Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Korea vs. New York Cost of Living Summary
South Korea is 44.1% cheaper than New York.
South Korea vs. New York Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Korea instead of New York, you would:
pay 58.2% less for restaurants
|
New York
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.61
|
$7.06
₩9,343
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.15
|
$6.17
₩8,161
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.60
|
$1.53
₩2,022
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.95
|
$0.88
₩1,171
|
|
New York vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.3% more for groceries
|
New York
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.79
|
$3.04
₩4,021
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.62
|
$6.12
₩8,105
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.20
|
$8.23
₩10,890
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.80
|
$2.94
₩3,890
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.68
|
$4.11
₩5,438
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$4.00
₩5,297
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
|
$1.55
₩2,051
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.16
|
$3.00
₩3,966
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.49
|
$2.63
₩3,484
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.48
|
$2.03
₩2,692
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.53
|
$1.26
₩1,671
|
|
New York vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries
pay 22.2% less for transportation
|
New York
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.00
|
$5.01
₩6,628
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$99.85
|
$46.10
₩61,021
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,323.33
|
$28,394.53
₩38M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.12
|
$8.59
₩11,373
|
|
New York vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation
pay 68.7% less for housing
|
New York
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.35
|
$24.34
₩32,217
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,049.97
|
$561.73
₩743K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,695.08
|
$387.83
₩513K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$157.44
|
$153.72
₩203K
|
|
New York vs. South Korea - Cost of housing
pay 54.3% less for childcare
|
New York
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,922.82
|
$545.93
₩723K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,489.62
|
$20,214.53
₩27M
|
|
New York vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare
pay 36.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
New York
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.72
|
$3.30
₩4,366
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.48
|
$3.66
₩4,847
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.10
|
$3.35
₩4,430
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$61.08
|
$57.32
₩75,865
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.30
|
$11.28
₩14,936
|
|
New York vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.7% more for clothing
|
New York
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.80
|
$67.53
₩89,381
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.51
|
$53.43
₩70,717
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$92.29
|
$78.10
₩103K
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$113.37
|
$102.84
₩136K
|
|
New York 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 October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: New York vs. South Korea
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in South Korea?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 3 statistics
Make 60.6% less money in South Korea
→
Size Comparison · See true size
New York is about 1.2 times bigger than South Korea.
→
Moving from New York to South Korea · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of New York City vs Seoul
→
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
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.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about South Korea or New York. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.