Cost of living comparison

Massachusetts, USA

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. Massachusetts Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 45.0% cheaper than Massachusetts.

Restaurants: pay 58.5% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 10.8% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 14.4% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 71.6% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 57.2% less in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.8% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 8.2% more in South Korea

The cost of groceries and clothing in South Korea are more expensive than in Massachusetts. Expenses including housing, restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in South Korea.

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South Korea vs. Massachusetts Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 58.5% less for restaurants

	Massachusetts	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$21.38	$7.06 ₩9,413	-67.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.97	$6.17 ₩8,222	-48.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.74	$1.53 ₩2,037	-44.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.20	$0.88 ₩1,180	-59.8%
Average			-58.5%

Massachusetts vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.8% more for groceries

	Massachusetts	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$3.86	$3.04 ₩4,051	-21.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.01	$6.12 ₩8,166	-12.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.07	$8.23 ₩10,971	+102.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.58	$2.94 ₩3,919	-35.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.52	$4.11 ₩5,479	-25.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.55	$4.00 ₩5,336	+56.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.91	$1.55 ₩2,067	+71.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.13	$3.00 ₩3,996	+41.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.43	$2.63 ₩3,510	+8.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.54	$2.03 ₩2,713	+32.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.47	$1.26 ₩1,683	-14.0%
Average			+10.8%

Massachusetts vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.4% less for transportation

	Massachusetts	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.83	$5.01 ₩6,678	+30.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$71.50	$46.10 ₩61,477	-35.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,766.23	$28,394.53 ₩38M	-20.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.36	$8.59 ₩11,459	-50.5%
Average			-14.4%

Massachusetts vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 71.6% less for housing

	Massachusetts	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$73.63	$24.34 ₩32,458	-66.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,181.37	$561.73 ₩749K	-74.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,944.96	$387.83 ₩517K	-80.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$170.22	$153.72 ₩205K	-9.7%
Average			-71.6%

Massachusetts vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 57.2% less for childcare

	Massachusetts	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,041.15	$545.93 ₩728K	-73.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$29,539.47	$20,214.53 ₩27M	-31.6%
Average			-57.2%

Massachusetts vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Massachusetts	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.35	$3.30 ₩4,398	-48.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.18	$3.66 ₩4,884	-29.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.90	$3.35 ₩4,463	-74.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.54	$57.32 ₩76,432	+5.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.30	$11.28 ₩15,047	-21.1%
Average			-31.8%

Massachusetts vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.2% more for clothing

	Massachusetts	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.91	$67.53 ₩90,049	+30.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.86	$53.43 ₩71,245	+45.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.15	$78.10 ₩104K	-15.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$119.99	$102.84 ₩137K	-14.3%
Average			+8.2%

Massachusetts 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: Massachusetts vs. South Korea

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Quality of Life Comparison · 3 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

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