Pyongyang vs Saint Petersburg - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Pyongyang	Saint Petersburg
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1659	$971
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$3633	$2348
🏠 One person rent	$946	$502
🏘️ Family rent	$1645	$876
🍽️ Food expenses	$492	$258
🚐 Transport expenses	$168	$127
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$138	$1116
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	17 km
🎓 Higher education	19	82
😀 Quality of life	23	71
🏙️ Population	2.86M	5.65M

The cost of living in Pyongyang is 71% more expensive than in Saint Petersburg. Cities ranked 3285th and 5813th ($1659 vs $971) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 4th in North Korea and Russia, respectively. Check North Korea vs Russia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.1 months in Pyongyang compared to 1.1 months in Saint Petersburg. Pyongyang ranked 1st best city to live in North Korea vs Saint Petersburg ranked 2nd in Russia, while ranked 9031st and 3397th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Pyongyang vs Saint Petersburg infographic

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Prices in Pyongyang vs Saint Petersburg

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

	Pyongyang	Saint Petersburg
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$8.36	$7.62
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$111	$34.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5	$5.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.93	$2.77
☕ Cappuccino	$1.93	$2.26
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.51	$1.02
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$881	$654
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$793	$370
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1575	$1172
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1439	$665
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$80.8	$68
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$125	$103
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$54.5	$7.03
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.74%	24.54%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1667	$3928
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$992	$2610
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.35	$0.91
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$47.2	$38.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$19.1	$9.04
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.88	$0.72
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.51	$1.07
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.64	$0.7
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.65	$1.14
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.52	$1.62
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.4	$9.78
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.9	$4.39
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.87	$10.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.11	$1.63
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.17	$1.75
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.59	$1.83
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.98	$2.78
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.96	$0.8
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.99	$0.64
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$0.48
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.18	$1.3
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.01	$8.16
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.69	$0.95
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.78	$2.52
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.08	$1.46
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.86	$1.09
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.48	$1.04
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$4.38	$1.06
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$25	$32.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.33	$5.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$16.8	$14
💇 Haircut, simple	$3.97	$3.52
👖 Brand Jeans	$28.2	$86.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$63.8	$105
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$98.7	$402
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$3611	$10534

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Pyongyang

Distance	City	Cost of living
27 km or 17 mi	Pyongsong	$1550
44 km or 27 mi	Nampo	$1565
46 km or 29 mi	Sunchon	$1573
59 km or 36 mi	Sariwon	$1560
65 km or 41 mi	Anju	$1563
76 km or 47 mi	Kaechon	$1569
77 km or 48 mi	Chongju	$1553
95 km or 59 mi	Tokchon	$1555
111 km or 69 mi	Haeju	$1565
115 km or 71 mi	Kusong	$1544
135 km or 84 mi	Huichon	$1544
138 km or 86 mi	Kaesong	$1568
149 km or 92 mi	Wonsan	$1569
163 km or 102 mi	Paju	$1065
165 km or 102 mi	Sinuiju	$1564
165 km or 103 mi	Donggang	$537
167 km or 104 mi	Dandong	$550
170 km or 106 mi	Dongducheon	$1023
178 km or 111 mi	Gimpo	$1098
180 km or 112 mi	Yangju	$948
180 km or 112 mi	Pocheon	$1028
181 km or 112 mi	Goyang	$1097
183 km or 113 mi	Uijeongbu	$918
184 km or 114 mi	Hamhung	$1607
192 km or 119 mi	Incheon	$1088
193 km or 120 mi	Bucheon	$1175
195 km or 121 mi	Seoul	$1383
199 km or 124 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1090
202 km or 125 mi	Guri	$1134
202 km or 125 mi	Namyangju	$1138
209 km or 130 mi	Gwacheon	$1078
210 km or 130 mi	Anyang	$1004
210 km or 131 mi	Hanam	$1178
212 km or 132 mi	Ansan	$1049
213 km or 132 mi	Fengcheng	$517
213 km or 133 mi	Gunpo	$1112
215 km or 134 mi	Seongnam	$1435
216 km or 134 mi	Uiwang	$1080
216 km or 134 mi	Siheung	$1307
217 km or 135 mi	Chuncheon	$874

Cities near Saint Petersburg

Distance	City	Cost of living
135 km or 84 mi	Narva	$1083
156 km or 97 mi	Sillamae	$1064
162 km or 101 mi	Imatra	$1477
168 km or 104 mi	Veliky Novgorod	$734
170 km or 105 mi	Lappeenranta	$1454
181 km or 112 mi	Kohtla-Jarve	$1089
185 km or 115 mi	Hamina	$1516
195 km or 121 mi	Kotka	$1516
223 km or 139 mi	Kouvola	$1561
227 km or 141 mi	Savonlinna	$1265
232 km or 144 mi	Rakvere	$999
254 km or 158 mi	Mikkeli	$1386
262 km or 163 mi	Porvoo	$1561
263 km or 164 mi	Pskov	$680
269 km or 167 mi	Tartu	$1174
280 km or 174 mi	Lahti	$1618
293 km or 182 mi	Kerava	$1611
294 km or 183 mi	Varkaus	$1145
294 km or 183 mi	Jarvenpaa	$1783
295 km or 183 mi	Vantaa	$1881
296 km or 184 mi	Joensuu	$1580
297 km or 184 mi	Tuusula	$1655
299 km or 186 mi	Petrozavodsk	$745
300 km or 186 mi	Helsinki	$1947
302 km or 188 mi	Maardu	$1372
310 km or 192 mi	Nurmijarvi	$1642
310 km or 193 mi	Hyvinkaa	$1546
315 km or 196 mi	Espoo	$1937
317 km or 197 mi	Riihimaki	$1394
318 km or 197 mi	Tallinn	$1601
322 km or 200 mi	Viljandi	$1041
328 km or 204 mi	Kirkkonummi	$1737
342 km or 213 mi	Hameenlinna	$1444
348 km or 216 mi	Lohja	$1383
349 km or 217 mi	Jamsa	$1503
354 km or 220 mi	Jyvaskyla	$1500
356 km or 221 mi	Kuopio	$1524
373 km or 232 mi	Valkeakoski	$1570
374 km or 233 mi	Parnu	$1184
383 km or 238 mi	Raseborg	$1566