Pyongyang vs Saint Petersburg - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Pyongyang	Saint Petersburg
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1669	$1139
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$3681	$2793
🏠 One person rent	$957	$577
🏘️ Family rent	$1680	$1013
🍽️ Food expenses	$494	$300
🚐 Transport expenses	$167	$160
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$159	$1316
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	17 km
🎓 Higher education	19	85
😀 Quality of life	23	71
🏙️ Population	2.86M	5.65M

The cost of living in Pyongyang is 46% more expensive than in Saint Petersburg. Cities ranked 3318th and 4898th ($1669 vs $1139) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 5th 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 1.2 months in Saint Petersburg. Pyongyang ranked 1st best city to live in North Korea vs Saint Petersburg ranked 2nd in Russia, while ranked 9024th and 3542nd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Share this picture

Use the link below to embed the infographic from our site and automatically keep the data layer up to date.

If you prefer to download the image, please credit us as a source.

<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/pyongyang/saint-petersburg.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Pyongyang vs Saint Petersburg infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/pyongyang/saint-petersburg" target="_blank">Pyongyang vs Saint Petersburg - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

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	$8.42	$9.18
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$111	$33.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.04	$6.37
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.93	$2.62
☕ Cappuccino	$1.98	$3.01
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.52	$1.36
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$887	$738
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$804	$429
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1630	$1362
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1466	$765
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$80.6	$78.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$126	$120
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$55.1	$8.01
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.65%	20.67%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1605	$4926
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$874	$3068
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.3	$1.17
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$46.9	$47.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$19	$11.8
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.9	$0.89
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.52	$1.21
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.64	$0.86
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.62	$1.38
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.54	$1.75
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.49	$12
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.8	$5.69
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.88	$12.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.13	$1.84
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.12	$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.56	$1.96
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.95	$3.21
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.01	$0.74
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.93	$0.66
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$0.59
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.17	$1.69
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.01	$8.78
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.71	$1.22
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.19	$3
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.27	$1.91
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.89	$1.43
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.53	$1.26
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$4.38	$1.38
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$23.9	$40.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.14	$6.09
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$16.1	$17.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$3.92	$4.25
👖 Brand Jeans	$28	$94.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$61.1	$132
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$131	$502
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$4572	$13865

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	$1560
44 km or 27 mi	Nampo	$1572
46 km or 29 mi	Sunchon	$1579
59 km or 36 mi	Sariwon	$1569
65 km or 41 mi	Anju	$1559
76 km or 47 mi	Kaechon	$1564
77 km or 48 mi	Chongju	$1544
95 km or 59 mi	Tokchon	$1563
111 km or 69 mi	Haeju	$1562
115 km or 71 mi	Kusong	$1550
135 km or 84 mi	Huichon	$1547
138 km or 86 mi	Kaesong	$1557
149 km or 92 mi	Wonsan	$1570
163 km or 102 mi	Paju	$1010
165 km or 102 mi	Sinuiju	$1572
165 km or 103 mi	Donggang	$540
167 km or 104 mi	Dandong	$541
170 km or 106 mi	Dongducheon	$977
178 km or 111 mi	Gimpo	$1040
180 km or 112 mi	Yangju	$894
180 km or 112 mi	Pocheon	$982
181 km or 112 mi	Goyang	$1052
183 km or 113 mi	Uijeongbu	$868
184 km or 114 mi	Hamhung	$1607
192 km or 119 mi	Incheon	$1032
193 km or 120 mi	Bucheon	$1090
195 km or 121 mi	Seoul	$1296
199 km or 124 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1029
202 km or 125 mi	Guri	$1089
202 km or 125 mi	Namyangju	$1094
209 km or 130 mi	Gwacheon	$1031
210 km or 130 mi	Anyang	$943
210 km or 131 mi	Hanam	$1152
212 km or 132 mi	Ansan	$1001
213 km or 132 mi	Fengcheng	$526
213 km or 133 mi	Gunpo	$1053
215 km or 134 mi	Seongnam	$1455
216 km or 134 mi	Uiwang	$1022
216 km or 134 mi	Siheung	$1313
217 km or 135 mi	Chuncheon	$819

Cities near Saint Petersburg

Distance	City	Cost of living
135 km or 84 mi	Narva	$1081
156 km or 97 mi	Sillamae	$1079
162 km or 101 mi	Imatra	$1467
168 km or 104 mi	Veliky Novgorod	$766
170 km or 105 mi	Lappeenranta	$1448
181 km or 112 mi	Kohtla-Jarve	$1104
185 km or 115 mi	Hamina	$1490
195 km or 121 mi	Kotka	$1478
223 km or 139 mi	Kouvola	$1383
227 km or 141 mi	Savonlinna	$1312
232 km or 144 mi	Rakvere	$1085
254 km or 158 mi	Mikkeli	$1445
262 km or 163 mi	Porvoo	$1521
263 km or 164 mi	Pskov	$758
269 km or 167 mi	Tartu	$1220
280 km or 174 mi	Lahti	$1533
293 km or 182 mi	Kerava	$1673
294 km or 183 mi	Varkaus	$1428
294 km or 183 mi	Jarvenpaa	$1759
295 km or 183 mi	Vantaa	$1843
296 km or 184 mi	Joensuu	$1550
297 km or 184 mi	Tuusula	$1698
299 km or 186 mi	Petrozavodsk	$834
300 km or 186 mi	Helsinki	$1970
302 km or 188 mi	Maardu	$1455
310 km or 192 mi	Nurmijarvi	$1644
310 km or 193 mi	Hyvinkaa	$1531
315 km or 196 mi	Espoo	$1974
317 km or 197 mi	Riihimaki	$1419
318 km or 197 mi	Tallinn	$1594
322 km or 200 mi	Viljandi	$1054
328 km or 204 mi	Kirkkonummi	$1684
342 km or 213 mi	Hameenlinna	$1436
348 km or 216 mi	Lohja	$1391
349 km or 217 mi	Jamsa	$1492
354 km or 220 mi	Jyvaskyla	$1403
356 km or 221 mi	Kuopio	$1525
373 km or 232 mi	Valkeakoski	$1578
374 km or 233 mi	Parnu	$1179
383 km or 238 mi	Raseborg	$1597