Pyongyang vs Ulaanbaatar - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Pyongyang	Ulaanbaatar
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1659	$870
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$3633	$2091
🏠 One person rent	$946	$430
🏘️ Family rent	$1645	$764
🍽️ Food expenses	$492	$306
🚐 Transport expenses	$168	$43.7
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$138	$516
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	14 km
🎓 Higher education	19	43
😀 Quality of life	23	61
🏙️ Population	2.86M	1.4M

The cost of living in Pyongyang is 91% more expensive than in Ulaanbaatar. Cities ranked 3285th and 6373rd ($1659 vs $870) 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 0.1 months in Pyongyang compared to 0.6 months in Ulaanbaatar. Pyongyang ranked 1st best city to live in North Korea vs Ulaanbaatar ranked 1st in Mongolia, while ranked 9031st and 5856th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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	$8.36	$5.45
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$111	$29.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5	$5.44
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.93	$1.95
☕ Cappuccino	$1.93	$2.41
🥤 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	$417
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$793	$358
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1575	$769
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1439	$656
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$80.8	$46
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$125	$70.7
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$54.5	$14.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.74%	6.05%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1667	$1651
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$992	$881
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.35	$0.28
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$47.2	$8.29
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$19.1	$4.98
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.88	$1.01
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.51	$1.39
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.64	$0.85
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.65	$2.06
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.52	$2.07
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.4	$11.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.9	$5.88
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.87	$5.32
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.11	$2.98
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.17	$2.22
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.59	$4.11
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.98	$2.58
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.96	$0.66
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.99	$1
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$0.51
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.18	$1.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.01	$9.25
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.69	$1.39
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.78	$1.69
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.08	$9.31
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.86	$3.61
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.48	$2.49
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$4.38	$1.79
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$25	$70
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.33	$3.92
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$16.8	$19
💇 Haircut, simple	$3.97	$4.85
👖 Brand Jeans	$28.2	$81.1
👟 Brand Sneakers	$63.8	$97.9
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$98.7	$167
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$3611	$6621

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 Ulaanbaatar

Distance	City	Cost of living
268 km or 167 mi	Bulgan	$838
437 km or 272 mi	Ulan-Ude	$676
520 km or 323 mi	Irkutsk	$735
559 km or 347 mi	Angarsk	$725
656 km or 408 mi	Chita	$912
794 km or 493 mi	Manzhouli	$631
798 km or 496 mi	Bayannur	$986
835 km or 519 mi	Xilinhot	$677
840 km or 522 mi	Baotou	$659
875 km or 544 mi	Hohhot	$541
914 km or 568 mi	Ulanqab	$629
917 km or 570 mi	Wuhai	$1365
934 km or 581 mi	Ordos	$655
954 km or 593 mi	Hulunbuir	$638
969 km or 602 mi	Fengzhen	$642
985 km or 612 mi	Bratsk	$518
992 km or 616 mi	Shizuishan	$785
1008 km or 626 mi	Datong	$748
1012 km or 629 mi	Zhangjiakou	$652
1025 km or 637 mi	Yakeshi	$614
1028 km or 639 mi	Huairen	$654
1050 km or 652 mi	Shenmu	$580
1051 km or 653 mi	Yinchuan	$548
1051 km or 653 mi	Shuozhou	$600
1094 km or 680 mi	Lingwu	$564
1103 km or 685 mi	Qingtongxia	$563
1106 km or 687 mi	Wuzhong	$589
1113 km or 692 mi	Jinchang	$480
1124 km or 698 mi	Yuanping	$546
1126 km or 700 mi	Zhangye	$484
1131 km or 703 mi	Chifeng	$615
1131 km or 703 mi	Jiuquan	$470
1156 km or 718 mi	Xinzhou	$553
1164 km or 723 mi	Wuwei	$411
1165 km or 724 mi	Chengde	$694
1166 km or 724 mi	Ulanhot	$532
1166 km or 724 mi	Zhongwei	$597
1169 km or 726 mi	Beijing	$1029
1169 km or 727 mi	Yumen	$439
1176 km or 731 mi	Zalantun	$600