Cost of living comparison

Maryland, USA

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. Maryland Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 40.0% cheaper than Maryland.

Restaurants: pay 54.2% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 18.8% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 14.4% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 65.3% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 58.4% less in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.7% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 1.8% less in South Korea

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

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South Korea vs. Maryland Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 54.2% less for restaurants

	Maryland	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.42	$7.06 ₩9,413	-63.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.18	$6.17 ₩8,222	-39.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.77	$1.53 ₩2,037	-44.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.17	$0.88 ₩1,180	-59.1%
Average			-54.2%

Maryland vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.8% more for groceries

	Maryland	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$3.69	$3.04 ₩4,051	-17.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.44	$6.12 ₩8,166	-5.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.93	$8.23 ₩10,971	+109.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.28	$2.94 ₩3,919	-31.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.72	$4.11 ₩5,479	-28.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.42	$4.00 ₩5,336	+65.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69	$1.55 ₩2,067	+124.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.15	$3.00 ₩3,996	+39.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.25	$2.63 ₩3,510	+16.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.35	$2.03 ₩2,713	+51.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.39	$1.26 ₩1,683	-9.5%
Average			+18.8%

Maryland vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.4% less for transportation

	Maryland	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.73	$5.01 ₩6,678	+34.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$89.68	$46.10 ₩61,477	-48.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,660.33	$28,394.53 ₩38M	-10.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.74	$8.59 ₩11,459	-45.4%
Average			-14.4%

Maryland vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 65.3% less for housing

	Maryland	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$67.81	$24.34 ₩32,458	-64.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,833.36	$561.73 ₩749K	-69.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,508.18	$387.83 ₩517K	-74.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$143.82	$153.72 ₩205K	+6.9%
Average			-65.3%

Maryland vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 58.4% less for childcare

	Maryland	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,852.24	$545.93 ₩728K	-70.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$34,372.95	$20,214.53 ₩27M	-41.2%
Average			-58.4%

Maryland vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 30.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Maryland	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.45	$3.30 ₩4,398	-48.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31	$3.66 ₩4,884	-31.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.34	$3.35 ₩4,463	-70.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.47	$57.32 ₩76,432	+18.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.39	$11.28 ₩15,047	-26.7%
Average			-30.7%

Maryland vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.8% less for clothing

	Maryland	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.09	$67.53 ₩90,049	+24.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.95	$53.43 ₩71,245	+21.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.97	$78.10 ₩104K	-24.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$127.45	$102.84 ₩137K	-19.3%
Average			-1.8%

Maryland vs. South Korea - Cost of clothing

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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

Compare further: Maryland vs. South Korea

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 3 statistics

Make 47.6% less money in South Korea

Size Comparison · See true size

Maryland is about 3.9 times smaller than South Korea.

Moving from Maryland to South Korea · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

City Size Comparison · See true size

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