Pyongyang vs Vancouver - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Pyongyang	Vancouver
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1675	$2488
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4114	$5527
🏠 One person rent	$959	$1579
🏘️ Family rent	$2118	$2615
🍽️ Food expenses	$496	$615
🚐 Transport expenses	$168	$143
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$411	$3246
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	9 km
🎓 Higher education	19	78
😀 Quality of life	20	92
🏙️ Population	2.86M	662K

The cost of living in Pyongyang is 33% less expensive than in Vancouver. Cities ranked 2779th and 819th ($1675 vs $2488) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 3rd in North Korea and Canada, respectively. Check North Korea vs Canada comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.2 months in Pyongyang compared to 1.3 months in Vancouver. Pyongyang ranked 1st best city to live in North Korea vs Vancouver ranked 3rd in Canada, while ranked 8868th and 86th 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 Vancouver infographic

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Prices in Pyongyang vs Vancouver

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

	Pyongyang	Vancouver
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$8.46	$16.1
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$112	$71.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.05	$10.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.87	$5.71
☕ Cappuccino	$1.89	$4.02
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.51	$2.06
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$892	$1747
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$805	$1392
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3191	$3049
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1625	$2320
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$81.2	$60.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$125	$92.9
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$55.5	$55.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.14%	5.89%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1656	$9559
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$984	$6774
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.38	$2.27
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$47.4	$85.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$19	$17.4
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.89	$1.32
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.52	$1.92
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.62	$2.91
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.61	$3.39
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.54	$4.13
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.54	$16.4
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$18.1	$14.9
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.86	$15.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.15	$4.14
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.16	$1.49
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.49	$3.77
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.95	$4.67
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.95	$3.45
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.97	$2.8
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$1.23
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.15	$2.96
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$6.94	$16.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.71	$3.36
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.82	$14.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.34	$8.11
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.9	$5.4
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.52	$3.27
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$4.43	$3.47
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$24.2	$40.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.24	$11.4
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$16	$100
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.35	$21.7
👖 Brand Jeans	$28.4	$62.4
👟 Brand Sneakers	$63	$99
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$103	$1117
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$3399	$17240

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	$1548
44 km or 27 mi	Nampo	$1570
46 km or 29 mi	Sunchon	$1574
59 km or 36 mi	Sariwon	$1561
65 km or 41 mi	Anju	$1554
76 km or 47 mi	Kaechon	$1565
77 km or 48 mi	Chongju	$1547
95 km or 59 mi	Tokchon	$1546
111 km or 69 mi	Haeju	$1550
115 km or 71 mi	Kusong	$1549
135 km or 84 mi	Huichon	$1538
138 km or 86 mi	Kaesong	$1565
149 km or 92 mi	Wonsan	$1568
163 km or 102 mi	Paju	$1075
165 km or 102 mi	Sinuiju	$1572
165 km or 103 mi	Donggang	$505
167 km or 104 mi	Dandong	$503
170 km or 106 mi	Dongducheon	$1055
178 km or 111 mi	Gimpo	$1099
180 km or 112 mi	Yangju	$974
180 km or 112 mi	Pocheon	$1040
181 km or 112 mi	Goyang	$1171
183 km or 113 mi	Uijeongbu	$955
184 km or 114 mi	Hamhung	$1597
192 km or 119 mi	Incheon	$1092
193 km or 120 mi	Bucheon	$1163
195 km or 121 mi	Seoul	$1334
199 km or 124 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1089
202 km or 125 mi	Guri	$1122
202 km or 125 mi	Namyangju	$1129
209 km or 130 mi	Gwacheon	$1070
210 km or 130 mi	Anyang	$1022
210 km or 131 mi	Hanam	$1161
212 km or 132 mi	Ansan	$1070
213 km or 132 mi	Fengcheng	$492
213 km or 133 mi	Gunpo	$1098
215 km or 134 mi	Seongnam	$1400
216 km or 134 mi	Uiwang	$1063
216 km or 134 mi	Siheung	$1283
217 km or 135 mi	Chuncheon	$865

Cities near Vancouver

Distance	City	Cost of living
7.8 km or 4.8 mi	North Vancouver	$2388
9.6 km or 6 mi	Richmond	$2093
11 km or 6.8 mi	Burnaby	$2495
17 km or 10 mi	Delta	$2317
20 km or 12 mi	Surrey	$2280
23 km or 14 mi	Coquitlam	$2490
36 km or 22 mi	Langley	$2021
36 km or 23 mi	Maple Ridge	$1969
60 km or 37 mi	Abbotsford	$1883
62 km or 38 mi	Nanaimo	$1719
72 km or 45 mi	Bellingham	$2466
84 km or 52 mi	Chilliwack	$1761
88 km or 54 mi	Saanich	$2121
94 km or 58 mi	Langford	$2047
94 km or 58 mi	Victoria	$2093
97 km or 61 mi	Whistler	$2023
108 km or 67 mi	Mount Vernon	$2542
111 km or 69 mi	Oak Harbor	$2751
129 km or 80 mi	Port Angeles	$2527
130 km or 81 mi	Sequim	$2692
145 km or 90 mi	Courtenay	$1810
149 km or 92 mi	Marysville	$2598
156 km or 97 mi	Lake Stevens	$2604
158 km or 98 mi	Everett	$2589
159 km or 99 mi	Mukilteo	$2637
168 km or 104 mi	Mill Creek	$2642
170 km or 105 mi	Lynnwood	$2726
170 km or 105 mi	Edmonds	$2785
175 km or 109 mi	Shoreline	$2973
177 km or 110 mi	Campbell River	$2155
177 km or 110 mi	Bothell	$2625
178 km or 111 mi	Kenmore	$2718
182 km or 113 mi	Bainbridge Island	$2810
186 km or 116 mi	Kirkland	$2882
190 km or 118 mi	Bremerton	$2462
190 km or 118 mi	Redmond	$3239
191 km or 119 mi	Seattle	$3015
194 km or 120 mi	Bellevue	$3273
198 km or 123 mi	Mercer Island	$2826
198 km or 123 mi	Sammamish	$2759