Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

United States

Kansas City vs. Seoul Cost of Living Summary

Kansas City is 25.2% more expensive than Seoul.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Kansas City
Groceries: pay 17.6% less in Kansas City
Transportation: pay 5.4% less in Kansas City
Housing: pay 56.6% more in Kansas City
Childcare: pay 24.4% less in Kansas City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.7% more in Kansas City
Clothing: pay 38.4% more in Kansas City

The cost of restaurants, housing, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Kansas City are more expensive than in Seoul. Expenses including childcare, groceries, and transportation are lower in Kansas City. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Kansas City.

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Kansas City vs. Seoul Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kansas City instead of Seoul, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Seoul	Kansas City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.96 ₩11,943	$25.00	+179.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.46 ₩9,953	$12.50	+67.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.58 ₩2,110	$3.12	+97.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 ₩1,048	$2.49	+216.6%
Average			+128.3%

Seoul vs. Kansas City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.6% less for groceries

	Seoul	Kansas City
Bread 1 loaf	$3.10 ₩4,130	$3.43	+10.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.84 ₩11,786	$7.11	-19.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.79 ₩10,392	$4.52	-42.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.61 ₩4,808	$4.25	+17.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.74 ₩6,322	$4.39	-7.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.46 ₩4,619	$2.01	-41.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.57 ₩2,089	$0.72	-54.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.59 ₩3,458	$2.01	-22.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.83 ₩3,778	$2.54	-10.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.66 ₩2,209	$1.43	-13.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.16 ₩1,540	$1.54	+33.1%
Average			-17.6%

Seoul vs. Kansas City - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.4% less for transportation

	Seoul	Kansas City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.53 ₩7,377	$3.79	-31.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.28 ₩61,706	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,385.60 ₩39M	$35,052.00	+19.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.51 ₩11,346	$12.44	+46.2%
Average			-5.4%

Seoul vs. Kansas City - Cost of transportation

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pay 56.6% more for housing

	Seoul	Kansas City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.82 ₩27,759	$71.15	+241.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$886.39 ₩1M	$1,395.00	+57.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$620.25 ₩827K	$1,056.67	+70.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$162.69 ₩217K	$154.67	-4.9%
Average			+56.6%

Seoul vs. Kansas City - Cost of housing

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pay 24.4% less for childcare

	Seoul	Kansas City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,927.59 ₩3M	$1,183.50	-38.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,602.27 ₩30M	$21,064.17	-6.8%
Average			-24.4%

Seoul vs. Kansas City - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Seoul	Kansas City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.73 ₩4,976	$7.00	+87.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.10 ₩5,468	$6.00	+46.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.36 ₩4,479	$8.03	+139.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.22 ₩77,630	$45.00	-22.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 ₩14,929	$15.00	+34.0%
Average			+34.7%

Seoul vs. Kansas City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 38.4% more for clothing

	Seoul	Kansas City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.88 ₩77,178	$60.68	+4.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.77 ₩43,700	$43.33	+32.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.99 ₩93,325	$104.75	+49.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.45 ₩110K	$145.78	+76.8%
Average			+38.4%

Seoul vs. Kansas City - 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

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