Cost of living comparison
compared to
Beijing vs. State College Cost of Living Summary
Beijing is 33.8% cheaper than State College.
- Restaurants
-
pay 71.8% less in Beijing
- Groceries
-
pay 28.9% less in Beijing
- Transportation
-
pay 42.0% less in Beijing
- Housing
-
pay 60.5% less in Beijing
- Childcare
-
pay 25.3% less in Beijing
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 16.3% less in Beijing
- Clothing
-
pay 8.2% more in Beijing
Expenses including restaurants, housing, transportation, groceries, childcare, and entertainment and sports are lower in Beijing.
Beijing vs. State College Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Beijing instead of State College, you would:
pay 71.8% less for restaurants
|
State College
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$4.21
CN¥29.61
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.50
|
$4.91
CN¥34.55
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.69
|
$0.48
CN¥3.38
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$0.31
CN¥2.16
|
|
State College vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants
pay 28.9% less for groceries
|
State College
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.46
|
$1.71
CN¥12.02
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.83
|
$7.47
CN¥52.59
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.44
|
$6.64
CN¥46.76
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.98
|
$1.78
CN¥12.51
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.80
|
$1.53
CN¥10.78
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$0.98
CN¥6.92
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.70
|
$0.77
CN¥5.42
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.27
|
$0.80
CN¥5.64
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.26
|
$0.60
CN¥4.24
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
|
$0.35
CN¥2.45
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.32
|
$0.41
CN¥2.90
|
|
State College vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries
pay 42.0% less for transportation
|
State College
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.38
|
$4.21
CN¥29.65
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$85.00
|
$31.54
CN¥222.11
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,344.69
|
$18,225.66
CN¥128,328.71
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$23.20
|
$4.63
CN¥32.58
|
|
State College vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation
pay 60.5% less for housing
|
State College
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.00
|
$12.93
CN¥91.05
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,500.00
|
$935.23
CN¥6,585.07
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,167.50
|
$504.41
CN¥3,551.57
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$121.12
|
$39.27
CN¥276.47
|
|
State College vs. Beijing - Cost of housing
pay 25.3% less for childcare
|
State College
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,046.00
|
$710.76
CN¥5,004.56
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,560.00
|
$23,242.73
CN¥163,654.36
|
|
State College vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare
pay 16.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
State College
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$1.12
CN¥7.90
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.50
|
$2.90
CN¥20.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$4.21
CN¥29.61
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$25.00
|
$57.84
CN¥407.23
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$8.41
CN¥59.23
|
|
State College vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 8.2% more for clothing
|
State College
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$42.13
|
$62.30
CN¥438.66
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.00
|
$36.37
CN¥256.10
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$80.00
|
$81.74
CN¥575.54
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$114.75
|
$105.53
CN¥743.05
|
|
State College vs. Beijing - Cost of clothing
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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