Cost of living comparison

compared to

Chicago vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Chicago is 2.3 times more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.5 times more in Chicago
Groceries: pay 4.1% more in Chicago
Transportation: pay 38.5% more in Chicago
Housing: pay 3.5 times more in Chicago
Childcare: pay 4.0 times more in Chicago
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.5 times more in Chicago
Clothing: pay 18.3% more in Chicago

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, and clothing in Chicago are more expensive than in South Korea. Notably, childcare, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Chicago.

Chicago vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chicago instead of South Korea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.5 times more for restaurants

	South Korea	Chicago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,907	$20.50	+205.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,102	$12.00	+118.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,161	$2.96	+101.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,216	$2.33	+182.2%
Average			+151.8%

South Korea vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.1% more for groceries

	South Korea	Chicago
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,235	$4.01	+39.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,290	$7.05	+25.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,311	$4.30	-43.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,180	$5.02	+77.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,917	$6.55	+96.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,768	$2.31	-28.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,045	$0.79	-42.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,121	$1.85	-33.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,543	$2.09	-13.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,627	$1.16	-35.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,775	$1.26	+4.6%
Average			+4.1%

South Korea vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.5% more for transportation

	South Korea	Chicago
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,485	$3.81	-13.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,524	$75.00	+59.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	$35,691.85	+35.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,280	$14.43	+73.2%
Average			+38.5%

South Korea vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.5 times more for housing

	South Korea	Chicago
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,958	$65.83	+203.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩698,442	$2,418.00	+410.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩526,420	$1,692.50	+373.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩195,326	$141.41	+6.7%
Average			+248.6%

South Korea vs. Chicago - Cost of housing

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pay 4.0 times more for childcare

	South Korea	Chicago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩557,869	$2,050.00	+441.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	$39,114.29	+159.8%
Average			+300.7%

South Korea vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.5 times more for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Chicago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,595	$7.00	+124.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,258	$5.53	+55.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,693	$17.00	+433.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,483	$71.80	+44.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,912	$18.00	+77.9%
Average			+147.1%

South Korea vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.3% more for clothing

	South Korea	Chicago
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,948	$64.24	-3.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,697	$49.62	-2.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩107,204	$99.48	+36.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩152,146	$146.50	+41.9%
Average			+18.3%

South Korea vs. Chicago - Cost of clothing

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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

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