Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Puerto Rico Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 5.3% cheaper than Puerto Rico overall.

Restaurants: pay 36.6% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 14.5% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 5.3% more in South Korea
Housing: pay 47.4% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 18.9% more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.2% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 11.4% more in South Korea

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

South Korea vs. Puerto Rico Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Puerto Rico, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 36.6% less for restaurants

	Puerto Rico	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$15.10	$6.72 ₩9,920	-55.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.01	$5.50 ₩8,112	-45.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.58	$1.47 ₩2,164	-7.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.35	$0.82 ₩1,217	-38.7%
Average			-36.6%

Puerto Rico vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.5% more for groceries

	Puerto Rico	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$3.18	$2.87 ₩4,241	-9.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.16	$5.63 ₩8,301	+35.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.11	$7.67 ₩11,326	-5.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.34	$2.84 ₩4,186	-46.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.76	$3.34 ₩4,923	-11.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.50	$3.24 ₩4,775	+29.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.06	$1.39 ₩2,048	+31.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.54	$2.80 ₩4,127	+81.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.84	$2.40 ₩3,548	+30.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.65	$1.78 ₩2,630	+8.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.04	$1.20 ₩1,777	+15.9%
Average			+14.5%

Puerto Rico vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.3% more for transportation

	Puerto Rico	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.65	$4.40 ₩6,494	+20.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$35.20	$47.17 ₩69,616	+34.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,700.00	$26,440.41 ₩39,019,698	-23.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.22	$8.33 ₩12,296	-9.6%
Average			+5.3%

Puerto Rico vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 47.4% less for housing

	Puerto Rico	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$62.46	$21.68 ₩32,001	-65.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$800.93	$473.91 ₩699,370	-40.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$580.00	$357.19 ₩527,120	-38.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$242.07	$132.53 ₩195,586	-45.3%
Average			-47.4%

Puerto Rico vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.9% more for childcare

	Puerto Rico	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$453.00	$378.52 ₩558,610	-16.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,760.00	$15,055.40 ₩22,218,164	+54.3%
Average			+18.9%

Puerto Rico vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Puerto Rico	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.73	$3.12 ₩4,602	+14.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.38	$3.57 ₩5,265	+5.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.21	$3.18 ₩4,699	-71.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.37	$49.86 ₩73,581	+33.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.90	$10.12 ₩14,932	+2.2%
Average			-3.2%

Puerto Rico vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.4% more for clothing

	Puerto Rico	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$42.97	$66.46 ₩98,079	+54.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$54.22	$50.68 ₩74,796	-6.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.06	$72.74 ₩107,346	-10.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.00	$103.23 ₩152,349	+7.5%
Average			+11.4%

Puerto Rico vs. South Korea - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: December 2025

More cost comparisons

Puerto Rico vs.

Australia

Puerto Rico vs.

Spain

Puerto Rico vs.

Russia

Puerto Rico vs.

Austria

Puerto Rico vs.

United Kingdom

Puerto Rico vs.

Italy

Puerto Rico vs.

United States

Puerto Rico vs.

France

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in San Juan vs. Seoul

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

Add prices for Puerto Rico

Add prices for South Korea

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about South Korea or Puerto Rico. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.