Cost of living comparison
compared to
Seoul vs. Palo Alto Cost of Living Summary
Seoul is 44.7% cheaper than Palo Alto.
Seoul vs. Palo Alto Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Seoul instead of Palo Alto, you would:
pay 59.4% less for restaurants
|
Palo Alto
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$8.49
₩11,772
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$6.30
₩8,731
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$1.64
₩2,272
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$0.78
₩1,082
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants
pay 14.0% less for groceries
|
Palo Alto
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$3.24
₩4,489
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.39
|
$6.79
₩9,418
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$7.85
₩10,880
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$2.93
₩4,065
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$4.67
₩6,472
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$3.45
₩4,777
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$1.52
₩2,113
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.35
₩3,260
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.01
|
$2.77
₩3,844
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.94
|
$1.62
₩2,245
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$1.30
₩1,798
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries
pay 33.5% less for transportation
|
Palo Alto
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.84
|
$4.43
₩6,143
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$45.99
₩63,764
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$25,072.36
₩35M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.06
|
$10.50
₩14,558
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation
pay 65.1% less for housing
|
Palo Alto
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$20.56
₩28,500
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,600.00
|
$925.55
₩1M
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$3,148.75
|
$559.33
₩775K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$118.88
₩165K
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Seoul - Cost of housing
pay 67.8% less for childcare
|
Palo Alto
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,823.00
|
$360.15
₩499K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$21,667.04
₩30M
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare
pay 54.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Palo Alto
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$3.54
₩4,905
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.83
|
$3.70
₩5,127
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$3.18
₩4,414
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$206.33
|
$56.34
₩78,106
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$10.61
₩14,715
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 19.2% less for clothing
|
Palo Alto
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.50
|
$49.77
₩68,996
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.00
|
$39.49
₩54,751
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.89
|
$74.94
₩104K
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.00
|
$99.06
₩137K
|
|
Palo Alto 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: August 2026
Change currency:
Compare further: Palo Alto 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 Seoul or Palo Alto. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.