Cost of living comparison

compared to

Seoul vs. Appleton Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 12.5% cheaper than Appleton.

Restaurants
pay 45.5% less in Seoul
Groceries
pay 41.0% more in Seoul
Transportation
pay 2.2% more in Seoul
Housing
pay 35.0% less in Seoul
Childcare
pay 5.2% less in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 4.6% less in Seoul
Clothing
pay 18.8% more in Seoul

The cost of groceries, clothing, and transportation in Seoul are more expensive than in Appleton. Expenses including restaurants, housing, childcare, and entertainment and sports are lower in Seoul.

Seoul vs. Appleton Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Seoul instead of Appleton, you would:

pay 45.5% less for restaurants

 
Appleton
Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.00
 
$8.96
₩11,943
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.00
 
$7.46
₩9,953
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.66
 
$1.58
₩2,110

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pay 41.0% more for groceries

 
Appleton
Seoul
Bread
1 loaf
$3.03
 
$3.10
₩4,130
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.07
 
$8.84
₩11,786
Milk (1 gallon) $3.79
 
$7.79
₩10,392

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pay 2.2% more for transportation

 
Appleton
Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.81
 
$5.53
₩7,377
Monthly public transit pass ?? $46.28
₩61,706
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,957.00
 
$29,385.60
₩39M

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pay 35.0% less for housing

 
Appleton
Seoul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$61.13
 
$20.82
₩27,759
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,516.67
 
$886.39
₩1M
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,000.00
 
$620.25
₩827K

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pay 5.2% less for childcare

 
Appleton
Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,536.88
 
$1,927.59
₩3M
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $31,537.78
 
$22,602.27
₩30M

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pay 4.6% less for entertainment and sports

 
Appleton
Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.50
 
$3.73
₩4,976
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.38
 
$4.10
₩5,468
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$10.73
 
$3.36
₩4,479

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pay 18.8% more for clothing

 
Appleton
Seoul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$40.00
 
$57.88
₩77,178
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$25.00
 
$32.77
₩43,700
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$50.00
 
$69.99
₩93,325

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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