Pyongyang vs Ulaanbaatar - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 10, 2024

	Pyongyang	Ulaanbaatar
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1672	$907
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4098	$2342
🏠 One person rent	$957	$472
🏘️ Family rent	$2107	$1015
🍽️ Food expenses	$494	$305
🚐 Transport expenses	$167	$44.3
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$424	$408
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	14 km
🎓 Higher education	19	43
😀 Quality of life	16	55
🏙️ Population	2.86M	1.4M

The cost of living in Pyongyang is 84% more expensive than in Ulaanbaatar. Cities ranked 2973rd and 6109th ($1672 vs $907) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 1st in North Korea and Mongolia, respectively. Check North Korea vs Mongolia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.3 months in Pyongyang compared to 0.5 months in Ulaanbaatar. Pyongyang ranked 1st best city to live in North Korea vs Ulaanbaatar ranked 1st in Mongolia, while ranked 9011th and 5802nd among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Pyongyang vs Ulaanbaatar infographic

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Prices in Pyongyang vs Ulaanbaatar

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

	Pyongyang	Ulaanbaatar
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$8.46	$4.82
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$111	$29.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.03	$4.82
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.89	$1.69
☕ Cappuccino	$1.91	$2.51
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.52	$0.8
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$893	$507
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$803	$383
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3195	$1391
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1610	$806
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$81.5	$50.9
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$125	$78.3
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$54.9	$13.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.42%	6.39%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1714	$1637
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$930	$959
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.37	$0.15
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$47.3	$7.32
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$18.9	$5.34
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.88	$1.07
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.53	$1.41
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.65	$0.91
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.61	$1.68
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.53	$2.17
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.39	$13.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.9	$4.55
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.69	$5.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.14	$3.71
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.18	$2.88
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.58	$4.22
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.94	$3.24
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.95	$0.65
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.99	$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.18	$1.38
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.04	$9.09
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.69	$1.08
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.8	$1.79
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.27	$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.93	$3.86
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.56	$2.62
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$4.4	$1.89
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$24.2	$68.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.26	$4.69
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$16	$19.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.42	$5.6
👖 Brand Jeans	$28.6	$66.5
👟 Brand Sneakers	$64.5	$88.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$104	$154
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$3493	$7750

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 Ulaanbaatar

Distance	City	Cost of living
268 km or 167 mi	Bulgan	$875
437 km or 272 mi	Ulan-Ude	$568
520 km or 323 mi	Irkutsk	$741
559 km or 347 mi	Angarsk	$575
656 km or 408 mi	Chita	$617
794 km or 493 mi	Manzhouli	$629
798 km or 496 mi	Bayannur	$1005
835 km or 519 mi	Xilinhot	$677
840 km or 522 mi	Baotou	$684
875 km or 544 mi	Hohhot	$581
914 km or 568 mi	Ulanqab	$644
917 km or 570 mi	Wuhai	$1380
934 km or 581 mi	Ordos	$676
954 km or 593 mi	Hulunbuir	$646
969 km or 602 mi	Fengzhen	$637
985 km or 612 mi	Bratsk	$447
992 km or 616 mi	Shizuishan	$806
1008 km or 626 mi	Datong	$729
1012 km or 629 mi	Zhangjiakou	$657
1025 km or 637 mi	Yakeshi	$605
1028 km or 639 mi	Huairen	$648
1050 km or 652 mi	Shenmu	$602
1051 km or 653 mi	Yinchuan	$561
1051 km or 653 mi	Shuozhou	$619
1094 km or 680 mi	Lingwu	$574
1103 km or 685 mi	Qingtongxia	$573
1106 km or 687 mi	Wuzhong	$601
1113 km or 692 mi	Jinchang	$603
1124 km or 698 mi	Yuanping	$570
1126 km or 700 mi	Zhangye	$515
1131 km or 703 mi	Chifeng	$628
1131 km or 703 mi	Jiuquan	$502
1156 km or 718 mi	Xinzhou	$577
1164 km or 723 mi	Wuwei	$589
1165 km or 724 mi	Chengde	$760
1166 km or 724 mi	Ulanhot	$537
1166 km or 724 mi	Zhongwei	$623
1169 km or 726 mi	Beijing	$1067
1169 km or 727 mi	Yumen	$629
1176 km or 731 mi	Zalantun	$594