Cost of living comparison
Beijing is 36.1% cheaper than Houston.
If you lived in Beijing instead of Houston, you would:
pay 70.0% less for restaurants
|
Houston
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.00
|
$4.17
CN¥30.19
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.00
|
$5.57
CN¥40.26
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.53
|
$0.50
CN¥3.59
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$0.31
CN¥2.24
|
|
pay 28.3% less for groceries
|
Houston
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.97
|
$1.43
CN¥10.37
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.39
|
$7.31
CN¥52.85
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.43
|
$7.17
CN¥51.86
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.53
|
$1.74
CN¥12.57
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.15
|
$1.53
CN¥11.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.99
|
$0.92
CN¥6.63
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.58
|
$0.71
CN¥5.14
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.72
|
$0.89
CN¥6.41
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.28
|
$0.58
CN¥4.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$0.37
CN¥2.66
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.07
|
$0.47
CN¥3.41
|
|
pay 30.6% less for transportation
|
Houston
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.88
|
$4.36
CN¥31.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$33.40
CN¥241.53
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,278.39
|
$20,872.18
CN¥150,958.03
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.79
|
$4.59
CN¥33.21
|
|
pay 62.9% less for housing
|
Houston
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$66.71
|
$13.28
CN¥96.07
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,582.84
|
$929.88
CN¥6,725.34
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,189.12
|
$492.44
CN¥3,561.59
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$148.41
|
$42.04
CN¥304.06
|
|
pay 24.0% less for childcare
|
Houston
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,457.58
|
$763.49
CN¥5,521.97
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,000.00
|
$22,913.01
CN¥165,718.37
|
|
pay 30.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Houston
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$1.11
CN¥8.05
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.27
|
$3.60
CN¥26.06
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.97
|
$3.48
CN¥25.16
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.65
|
$65.46
CN¥473.41
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$8.35
CN¥60.38
|
|
pay 6.0% less for clothing
|
Houston
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.14
|
$62.65
CN¥453.15
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.00
|
$34.69
CN¥250.87
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$103.28
|
$83.45
CN¥603.57
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$132.12
|
$107.64
CN¥778.48
|
|
Change currency:
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Beijing or Houston. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.