Cost of living comparison

Rhode Island, USA

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. Rhode Island Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 43.8% cheaper than Rhode Island.

Restaurants: pay 61.0% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 15.0% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 15.4% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 70.9% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 51.5% less in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.6% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 20.6% more in South Korea

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

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South Korea vs. Rhode Island Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Rhode Island, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 61.0% less for restaurants

	Rhode Island	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$22.00	$7.06 ₩9,413	-67.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$13.38	$6.17 ₩8,222	-53.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.87	$1.53 ₩2,037	-46.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.32	$0.88 ₩1,180	-61.8%
Average			-61.0%

Rhode Island vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.0% more for groceries

	Rhode Island	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$3.98	$3.04 ₩4,051	-23.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.94	$6.12 ₩8,166	+3.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.94	$8.23 ₩10,971	+108.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.17	$2.94 ₩3,919	-43.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.08	$4.11 ₩5,479	-32.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.56	$4.00 ₩5,336	+56.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.06	$1.55 ₩2,067	+46.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.38	$3.00 ₩3,996	+25.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.99	$2.63 ₩3,510	+32.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.04	$2.03 ₩2,713	+95.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.29	$1.26 ₩1,683	-1.9%
Average			+15.0%

Rhode Island vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 15.4% less for transportation

	Rhode Island	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.02	$5.01 ₩6,678	+24.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$70.00	$46.10 ₩61,477	-34.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,541.58	$28,394.53 ₩38M	-22.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.37	$8.59 ₩11,459	-47.5%
Average			-15.4%

Rhode Island vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 70.9% less for housing

	Rhode Island	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$76.56	$24.34 ₩32,458	-68.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,081.88	$561.73 ₩749K	-73.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,759.17	$387.83 ₩517K	-78.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$211.01	$153.72 ₩205K	-27.1%
Average			-70.9%

Rhode Island vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 51.5% less for childcare

	Rhode Island	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,824.60	$545.93 ₩728K	-70.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,666.67	$20,214.53 ₩27M	-21.2%
Average			-51.5%

Rhode Island vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Rhode Island	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.25	$3.30 ₩4,398	-47.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.40	$3.66 ₩4,884	-32.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.11	$3.35 ₩4,463	-74.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$52.75	$57.32 ₩76,432	+8.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.28	$11.28 ₩15,047	-21.0%
Average			-31.6%

Rhode Island vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.6% more for clothing

	Rhode Island	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.12	$67.53 ₩90,049	+43.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$27.75	$53.43 ₩71,245	+92.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.50	$78.10 ₩104K	-15.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$113.33	$102.84 ₩137K	-9.3%
Average			+20.6%

Rhode Island vs. South Korea - Cost of clothing

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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

Compare further: Rhode Island vs. South Korea

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Size Comparison · See true size

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