Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

United States

Des Moines vs. Daegu Cost of Living Summary

Des Moines is 73.4% more expensive than Daegu.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Des Moines
Groceries: pay 23.5% less in Des Moines
Transportation: pay 1.4% more in Des Moines
Housing: pay 2.6 times more in Des Moines
Childcare: pay 2.9 times more in Des Moines
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.4% more in Des Moines
Clothing: pay 10.1% less in Des Moines

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Des Moines are more expensive than in Daegu. Expenses including groceries and clothing are lower in Des Moines. Notably, childcare, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Des Moines.

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Des Moines vs. Daegu Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Des Moines instead of Daegu, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Daegu	Des Moines
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩10,002	$17.00	+152.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.48 ₩8,159	$12.00	+118.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.48 ₩2,197	$2.61	+76.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 ₩1,176	$2.15	+172.7%
Average			+130.2%

Daegu vs. Des Moines - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.5% less for groceries

	Daegu	Des Moines
Bread 1 loaf	$4.50 ₩6,702	$3.03	-32.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.54 ₩8,238	$6.36	+14.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.81 ₩13,115	$3.56	-59.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.66 ₩3,957	$3.61	+35.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.10 ₩4,617	$3.67	+18.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.56 ₩5,303	$1.77	-50.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.68 ₩2,500	$0.65	-61.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.67 ₩3,980	$1.66	-37.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.29 ₩4,894	$1.59	-51.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.07 ₩1,594	$0.75	-30.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.41 ₩2,098	$1.36	-3.3%
Average			-23.5%

Daegu vs. Des Moines - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.4% more for transportation

	Daegu	Des Moines
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.32 ₩6,434	$2.93	-32.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$70.76 ₩105K	$58.00	-18.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,696.92 ₩40M	$26,000.00	-2.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.54 ₩11,212	$11.94	+58.5%
Average			+1.4%

Daegu vs. Des Moines - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.6 times more for housing

	Daegu	Des Moines
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.81 ₩29,478	$57.86	+192.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$379.34 ₩564K	$1,214.00	+220.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$249.67 ₩371K	$912.50	+265.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$149.85 ₩223K	$108.83	-27.4%
Average			+162.5%

Daegu vs. Des Moines - Cost of housing

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pay 2.9 times more for childcare

	Daegu	Des Moines
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$254.87 ₩379K	$1,369.17	+437.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,763.25 ₩41M	$11,812.00	-57.5%
Average			+189.8%

Daegu vs. Des Moines - Cost of childcare

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pay 63.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Daegu	Des Moines
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.54 ₩5,264	$5.00	+41.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.46 ₩5,147	$5.47	+58.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,738	$7.14	+124.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.82 ₩72,643	$71.67	+46.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.26 ₩15,266	$15.00	+46.2%
Average			+63.4%

Daegu vs. Des Moines - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.1% less for clothing

	Daegu	Des Moines
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.11 ₩79,019	$56.67	+6.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.76 ₩71,064	$41.00	-14.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.70 ₩136K	$73.00	-20.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$158.02 ₩235K	$138.33	-12.5%
Average			-10.1%

Daegu vs. Des Moines - Cost of clothing

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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: July 2026

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