Cost of living comparison

North Korea

compared to

China

Beijing vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 2.3 times more expensive than P'yongyang.

Restaurants: pay 56.1% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 11.1% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 7.9 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.9% less in Beijing

The cost of housing and groceries in Beijing are more expensive than in P'yongyang. Expenses including restaurants and entertainment and sports are lower in Beijing. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Beijing.

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Beijing vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of P'yongyang, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 56.1% less for restaurants

	P'yongyang	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.81 KPW4,327	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-6.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$21.26 KPW19,136	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-75.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.21 KPW1,985	$0.52 CN¥3.49	-76.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.28 KPW1,153	$0.27 CN¥1.82	-78.7%
Average			-56.1%

P'yongyang vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.1% more for groceries

	P'yongyang	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$2.30 KPW2,071	$1.73 CN¥11.56	-24.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	??	$7.22 CN¥48.28
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.55 KPW3,195	$6.41 CN¥42.88	+80.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.00 KPW1,798	$2.02 CN¥13.53	+1.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	??	$1.47 CN¥9.81
Apples (1 lb)	??	$0.93 CN¥6.25
Bananas (1 lb)	??	$0.79 CN¥5.28
Oranges (1 lb)	??	$0.93 CN¥6.21
Tomatoes (1 lb)	??	$0.71 CN¥4.75
Potatoes (1 lb)	??	$0.32 CN¥2.15
Onions (1 lb)	??	$0.40 CN¥2.66
Average			+11.1%

P'yongyang vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

	P'yongyang	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	??	$4.96 CN¥33.20
Monthly public transit pass	??	$34.30 CN¥229.53
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$19,374.76 CN¥130K
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$4.68 CN¥31.34

P'yongyang vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 7.9 times more for housing

	P'yongyang	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	??	$14.27 CN¥95.47
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$89.58 KPW80,621	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	+945.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$89.58 KPW80,621	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	+492.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	??	$44.49 CN¥297.65
Average			+687.3%

P'yongyang vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	P'yongyang	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$24,281.96 CN¥162K

P'yongyang vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.9% less for entertainment and sports

	P'yongyang	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.44 KPW12,093	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-91.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.12 KPW1,008	$3.60 CN¥24.09	+221.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$4.33 CN¥28.94
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.02 KPW67,520	$41.45 CN¥277.32	-44.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$7.46 CN¥49.90
Average			-45.9%

P'yongyang vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	P'yongyang	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$70.55 CN¥472.03
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$40.41 CN¥270.36
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$86.99 CN¥582.00
Men's business shoes (leather)	??	$125.40 CN¥839.02

P'yongyang vs. Beijing - Cost of clothing

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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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