Cost of living comparison

 P'yongyang, North Korea
compared to
 San Jose, Costa Rica
San Jose vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 2.9 times more expensive than P'yongyang.

Restaurants
pay 14.6% more in San Jose
Groceries
pay 53.4% more in San Jose
Housing
pay 7.0 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports
pay 83.6% more in San Jose

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in San Jose are more expensive than in P'yongyang. Notably, housing and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in San Jose.

San Jose vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of P'yongyang, you would:

pay 14.6% more for restaurants

 
P'yongyang
San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant ?? $10.83
CRC5,520.16
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
?? $9.72
CRC4,952.82
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.14
KPW1,929
$1.99
CRC1,016.20

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pay 53.4% more for groceries

 
P'yongyang
San Jose
Bread
1 loaf
$2.20
KPW1,983
$2.60
CRC1,323.48
Local cheese (8 oz) ?? $4.26
CRC2,173.74
Milk (1 gallon) $3.40
KPW3,058
$7.23
CRC3,686.42

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

 
P'yongyang
San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon) ?? $5.49
CRC2,797.14
Monthly public transit pass ?? $38.02
CRC19,380.59
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $36,925.49
CRC18,820,706.48

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pay 7.0 times more for housing

 
P'yongyang
San Jose
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
?? $53.59
CRC27,316.87
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $85.74
KPW77,167
$742.08
CRC378,233.49
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $85.74
KPW77,167
$463.60
CRC236,294.89

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
P'yongyang
San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $521.49
CRC265,801.21
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $12,425.72
CRC6,333,315.52

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pay 83.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
P'yongyang
San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $12.86
KPW11,575
$2.92
CRC1,485.85
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.07
KPW965
$3.69
CRC1,881.44
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? $5.05
CRC2,575.47

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
P'yongyang
San Jose
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $73.59
CRC37,506.44
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $50.81
CRC25,898.78
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $125.98
CRC64,213.09

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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: June 2025
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See the cost of living in North Korea vs. Costa Rica. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within North Korea and Costa Rica.

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