Cost of living comparison

Northern Mariana Islands

compared to

North Korea

North Korea vs. Northern Mariana Islands Cost of Living Summary

North Korea is 19.0% cheaper than Northern Mariana Islands overall.

Restaurants: pay 31.0% more in North Korea
Groceries: pay 51.3% less in North Korea
Housing: pay 83.6% less in North Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.0% more in North Korea

The cost of restaurants and entertainment and sports in North Korea are more expensive than in Northern Mariana Islands. Expenses including housing and groceries are lower in North Korea.

North Korea vs. Northern Mariana Islands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in North Korea instead of Northern Mariana Islands, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 31.0% more for restaurants

	Northern Mariana Islands	North Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.00	??
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.00	??
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.50	$2.14 KPW1,929	+42.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.90	$1.07 KPW965	+19.1%
Average			+31.0%

Northern Mariana Islands vs. North Korea - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 51.3% less for groceries

	Northern Mariana Islands	North Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$3.33	$2.20 KPW1,983	-33.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	??	??
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.44	$3.40 KPW3,058	-59.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.33	$2.52 KPW2,267	-60.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.00	??
Apples (1 lb)	$2.99	??
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.00	??
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.99	??
Tomatoes (1 lb)	??	??
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.95	??
Onions (1 lb)	$1.03	??
Average			-51.3%

Northern Mariana Islands vs. North Korea - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay (unknown) more for transportation

	Northern Mariana Islands	North Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.32	??
Monthly public transit pass	??	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,999.00	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.41	??

Northern Mariana Islands vs. North Korea - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 83.6% less for housing

	Northern Mariana Islands	North Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$60.00	??
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$625.00	$85.74 KPW77,167	-86.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$450.00	$85.74 KPW77,167	-80.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$254.42	??
Average			-83.6%

Northern Mariana Islands vs. North Korea - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Northern Mariana Islands	North Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,000.00	??

Northern Mariana Islands vs. North Korea - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Northern Mariana Islands	North Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.50	$12.86 KPW11,575	+133.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.83	$1.07 KPW965	-77.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	??
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.50	??
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.00	??
Average			+28.0%

Northern Mariana Islands vs. North Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay (unknown) more for clothing

	Northern Mariana Islands	North Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$30.00	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.00	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$70.00	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$55.00	??

Northern Mariana Islands vs. North Korea - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2025

More cost comparisons

Northern Mariana Islands vs.

Spain

Northern Mariana Islands vs.

Italy

Northern Mariana Islands vs.

United Kingdom

Northern Mariana Islands vs.

Ireland

Northern Mariana Islands vs.

Australia

Northern Mariana Islands vs.

Thailand

Northern Mariana Islands vs.

Peru

Northern Mariana Islands vs.

Germany

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Saipan vs. P'yongyang

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Northern Mariana Islands

Add prices for North Korea

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about North Korea or Northern Mariana Islands. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.