Cost of living comparison
compared to
Seoul vs. New York City Cost of Living Summary
Seoul is 46.2% cheaper than New York City.
Seoul vs. New York City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Seoul instead of New York City, you would:
pay 58.6% less for restaurants
|
New York City
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$8.49
₩11,407
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$6.30
₩8,460
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.09
|
$1.64
₩2,202
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
|
$0.78
₩1,049
|
|
New York City vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.7% less for groceries
|
New York City
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.75
|
$3.24
₩4,350
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.89
|
$6.79
₩9,126
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.05
|
$7.85
₩10,543
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.20
|
$2.93
₩3,939
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.07
|
$4.67
₩6,271
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.29
|
$3.45
₩4,629
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.08
|
$1.52
₩2,048
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$2.35
₩3,159
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.68
|
$2.77
₩3,725
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.63
|
$1.62
₩2,175
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.78
|
$1.30
₩1,743
|
|
New York City vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries
pay 30.4% less for transportation
|
New York City
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.47
|
$4.43
₩5,952
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$132.00
|
$45.99
₩61,790
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,344.69
|
$25,072.36
₩34M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.39
|
$10.50
₩14,107
|
|
New York City vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation
pay 61.5% less for housing
|
New York City
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.59
|
$20.56
₩27,618
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$4,037.06
|
$925.55
₩1M
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,496.67
|
$559.33
₩751K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$151.98
|
$118.88
₩160K
|
|
New York City vs. Seoul - Cost of housing
pay 75.4% less for childcare
|
New York City
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,154.10
|
$360.15
₩484K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$57,250.00
|
$21,667.04
₩29M
|
|
New York City vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare
pay 56.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
New York City
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$3.54
₩4,753
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.71
|
$3.70
₩4,968
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.00
|
$3.18
₩4,278
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$150.04
|
$56.34
₩75,688
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.00
|
$10.61
₩14,259
|
|
New York City vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 31.0% less for clothing
|
New York City
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.80
|
$49.77
₩66,860
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.94
|
$39.49
₩53,056
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$115.58
|
$74.94
₩101K
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$168.76
|
$99.06
₩133K
|
|
New York City 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: October 2026
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Compare further: New York City vs. Seoul
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cost of living in United States vs. South Korea.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and South Korea.
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