Cost of living comparison
compared to
Seoul vs. Durham Cost of Living Summary
Seoul is 20.6% cheaper than Durham.
Seoul vs. Durham Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Seoul instead of Durham, you would:
pay 45.8% less for restaurants
|
Durham
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$8.49
₩12,634
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$6.30
₩9,370
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$1.64
₩2,438
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.02
|
$0.78
₩1,162
|
|
Durham vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.0% less for groceries
|
Durham
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.55
|
$3.24
₩4,818
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.88
|
$6.79
₩10,107
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.35
|
$7.85
₩11,676
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.42
|
$2.93
₩4,362
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.75
|
$4.67
₩6,946
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.31
|
$3.45
₩5,127
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.17
|
$1.52
₩2,268
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.47
|
$2.35
₩3,499
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.01
|
$2.77
₩4,125
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$3.62
|
$1.62
₩2,409
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.01
|
$1.30
₩1,930
|
|
Durham vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries
pay 33.6% more for transportation
|
Durham
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.05
|
$4.43
₩6,592
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$25.00
|
$45.99
₩68,432
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,000.00
|
$25,072.36
₩37M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$10.50
₩15,624
|
|
Durham vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation
pay 52.0% less for housing
|
Durham
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$59.17
|
$20.56
₩30,586
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,850.00
|
$925.55
₩1M
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,433.33
|
$559.33
₩832K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$173.52
|
$118.88
₩177K
|
|
Durham vs. Seoul - Cost of housing
pay 72.7% less for childcare
|
Durham
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,318.67
|
$360.15
₩536K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$21,667.04
₩32M
|
|
Durham vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare
pay 22.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Durham
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$3.54
₩5,264
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.83
|
$3.70
₩5,502
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.00
|
$3.18
₩4,738
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.75
|
$56.34
₩83,824
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$10.61
₩15,792
|
|
Durham vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 22.1% more for clothing
|
Durham
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$36.66
|
$49.77
₩74,047
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$22.33
|
$39.49
₩58,759
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.50
|
$74.94
₩112K
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.67
|
$99.06
₩147K
|
|
Durham vs. Seoul - Cost of clothing
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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Compare further: Durham vs. Seoul
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cost of living in United States vs. South Korea.
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