Beijing vs San Francisco - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Beijing San Francisco
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1067
$3781
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3071
$8717
🏠 One person rent
$596
$2600
🏘️ Family rent
$1354
$4501
🍽️ Food expenses
$258
$806
🚐 Transport expenses
$112
$181
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1802
$7795
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
18 km
🎓 Higher education
100
97
😀 Quality of life
77
97
🏙️ Population
21.9M
874K

The cost of living in Beijing is 72% less expensive than in San Francisco. Cities ranked 5141st and 9th ($1067 vs $3781) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 7th and 7th in China and the United States, respectively. Check China vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Beijing compared to 2.1 months in San Francisco. Beijing ranked 5th best city to live in China vs San Francisco ranked 1st in the United States, while ranked 763rd and 12th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Beijing vs San Francisco infographic

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Prices in Beijing vs San Francisco

Prices for goods and services in Beijing and San Francisco are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Beijing San Francisco
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$4.04
$22.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$30.4
$103
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.94
$12.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.25
$8.68
 Cappuccino
$3.75
$5.68
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.53
$2.79
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$851
$2707
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$473
$2324
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2126
$5024
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1079
$4030
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$34.1
$138
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$53.1
$211
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$13.1
$61.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.04%
6.62%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$14636
$11577
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7425
$11019
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.71
$2.6
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$37.3
$96.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.07
$20.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.2
$1.35
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.94
$1.66
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.44
$4.31
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.29
$5.8
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.91
$6.2
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.6
$23
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.37
$15
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.6
$22.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.08
$6.37
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.59
$3.31
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.96
$5.7
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.28
$7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.84
$3.91
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.09
$3.18
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.36
$1.68
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.38
$3.7
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$9.28
$18.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.91
$3.33
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.57
$13.6
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.63
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.6
$7.97
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.37
$5.38
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.02
$2.89
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$61.6
$91.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.51
$17.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$34.9
$132
💇 Haircut, simple
$9.52
$23.8
👖 Brand Jeans
$63.8
$63.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$85.6
$107
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$782
$2916
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$23714
$31050

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Beijing

Distance City Cost of living
50 km or 31 mi Langfang
$734
58 km or 36 mi Zhuozhou
$769
58 km or 36 mi Sanhe
$786
78 km or 49 mi Gaobeidian
$675
87 km or 54 mi Bazhou
$679
109 km or 68 mi Tianjin
$710
135 km or 84 mi Renqiu
$611
137 km or 85 mi Zunhua
$714
139 km or 87 mi Baoding
$482
151 km or 94 mi Binhai
$700
155 km or 97 mi Tangshan
$742
163 km or 101 mi Zhangjiakou
$657
164 km or 102 mi Hejian
$620
176 km or 110 mi Chengde
$760
182 km or 113 mi Cangzhou
$720
189 km or 117 mi Huanghua
$693
189 km or 118 mi Anguo
$572
196 km or 122 mi Dingzhou
$614
197 km or 122 mi Qian'an
$684
198 km or 123 mi Luanzhou
$677
204 km or 127 mi Botou
$649
224 km or 139 mi Shenzhou
$605
228 km or 142 mi Xinle
$555
229 km or 142 mi Pingquan
$670
239 km or 148 mi Jinzhou
$568
241 km or 150 mi Xinji
$588
249 km or 155 mi Gaocheng
$547
249 km or 155 mi Hengshui
$677
252 km or 156 mi Laoling
$668
263 km or 164 mi Shijiazhuang
$507
265 km or 165 mi Datong
$729
272 km or 169 mi Jizhou
$616
273 km or 169 mi Qinhuangdao
$720
273 km or 170 mi Dezhou
$670
281 km or 175 mi Fengzhen
$637
282 km or 175 mi Huairen
$648
294 km or 183 mi Lingyuan
$661
296 km or 184 mi Nangong
$632
302 km or 187 mi Ulanqab
$644
314 km or 195 mi Binzhou
$869

Cities near San Francisco

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.9 mi Daly
$3180
14 km or 8.4 mi South San Francisco
$3170
14 km or 8.8 mi Alameda
$3274
15 km or 9.2 mi Oakland
$3146
16 km or 10 mi Albany
$2940
17 km or 10 mi Berkeley
$3082
17 km or 11 mi San Bruno
$3196
18 km or 11 mi El Cerrito
$2977
18 km or 11 mi Pacifica
$3152
19 km or 12 mi Richmond
$3053
20 km or 12 mi Millbrae
$3224
21 km or 13 mi San Pablo
$3048
22 km or 14 mi Burlingame
$3293
24 km or 15 mi San Leandro
$3023
24 km or 15 mi San Rafael
$4155
26 km or 16 mi San Mateo
$3672
28 km or 17 mi San Lorenzo
$2802
28 km or 18 mi Foster
$3473
29 km or 18 mi Lafayette
$2831
29 km or 18 mi Hercules
$2949
31 km or 19 mi Belmont
$3804
32 km or 20 mi Hayward
$2981
32 km or 20 mi Castro Valley
$2931
34 km or 21 mi San Carlos
$3442
34 km or 21 mi Walnut Creek
$2874
36 km or 23 mi Redwood
$3584
37 km or 23 mi Martinez
$2714
37 km or 23 mi Danville
$2922
37 km or 23 mi Pleasant Hill
$2767
38 km or 24 mi Union
$2986
39 km or 24 mi San Ramon
$2851
39 km or 24 mi Vallejo
$2885
39 km or 24 mi Novato
$3176
39 km or 24 mi Benicia
$2845
41 km or 25 mi Concord
$2726
42 km or 26 mi Menlo Park
$3288
42 km or 26 mi East Palo Alto
$3228
43 km or 27 mi Newark
$3010
45 km or 28 mi Dublin
$3091
46 km or 28 mi Palo Alto
$3610