Beijing vs San Francisco - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Beijing San Francisco
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1029
$4110
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2645
$8713
🏠 One person rent
$589
$2867
🏘️ Family rent
$1040
$4681
🍽️ Food expenses
$246
$852
🚐 Transport expenses
$98
$178
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$658
$7086
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
18 km
🎓 Higher education
100
97
😀 Quality of life
73
97
🏙️ Population
21.9M
874K

The cost of living in Beijing is 75% less expensive than in San Francisco. Cities ranked 5355th and 5th ($1029 vs $4110) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 6th and 3rd 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 0.6 months in Beijing compared to 1.7 months in San Francisco. Beijing ranked 11th best city to live in China vs San Francisco ranked 3rd in the United States, while ranked 2546th and 20th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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
$4.24
$25.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$27.8
$117
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.16
$13.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.12
$8.01
☕ Cappuccino
$2.82
$5.95
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.49
$3.33
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$850
$3192
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$469
$2524
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1549
$4937
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$839
$4262
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$30.5
$141
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$46.5
$216
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$13.3
$68.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.51%
6.33%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$14720
$10657
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6180
$9554
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.56
$3.02
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$31.3
$90.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.61
$20.8
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.1
$1.31
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.82
$1.54
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.69
$4.86
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.1
$5.6
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.84
$7.07
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.3
$23.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.4
$14
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.5
$24.1
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.21
$6.97
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.65
$2.83
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.76
$5.24
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.34
$6.95
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.77
$3.68
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.88
$3.99
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.37
$1.86
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.18
$3.36
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.33
$18.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.79
$2.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.04
$14
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.55
$11.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.55
$8.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.7
$6.99
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.96
$2.46
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$59.4
$101
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.35
$17.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$33.7
$149
💇 Haircut, simple
$8.03
$33.5
👖 Brand Jeans
$61.1
$68.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$78.2
$104
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$713
$1880
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$22823
$18564

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
$707
58 km or 36 mi Zhuozhou
$724
58 km or 36 mi Sanhe
$750
78 km or 49 mi Gaobeidian
$634
87 km or 54 mi Bazhou
$634
109 km or 68 mi Tianjin
$646
135 km or 84 mi Renqiu
$565
137 km or 85 mi Zunhua
$660
139 km or 87 mi Baoding
$456
151 km or 94 mi Binhai
$641
155 km or 97 mi Tangshan
$688
163 km or 101 mi Zhangjiakou
$652
164 km or 102 mi Hejian
$558
176 km or 110 mi Chengde
$694
182 km or 113 mi Cangzhou
$638
189 km or 117 mi Huanghua
$619
189 km or 118 mi Anguo
$533
196 km or 122 mi Dingzhou
$574
197 km or 122 mi Qian'an
$616
198 km or 123 mi Luanzhou
$614
204 km or 127 mi Botou
$564
224 km or 139 mi Shenzhou
$505
228 km or 142 mi Xinle
$535
229 km or 142 mi Pingquan
$615
239 km or 148 mi Jinzhou
$527
241 km or 150 mi Xinji
$523
249 km or 155 mi Gaocheng
$527
249 km or 155 mi Hengshui
$454
252 km or 156 mi Laoling
$580
263 km or 164 mi Shijiazhuang
$505
265 km or 165 mi Datong
$748
272 km or 169 mi Jizhou
$499
273 km or 169 mi Qinhuangdao
$558
273 km or 170 mi Dezhou
$480
281 km or 175 mi Fengzhen
$642
282 km or 175 mi Huairen
$654
294 km or 183 mi Lingyuan
$601
296 km or 184 mi Nangong
$550
302 km or 187 mi Ulanqab
$629
314 km or 195 mi Binzhou
$741

Cities near San Francisco

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.9 mi Daly
$3223
14 km or 8.4 mi South San Francisco
$3227
14 km or 8.8 mi Alameda
$3255
15 km or 9.2 mi Oakland
$3254
16 km or 10 mi Albany
$2961
17 km or 10 mi Berkeley
$3109
17 km or 11 mi San Bruno
$3230
18 km or 11 mi El Cerrito
$2998
18 km or 11 mi Pacifica
$3218
19 km or 12 mi Richmond
$3026
20 km or 12 mi Millbrae
$3285
21 km or 13 mi San Pablo
$3014
22 km or 14 mi Burlingame
$3317
24 km or 15 mi San Leandro
$3071
24 km or 15 mi San Rafael
$3797
26 km or 16 mi San Mateo
$3756
28 km or 17 mi San Lorenzo
$2810
28 km or 18 mi Foster
$3634
29 km or 18 mi Lafayette
$2950
29 km or 18 mi Hercules
$2858
31 km or 19 mi Belmont
$3553
32 km or 20 mi Hayward
$2826
32 km or 20 mi Castro Valley
$2957
34 km or 21 mi San Carlos
$3382
34 km or 21 mi Walnut Creek
$3033
36 km or 23 mi Redwood
$3890
37 km or 23 mi Martinez
$2910
37 km or 23 mi Danville
$3818
37 km or 23 mi Pleasant Hill
$2838
38 km or 24 mi Union
$3045
39 km or 24 mi San Ramon
$2850
39 km or 24 mi Vallejo
$2381
39 km or 24 mi Novato
$3094
39 km or 24 mi Benicia
$2823
41 km or 25 mi Concord
$2764
42 km or 26 mi Menlo Park
$3359
42 km or 26 mi East Palo Alto
$3333
43 km or 27 mi Newark
$3133
45 km or 28 mi Dublin
$3070
46 km or 28 mi Palo Alto
$3765