Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cook Islands vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Cook Islands is 18.9% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in Cook Islands
Groceries: pay 8.7% less in Cook Islands
Transportation: pay 3.6% less in Cook Islands
Housing: pay 75.3% more in Cook Islands
Childcare: pay 90.8% less in Cook Islands
Entertainment and Sports: pay 73.1% more in Cook Islands
Clothing: pay 17.1% less in Cook Islands

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

Cook Islands vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Cook Islands instead of South Korea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	South Korea	Cook Islands
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,907	$11.54 NZ$19.97	+71.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,102	$7.93 NZ$13.73	+44.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,161	$2.88 NZ$4.99	+96.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,216	$2.50 NZ$4.33	+203.1%
Average			+104.0%

South Korea vs. Cook Islands - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.7% less for groceries

	South Korea	Cook Islands
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,235	$3.11 NZ$5.38	+8.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,290	$4.98 NZ$8.61	-11.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,311	$7.37 NZ$12.76	-4.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,180	$5.57 NZ$9.64	+96.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,917	$3.40 NZ$5.89	+2.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,768	$1.30 NZ$2.25	-59.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,045	$1.05 NZ$1.81	-24.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,121	$1.56 NZ$2.71	-44.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,543	$2.75 NZ$4.76	+14.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,627	$1.05 NZ$1.81	-41.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,775	$0.82 NZ$1.43	-31.5%
Average			-8.7%

South Korea vs. Cook Islands - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.6% less for transportation

	South Korea	Cook Islands
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,485	$6.56 NZ$11.36	+49.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,524	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	$11,538.70 NZ$19,973.52	-56.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,280	??
Average			-3.6%

South Korea vs. Cook Islands - Cost of transportation

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pay 75.3% more for housing

	South Korea	Cook Islands
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,958	$105.96 NZ$183.42	+388.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩698,442	$305.77 NZ$529.30	-35.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩526,420	$305.77 NZ$529.30	-14.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩195,326	$82.72 NZ$143.19	-37.6%
Average			+75.3%

South Korea vs. Cook Islands - Cost of housing

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pay 90.8% less for childcare

	South Korea	Cook Islands
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩557,869	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	$1,384.64 NZ$2,396.82	-90.8%
Average			-90.8%

South Korea vs. Cook Islands - Cost of childcare

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pay 73.1% more for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Cook Islands
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,595	$5.99 NZ$10.36	+92.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,258	$3.80 NZ$6.57	+6.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,693	$14.42 NZ$24.97	+353.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,483	$24.04 NZ$41.61	-51.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,912	$6.63 NZ$11.48	-34.4%
Average			+73.1%

South Korea vs. Cook Islands - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.1% less for clothing

	South Korea	Cook Islands
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,948	$64.62 NZ$111.85	-2.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,697	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩107,204	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩152,146	$70.96 NZ$122.84	-31.3%
Average			-17.1%

South Korea vs. Cook Islands - 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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