Cost of living comparison

El Salvador

compared to

China

Beijing vs. San Salvador Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 19.9% cheaper than San Salvador.

Restaurants: pay 38.0% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 39.8% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 23.6% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 26.5% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 4.5 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.8% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 8.2% less in Beijing

The cost of childcare and entertainment and sports in Beijing are more expensive than in San Salvador. Expenses including groceries, restaurants, housing, transportation, and clothing are lower in Beijing. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Beijing.

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Beijing vs. San Salvador Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of San Salvador, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 38.0% less for restaurants

	San Salvador	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.75 SVC59.06	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-33.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.00 SVC61.25	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-25.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.14 SVC10.01	$0.52 CN¥3.49	-54.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.83 SVC7.29	$0.27 CN¥1.82	-67.3%
Average			-38.0%

San Salvador vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 39.8% less for groceries

	San Salvador	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$2.85 SVC24.94	$1.73 CN¥11.56	-39.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.85 SVC33.72	$7.22 CN¥48.28	+87.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.95 SVC60.81	$6.41 CN¥42.88	-7.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.02 SVC26.39	$2.02 CN¥13.53	-33.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.16 SVC27.66	$1.47 CN¥9.81	-53.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.29 SVC20.07	$0.93 CN¥6.25	-59.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 SVC5.54	$0.79 CN¥5.28	+24.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.18 SVC10.35	$0.93 CN¥6.21	-21.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.56 SVC13.68	$0.71 CN¥4.75	-54.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.33 SVC11.65	$0.32 CN¥2.15	-75.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.49 SVC13.05	$0.40 CN¥2.66	-73.4%
Average			-39.8%

San Salvador vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.6% less for transportation

	San Salvador	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.75 SVC41.60	$4.96 CN¥33.20	+4.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.50 SVC328.13	$34.30 CN¥229.53	-8.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 SVC219K	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-22.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.00 SVC262.50	$4.68 CN¥31.34	-84.4%
Average			-23.6%

San Salvador vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 26.5% less for housing

	San Salvador	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.50 SVC371.88	$14.27 CN¥95.47	-66.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$898.99 SVC7,866.27	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	+4.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$770.00 SVC6,737.58	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	-31.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$99.35 SVC869.35	$44.49 CN¥297.65	-55.2%
Average			-26.5%

San Salvador vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 4.5 times more for childcare

	San Salvador	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$162.67 SVC1,423.35	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01	+301.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,720.00 SVC41,300.50	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	+414.4%
Average			+354.5%

San Salvador vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.8% more for entertainment and sports

	San Salvador	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 SVC17.50	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-40.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 SVC31.02	$3.60 CN¥24.09	+1.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.00 SVC35.00	$4.33 CN¥28.94	+8.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.60 SVC276.50	$41.45 CN¥277.32	+31.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.00 SVC43.75	$7.46 CN¥49.90	+49.2%
Average			+7.8%

San Salvador vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.2% less for clothing

	San Salvador	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.15 SVC587.57	$70.55 CN¥472.03	+5.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.00 SVC411.25	$40.41 CN¥270.36	-14.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$118.33 SVC1,035.43	$86.99 CN¥582.00	-26.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.00 SVC1,023.76	$125.40 CN¥839.02	+7.2%
Average			-8.2%

San Salvador 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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