Pyongyang vs Surabaya - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Pyongyang	Surabaya
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1659	$551
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$3633	$1391
🏠 One person rent	$946	$222
🏘️ Family rent	$1645	$373
🍽️ Food expenses	$492	$219
🚐 Transport expenses	$168	$49.4
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$138	$360
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	16 km
🎓 Higher education	19	75
😀 Quality of life	23	68
🏙️ Population	2.86M	3.01M

The cost of living in Pyongyang is 201% more expensive than in Surabaya. Cities ranked 3285th and 8275th ($1659 vs $551) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 14th in North Korea and Indonesia, respectively. Check North Korea vs Indonesia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.1 months in Pyongyang compared to 0.7 months in Surabaya. Pyongyang ranked 1st best city to live in North Korea vs Surabaya ranked 1st in Indonesia, while ranked 9031st and 4631st among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Pyongyang vs Surabaya infographic

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

Prices in Pyongyang vs Surabaya

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

	Pyongyang	Surabaya
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$8.36	$1.65
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$111	$13.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5	$3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.93	$2.41
☕ Cappuccino	$1.93	$1.74
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.51	$0.69
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$881	$230
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$793	$138
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1575	$410
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1439	$251
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$80.8	$46.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$125	$70.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$54.5	$19.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.74%	7.45%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1667	$2226
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$992	$1338
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.35	$0.48
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$47.2	$8.97
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$19.1	$4.26
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.88	$0.83
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.51	$1.37
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.64	$1.45
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.65	$0.95
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.52	$1.41
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.4	$9.51
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.9	$3.24
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.87	$8.17
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.11	$2.46
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.17	$1.54
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.59	$2.25
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.98	$1.63
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.96	$1.32
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.99	$1.9
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$0.29
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.18	$1.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.01	$30
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.69	$1.79
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.78	$2.41
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.08	$2.58
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.86	$2.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.48	$0.77
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$4.38	$0.68
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$25	$21.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.33	$2.98
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$16.8	$12
💇 Haircut, simple	$3.97	$3.27
👖 Brand Jeans	$28.2	$61
👟 Brand Sneakers	$63.8	$76.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$98.7	$185
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$3611	$9160

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 Surabaya

Distance	City	Cost of living
42 km or 26 mi	Mojokerto	$413
48 km or 30 mi	Pasuruan	$457
73 km or 45 mi	Batu	$409
77 km or 48 mi	Probolinggo	$470
83 km or 51 mi	Malang	$384
102 km or 63 mi	Kediri	$447
115 km or 71 mi	Blitar	$440
141 km or 87 mi	Madiun	$456
215 km or 133 mi	Surakarta	$409
247 km or 153 mi	Salatiga	$422
258 km or 160 mi	Semarang	$488
269 km or 167 mi	Yogyakarta	$445
286 km or 177 mi	Bali	$1134
311 km or 194 mi	Ubud	$834
315 km or 196 mi	Denpasar	$489
340 km or 211 mi	Pekalongan	$471
400 km or 249 mi	Tegal	$482
401 km or 249 mi	Mataram	$402
414 km or 257 mi	Cilacap	$478
464 km or 288 mi	Banjar	$488
464 km or 288 mi	Cirebon	$523
476 km or 296 mi	Banjarbaru	$449
481 km or 299 mi	Banjarmasin	$459
501 km or 311 mi	Tasikmalaya	$367
572 km or 355 mi	Bandung	$534
575 km or 357 mi	Palangka Raya	$470
576 km or 358 mi	Cimahi	$490
642 km or 399 mi	Sukabumi	$561
644 km or 400 mi	Bekasi	$555
659 km or 410 mi	Bogor	$480
660 km or 410 mi	Depok	$400
661 km or 411 mi	Jakarta	$699
672 km or 418 mi	Bima	$588
673 km or 418 mi	South Tangerang	$567
685 km or 425 mi	Tangerang	$665
738 km or 459 mi	Serang	$517
756 km or 470 mi	Cilegon	$511
774 km or 481 mi	Makassar	$523
820 km or 510 mi	Balikpapan	$598
842 km or 523 mi	Parepare	$502