Cost of living comparison
compared to
Des Moines vs. Daejeon Cost of Living Summary
Des Moines is 62.0% more expensive than Daejeon.
Des Moines vs. Daejeon Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Des Moines instead of Daejeon, you would:
pay 2.6 times more for restaurants
|
Daejeon
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.46
₩9,953
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.45
₩7,265
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.23
₩1,642
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.66
₩876
|
$2.49
|
|
Daejeon vs. Des Moines - Cost of restaurants
pay 30.1% less for groceries
|
Daejeon
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.71
₩3,608
|
$2.95
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.50
₩7,340
|
$4.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.08
₩10,775
|
$3.38
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.52
₩3,364
|
$3.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.64
₩4,853
|
$4.39
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$4.99
₩6,659
|
$2.01
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$2.52
₩3,363
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.60
₩3,461
|
$2.01
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.69
₩3,589
|
$1.70
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.37
₩3,160
|
$1.43
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.25
₩1,670
|
$1.00
|
|
Daejeon vs. Des Moines - Cost of groceries
pay 52.0% more for transportation
|
Daejeon
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.72
₩6,297
|
$3.71
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$11.20
₩14,929
|
$58.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,162.26
₩38M
|
$35,052.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.18
₩12,242
|
$11.94
|
|
Daejeon vs. Des Moines - Cost of transportation
pay 2.6 times more for housing
|
Daejeon
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$22.39
₩29,858
|
$71.15
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$373.20
₩498K
|
$1,161.80
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$298.56
₩398K
|
$864.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$133.06
₩177K
|
$143.28
|
|
Daejeon vs. Des Moines - Cost of housing
pay 45.7% more for childcare
|
Daejeon
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$302.29
₩403K
|
$1,183.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$21,781.84
₩29M
|
$11,812.00
|
|
Daejeon vs. Des Moines - Cost of childcare
pay 62.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Daejeon
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.55
₩4,727
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.68
₩4,903
|
$6.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.36
₩4,479
|
$8.03
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$33.59
₩44,787
|
$63.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.20
₩14,929
|
$15.00
|
|
Daejeon vs. Des Moines - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.8% more for clothing
|
Daejeon
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.19
₩85,592
|
$60.68
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.05
₩54,739
|
$43.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$93.30
₩124K
|
$103.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.36
₩142K
|
$145.78
|
|
Daejeon vs. Des Moines - Cost of clothing
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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