Cost of living comparison
compared to
Birmingham vs. Seoul Cost of Living Summary
Birmingham is 34.0% more expensive than Seoul.
Birmingham vs. Seoul Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Birmingham instead of Seoul, you would:
pay 69.7% more for restaurants
|
Seoul
|
Birmingham
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.96
₩11,955
|
$17.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.46
₩9,962
|
$9.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.58
₩2,112
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.79
₩1,049
|
$2.33
|
|
Seoul vs. Birmingham - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.8% less for groceries
|
Seoul
|
Birmingham
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.10
₩4,134
|
$3.04
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.84
₩11,798
|
$4.76
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.79
₩10,403
|
$3.99
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.61
₩4,813
|
$4.16
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.74
₩6,328
|
$5.04
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.46
₩4,624
|
$2.94
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.57
₩2,091
|
$0.61
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.59
₩3,462
|
$3.58
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.83
₩3,782
|
$2.49
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.66
₩2,211
|
$1.92
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.16
₩1,542
|
$2.40
|
|
Seoul vs. Birmingham - Cost of groceries
pay 9.4% more for transportation
|
Seoul
|
Birmingham
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.53
₩7,384
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$46.28
₩61,767
|
$80.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,385.60
₩39M
|
$34,617.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.51
₩11,357
|
$15.73
|
|
Seoul vs. Birmingham - Cost of transportation
pay 89.5% more for housing
|
Seoul
|
Birmingham
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$20.82
₩27,787
|
$70.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$886.39
₩1M
|
$1,706.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$620.25
₩828K
|
$1,224.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$162.69
₩217K
|
$218.90
|
|
Seoul vs. Birmingham - Cost of housing
pay 25.2% less for childcare
|
Seoul
|
Birmingham
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,927.59
₩3M
|
$1,350.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$22,602.27
₩30M
|
$18,061.33
|
|
Seoul vs. Birmingham - Cost of childcare
pay 25.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Seoul
|
Birmingham
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.73
₩4,981
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.10
₩5,473
|
$5.74
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.36
₩4,483
|
$9.79
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$58.22
₩77,707
|
$40.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.20
₩14,944
|
$16.00
|
|
Seoul vs. Birmingham - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 32.6% more for clothing
|
Seoul
|
Birmingham
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.88
₩77,255
|
$58.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.77
₩43,743
|
$38.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$69.99
₩93,417
|
$108.75
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$82.45
₩110K
|
$137.25
|
|
Seoul vs. Birmingham - 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
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Compare further: Seoul vs. Birmingham
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cost of living in South Korea vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within South Korea and United States.
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