbia is 6.9 times more expensive than North Korea overall.
District of Columbia vs. North Korea Cost Breakdown
If you lived in District of Columbia instead of North Korea, you would:
pay 2.0 times more for restaurants
|
North Korea
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.81
KPW4,327
|
$28.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$21.26
KPW19,136
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.21
KPW1,985
|
$3.17
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.28
KPW1,153
|
$2.64
|
|
North Korea vs. District of Columbia - Cost of restaurants
pay 91.5% more for groceries
|
North Korea
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.30
KPW2,071
|
$4.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) | ?? |
$8.53
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.55
KPW3,195
|
$4.95
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.00
KPW1,798
|
$5.64
|
|
| 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
|
|
North Korea vs. District of Columbia - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
North Korea
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
|
North Korea vs. District of Columbia - Cost of transportation
pay 27.5 times more for housing
|
North Korea
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
?? |
$77.77
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
$2,717.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
$2,228.89
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$161.22
|
|
North Korea vs. District of Columbia - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
North Korea
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$3,221.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$41,506.00
|
North Korea vs. District of Columbia - Cost of childcare
pay 75.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
North Korea
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$13.44
KPW12,093
|
$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.12
KPW1,008
|
$6.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$13.94
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$75.02
KPW67,520
|
$114.30
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$18.00
|
|
North Korea vs. District of Columbia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
North Korea
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
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
|
North Korea vs. District of Columbia - 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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cost of living in North Korea vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within North Korea and United States.
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