Cost of living comparison

North Korea

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 2.5 times more expensive than P'yongyang.

Restaurants: pay 54.1% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 12.2% more in Shanghai
Housing: pay 8.7 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.8% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 54.1% less for restaurants

	P'yongyang	Shanghai
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	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-72.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.28 KPW1,153	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-71.1%
Average			-54.1%

P'yongyang vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.2% more for groceries

	P'yongyang	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$2.30 KPW2,071	$1.98 CN¥13.22	-14.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	??	$8.60 CN¥57.52
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.55 KPW3,195	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+93.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.00 KPW1,798	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-15.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	??	$1.48 CN¥9.89
Apples (1 lb)	??	$0.99 CN¥6.65
Bananas (1 lb)	??	$0.77 CN¥5.16
Oranges (1 lb)	??	$0.90 CN¥6.05
Tomatoes (1 lb)	??	$0.77 CN¥5.15
Potatoes (1 lb)	??	$0.36 CN¥2.40
Onions (1 lb)	??	$0.43 CN¥2.90
Average			+12.2%

P'yongyang vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

	P'yongyang	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	??	$4.96 CN¥33.21
Monthly public transit pass	??	$29.83 CN¥199.59
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$19,374.76 CN¥130K
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$5.67 CN¥37.92

P'yongyang vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.7 times more for housing

	P'yongyang	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	??	$10.55 CN¥70.59
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$89.58 KPW80,621	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+1057.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$89.58 KPW80,621	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+557.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	??	$44.06 CN¥294.77
Average			+772.2%

P'yongyang vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	P'yongyang	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$27,686.22 CN¥185K

P'yongyang vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.8% less for entertainment and sports

	P'yongyang	Shanghai
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	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+199.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$3.73 CN¥24.95
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.02 KPW67,520	$65.69 CN¥439.52	-12.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$8.95 CN¥59.88
Average			-36.8%

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

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	P'yongyang	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$54.37 CN¥363.79
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$37.09 CN¥248.19
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$75.49 CN¥505.08
Men's business shoes (leather)	??	$105.70 CN¥707.25

P'yongyang vs. Shanghai - 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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