Pyongyang vs Seattle - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 10, 2024

	Pyongyang	Seattle
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1672	$2908
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4098	$7212
🏠 One person rent	$957	$1829
🏘️ Family rent	$2107	$3413
🍽️ Food expenses	$494	$707
🚐 Transport expenses	$167	$161
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$424	$6392
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	9 km
🎓 Higher education	19	80
😀 Quality of life	16	92
🏙️ Population	2.86M	737K

The cost of living in Pyongyang is 43% less expensive than in Seattle. Cities ranked 2973rd and 206th ($1672 vs $2908) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 168th 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 0.3 months in Pyongyang compared to 2.2 months in Seattle. Pyongyang ranked 1st best city to live in North Korea vs Seattle ranked 16th in the United States, while ranked 9011th and 102nd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Pyongyang vs Seattle infographic

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Prices in Pyongyang vs Seattle

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

	Pyongyang	Seattle
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$8.46	$19.3
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$111	$89.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.03	$12.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.89	$8.02
☕ Cappuccino	$1.91	$5.61
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.52	$3.13
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$893	$1947
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$803	$1538
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3195	$3856
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1610	$2943
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$81.5	$142
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$125	$220
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$54.9	$67.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.42%	6.42%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1714	$7855
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$930	$5704
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.37	$2.77
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$47.3	$97.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$18.9	$18
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.88	$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.53	$1.17
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.65	$3.71
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.61	$4.4
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.53	$4.47
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.39	$17.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.9	$13.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.69	$20.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.14	$4.95
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.18	$1.82
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.58	$4.93
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.94	$5.33
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.95	$2.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.99	$3.32
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$1.63
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.18	$3.04
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.04	$15.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.69	$2.79
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.8	$12.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.27	$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.93	$5.98
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.56	$6.97
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$4.4	$2.46
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$24.2	$63.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.26	$16.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$16	$183
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.42	$25.7
👖 Brand Jeans	$28.6	$67.8
👟 Brand Sneakers	$64.5	$94.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$104	$2227
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$3493	$28179

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	$1555
44 km or 27 mi	Nampo	$1574
46 km or 29 mi	Sunchon	$1576
59 km or 36 mi	Sariwon	$1564
65 km or 41 mi	Anju	$1550
76 km or 47 mi	Kaechon	$1564
77 km or 48 mi	Chongju	$1555
95 km or 59 mi	Tokchon	$1553
111 km or 69 mi	Haeju	$1562
115 km or 71 mi	Kusong	$1547
135 km or 84 mi	Huichon	$1545
138 km or 86 mi	Kaesong	$1567
149 km or 92 mi	Wonsan	$1573
163 km or 102 mi	Paju	$1020
165 km or 102 mi	Sinuiju	$1568
165 km or 103 mi	Donggang	$548
167 km or 104 mi	Dandong	$543
170 km or 106 mi	Dongducheon	$968
178 km or 111 mi	Gimpo	$966
180 km or 112 mi	Yangju	$941
180 km or 112 mi	Pocheon	$989
181 km or 112 mi	Goyang	$1008
183 km or 113 mi	Uijeongbu	$936
184 km or 114 mi	Hamhung	$1603
192 km or 119 mi	Incheon	$1067
193 km or 120 mi	Bucheon	$1068
195 km or 121 mi	Seoul	$1461
199 km or 124 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1038
202 km or 125 mi	Guri	$1085
202 km or 125 mi	Namyangju	$1084
209 km or 130 mi	Gwacheon	$1005
210 km or 130 mi	Anyang	$1025
210 km or 131 mi	Hanam	$1074
212 km or 132 mi	Ansan	$990
213 km or 132 mi	Fengcheng	$527
213 km or 133 mi	Gunpo	$1003
215 km or 134 mi	Seongnam	$1127
216 km or 134 mi	Uiwang	$988
216 km or 134 mi	Siheung	$1087
217 km or 135 mi	Chuncheon	$839

Cities near Seattle

Distance	City	Cost of living
9.1 km or 5.7 mi	Mercer Island	$2759
11 km or 6.5 mi	Bellevue	$3179
14 km or 8.5 mi	Kirkland	$2901
15 km or 9.2 mi	Tukwila	$2542
15 km or 9.5 mi	Burien	$2512
16 km or 10 mi	Bainbridge Island	$2904
17 km or 10 mi	Shoreline	$3091
17 km or 10 mi	Renton	$2301
17 km or 11 mi	Redmond	$3229
17 km or 11 mi	Kenmore	$2784
19 km or 12 mi	SeaTac	$2489
21 km or 13 mi	Bothell	$2866
22 km or 14 mi	Sammamish	$2743
22 km or 14 mi	Edmonds	$2821
23 km or 14 mi	Issaquah	$2655
24 km or 15 mi	Des Moines	$2512
24 km or 15 mi	Lynnwood	$2769
24 km or 15 mi	Bremerton	$2491
26 km or 16 mi	Kent	$2819
30 km or 19 mi	Mill Creek	$2692
33 km or 20 mi	Federal Way	$2449
34 km or 21 mi	Maple Valley	$2515
35 km or 21 mi	Mukilteo	$2619
35 km or 22 mi	Auburn	$2172
41 km or 25 mi	Everett	$2569
42 km or 26 mi	Tacoma	$2348
46 km or 28 mi	University Place	$2655
48 km or 30 mi	Puyallup	$2774
50 km or 31 mi	Lake Stevens	$2581
51 km or 32 mi	Lakewood	$2417
52 km or 33 mi	Marysville	$2576
57 km or 35 mi	Spanaway	$2307
74 km or 46 mi	Lacey	$2534
76 km or 47 mi	Olympia	$2435
78 km or 48 mi	Sequim	$2609
80 km or 50 mi	Oak Harbor	$2612
90 km or 56 mi	Mount Vernon	$2314
100 km or 62 mi	Port Angeles	$2546
109 km or 68 mi	Centralia	$2577
119 km or 74 mi	Victoria	$2263