Cost of living comparison

compared to

San Jose vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 2.6 times more expensive than P'yongyang.

Restaurants
pay 15.6% more in San Jose
Groceries
pay 52.7% more in San Jose
Housing
pay 5.8 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports
pay 74.5% more in San Jose

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in San Jose are more expensive than in P'yongyang. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in San Jose.

San Jose vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown

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

pay 15.6% more for restaurants

 
P'yongyang
San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant ?? $9.95
CRC4,947.81
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
?? $9.91
CRC4,924.29
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.34
KPW2,102
$2.06
CRC1,022.01

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pay 52.7% more for groceries

 
P'yongyang
San Jose
Bread
1 loaf
$2.40
KPW2,161
$2.64
CRC1,311.09
Local cheese (8 oz) ?? $4.95
CRC2,462.15
Milk (1 gallon) $3.70
KPW3,332
$7.78
CRC3,868.62

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

 
P'yongyang
San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon) ?? $5.39
CRC2,678.58
Monthly public transit pass ?? $41.21
CRC20,485.06
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $37,640.45
CRC18,712,315.88

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pay 5.8 times more for housing

 
P'yongyang
San Jose
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
?? $58.88
CRC29,268.77
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $93.44
KPW84,095
$891.63
CRC443,258.89
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $262.80
KPW236,518
$560.77
CRC278,778.03

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
P'yongyang
San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $600.27
CRC298,412.20
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $12,608.22
CRC6,267,964.49

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pay 74.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
P'yongyang
San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $14.02
KPW12,614
$2.67
CRC1,329.56
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.17
KPW1,051
$3.85
CRC1,915.58
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? $5.15
CRC2,560.63

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
P'yongyang
San Jose
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $61.74
CRC30,694.76
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $51.32
CRC25,512.74
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $120.28
CRC59,794.99

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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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