Cost of living comparison

Hawaii, USA

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. Hawaii Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 41.0% cheaper than Hawaii.

Restaurants: pay 64.2% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 34.5% less in South Korea
Transportation: pay 30.5% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 66.1% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 46.8% less in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.5% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 1.3% less in South Korea

Expenses including housing, restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation are lower in South Korea.

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South Korea vs. Hawaii Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Hawaii, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 64.2% less for restaurants

	Hawaii	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.67	$6.72 ₩9,109	-78.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$13.92	$5.50 ₩7,450	-60.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.92	$1.47 ₩1,987	-49.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.55	$0.82 ₩1,118	-67.6%
Average			-64.2%

Hawaii vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 34.5% less for groceries

	Hawaii	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$7.40	$2.87 ₩3,894	-61.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.55	$5.63 ₩7,623	-41.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.31	$7.67 ₩10,401	+5.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$8.02	$2.84 ₩3,844	-64.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.30	$3.34 ₩4,521	-54.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.53	$3.24 ₩4,385	-8.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.51	$1.39 ₩1,881	-7.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.45	$2.80 ₩3,790	-19.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$4.35	$2.40 ₩3,258	-44.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$2.48	$1.78 ₩2,415	-28.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$2.69	$1.20 ₩1,632	-55.2%
Average			-34.5%

Hawaii vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.5% less for transportation

	Hawaii	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.67	$4.40 ₩5,963	-5.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$73.40	$47.17 ₩63,929	-35.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,191.72	$26,440.41 ₩36M	-22.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.78	$8.33 ₩11,291	-57.9%
Average			-30.5%

Hawaii vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 66.1% less for housing

	Hawaii	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$62.43	$21.68 ₩29,386	-65.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,196.87	$473.91 ₩642K	-78.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,945.73	$357.19 ₩484K	-81.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$217.24	$132.53 ₩180K	-39.0%
Average			-66.1%

Hawaii vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 46.8% less for childcare

	Hawaii	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,529.17	$378.52 ₩513K	-75.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,420.00	$15,055.40 ₩20M	-18.3%
Average			-46.8%

Hawaii vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Hawaii	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.50	$3.12 ₩4,226	-52.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.51	$3.57 ₩4,835	-45.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.87	$3.18 ₩4,315	-75.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.64	$49.86 ₩67,569	-16.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.16	$10.12 ₩13,712	-28.6%
Average			-43.5%

Hawaii vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.3% less for clothing

	Hawaii	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$56.33	$66.46 ₩90,065	+18.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$42.33	$50.68 ₩68,685	+19.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.67	$72.74 ₩98,576	-24.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$126.17	$103.23 ₩140K	-18.2%
Average			-1.3%

Hawaii vs. South Korea - 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: September 2026

Compare further: Hawaii vs. South Korea

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Quality of Life Comparison · 3 statistics

Make 21.1% less money in South Korea

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