Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Korea vs. New Jersey Cost of Living Summary
South Korea is 46.3% cheaper than New Jersey.
South Korea vs. New Jersey Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Korea instead of New Jersey, you would:
pay 55.8% less for restaurants
|
New Jersey
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.81
|
$7.06
₩9,413
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.13
|
$6.17
₩8,222
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.49
|
$1.53
₩2,037
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.74
|
$0.88
₩1,180
|
|
New Jersey vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.4% more for groceries
|
New Jersey
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.23
|
$3.04
₩4,051
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.84
|
$6.12
₩8,166
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.80
|
$8.23
₩10,971
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.09
|
$2.94
₩3,919
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.59
|
$4.11
₩5,479
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.66
|
$4.00
₩5,336
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.09
|
$1.55
₩2,067
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$3.00
₩3,996
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.41
|
$2.63
₩3,510
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.51
|
$2.03
₩2,713
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.57
|
$1.26
₩1,683
|
|
New Jersey vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries
pay 23.6% less for transportation
|
New Jersey
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.89
|
$5.01
₩6,678
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$114.22
|
$46.10
₩61,477
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,697.81
|
$28,394.53
₩38M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.06
|
$8.59
₩11,459
|
|
New Jersey vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation
pay 71.0% less for housing
|
New Jersey
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$58.90
|
$24.34
₩32,458
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,298.53
|
$561.73
₩749K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,927.67
|
$387.83
₩517K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$142.49
|
$153.72
₩205K
|
|
New Jersey vs. South Korea - Cost of housing
pay 51.8% less for childcare
|
New Jersey
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,975.92
|
$545.93
₩728K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,015.26
|
$20,214.53
₩27M
|
|
New Jersey vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare
pay 36.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
New Jersey
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.10
|
$3.30
₩4,398
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.33
|
$3.66
₩4,884
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.31
|
$3.35
₩4,463
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$55.80
|
$57.32
₩76,432
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.84
|
$11.28
₩15,047
|
|
New Jersey vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.6% less for clothing
|
New Jersey
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.33
|
$67.53
₩90,049
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.93
|
$53.43
₩71,245
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.27
|
$78.10
₩104K
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$121.55
|
$102.84
₩137K
|
|
New Jersey vs. South Korea - 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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cost of living in United States vs. South Korea.
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