Pyongyang vs San Diego - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Pyongyang	San Diego
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1675	$3507
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$3651	$7962
🏠 One person rent	$960	$2395
🏘️ Family rent	$1648	$4150
🍽️ Food expenses	$494	$737
🚐 Transport expenses	$167	$179
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$126	$5553
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	3 km
🎓 Higher education	19	86
😀 Quality of life	23	91
🏙️ Population	2.86M	1.39M

The cost of living in Pyongyang is 52% less expensive than in San Diego. Cities ranked 3341st and 50th ($1675 vs $3507) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 38th in North Korea and the United States, respectively. Check North Korea vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.1 months in Pyongyang compared to 1.6 months in San Diego. Pyongyang ranked 1st best city to live in North Korea vs San Diego ranked 26th in the United States, while ranked 9065th and 137th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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

Prices in Pyongyang vs San Diego

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

	Pyongyang	San Diego
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$8.41	$22.1
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$111	$86.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.02	$15
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.92	$8.74
☕ Cappuccino	$1.99	$6.24
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.53	$3.1
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$891	$2519
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$806	$2068
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1610	$4514
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1432	$3653
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$81.4	$165
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$125	$253
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$55.4	$71.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.8%	6.5%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1642	$8566
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$900	$6843
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.33	$2.51
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$46.8	$72
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$19.2	$19.6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.89	$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.5	$1.28
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.64	$3.98
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.63	$3.95
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.56	$6.16
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.54	$16
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.9	$13.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.88	$20.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.13	$4.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.14	$1.8
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.59	$4.22
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.93	$4.8
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3	$2.67
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.98	$2.5
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.34	$1.61
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.16	$3.26
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$6.96	$16.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.73	$2.8
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.84	$12.2
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.17	$14.9
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.93	$9.99
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.54	$5.5
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$4.46	$2.48
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$24.9	$62.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.26	$18.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$17.1	$131
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.46	$30.3
👖 Brand Jeans	$27.9	$63
👟 Brand Sneakers	$62.9	$109
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$114	$1998
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$4189	$26517

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	$1551
44 km or 27 mi	Nampo	$1580
46 km or 29 mi	Sunchon	$1574
59 km or 36 mi	Sariwon	$1560
65 km or 41 mi	Anju	$1551
76 km or 47 mi	Kaechon	$1572
77 km or 48 mi	Chongju	$1539
95 km or 59 mi	Tokchon	$1560
111 km or 69 mi	Haeju	$1568
115 km or 71 mi	Kusong	$1540
135 km or 84 mi	Huichon	$1545
138 km or 86 mi	Kaesong	$1563
149 km or 92 mi	Wonsan	$1572
163 km or 102 mi	Paju	$1049
165 km or 102 mi	Sinuiju	$1574
165 km or 103 mi	Donggang	$534
167 km or 104 mi	Dandong	$544
170 km or 106 mi	Dongducheon	$1007
178 km or 111 mi	Gimpo	$1068
180 km or 112 mi	Yangju	$937
180 km or 112 mi	Pocheon	$1008
181 km or 112 mi	Goyang	$1092
183 km or 113 mi	Uijeongbu	$913
184 km or 114 mi	Hamhung	$1604
192 km or 119 mi	Incheon	$1057
193 km or 120 mi	Bucheon	$1167
195 km or 121 mi	Seoul	$1363
199 km or 124 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1071
202 km or 125 mi	Guri	$1117
202 km or 125 mi	Namyangju	$1120
209 km or 130 mi	Gwacheon	$1061
210 km or 130 mi	Anyang	$988
210 km or 131 mi	Hanam	$1162
212 km or 132 mi	Ansan	$1044
213 km or 132 mi	Fengcheng	$517
213 km or 133 mi	Gunpo	$1112
215 km or 134 mi	Seongnam	$1425
216 km or 134 mi	Uiwang	$1063
216 km or 134 mi	Siheung	$1292
217 km or 135 mi	Chuncheon	$867

Cities near San Diego

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Coronado	$3220
7.2 km or 4.5 mi	National	$3053
13 km or 7.8 mi	Lemon Grove	$2995
14 km or 9 mi	Chula Vista	$2995
14 km or 9 mi	La Mesa	$2963
16 km or 9.8 mi	Imperial Beach	$2933
18 km or 11 mi	La Jolla	$3033
21 km or 13 mi	El Cajon	$3040
24 km or 15 mi	Tijuana	$1295
25 km or 15 mi	Santee	$2948
30 km or 19 mi	Poway	$2995
38 km or 24 mi	Encinitas	$3243
40 km or 25 mi	Las Delicias	$1141
43 km or 26 mi	Rosarito Beach	$1138
46 km or 29 mi	Escondido	$3261
47 km or 30 mi	San Marcos	$2995
52 km or 33 mi	Carlsbad	$3245
54 km or 33 mi	Vista	$2976
57 km or 36 mi	Oceanside	$3251
73 km or 46 mi	Fallbrook	$2927
88 km or 55 mi	Temecula	$2676
91 km or 57 mi	San Clemente	$2963
95 km or 59 mi	Murrieta	$3070
97 km or 61 mi	Dana Point	$3030
98 km or 61 mi	French Valley	$2758
99 km or 61 mi	San Juan Capistrano	$3085
99 km or 61 mi	Wildomar	$2815
104 km or 65 mi	Laguna Niguel	$3513
107 km or 66 mi	Laguna Beach	$3122
107 km or 67 mi	Menifee	$2621
109 km or 68 mi	Ensenada	$968
109 km or 68 mi	Lake Elsinore	$2669
110 km or 68 mi	Mission Viejo	$3544
110 km or 69 mi	Laguna Hills	$3027
111 km or 69 mi	Rancho Santa Margarita	$2980
114 km or 71 mi	Aliso Viejo	$3449
114 km or 71 mi	Lake Forest	$2554
115 km or 72 mi	Hemet	$2767
119 km or 74 mi	Perris	$2697
119 km or 74 mi	Temescal Valley	$2804