Cost of living comparison
compared to
Hawaii vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary
Hawaii is 2.2 times more expensive than South Korea overall.
Hawaii vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Hawaii instead of South Korea, you would:
pay 3.1 times more for restaurants
|
South Korea
|
Hawaii
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.06
₩9,627
|
$30.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.17
₩8,410
|
$14.21
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.53
₩2,083
|
$3.38
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.88
₩1,207
|
$2.82
|
|
South Korea vs. Hawaii - Cost of restaurants
pay 55.5% more for groceries
|
South Korea
|
Hawaii
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.04
₩4,143
|
$7.91
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.12
₩8,352
|
$9.88
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.23
₩11,221
|
$7.39
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.94
₩4,009
|
$8.21
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.11
₩5,604
|
$7.56
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$4.00
₩5,458
|
$3.94
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.55
₩2,114
|
$1.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$3.00
₩4,087
|
$3.89
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.63
₩3,590
|
$4.77
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.03
₩2,774
|
$2.62
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.26
₩1,722
|
$2.82
|
|
South Korea vs. Hawaii - Cost of groceries
pay 32.9% more for transportation
|
South Korea
|
Hawaii
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.01
₩6,830
|
$5.07
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$46.10
₩62,878
|
$75.40
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,394.53
₩39M
|
$35,814.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.59
₩11,720
|
$20.59
|
|
South Korea vs. Hawaii - Cost of transportation
pay 3.9 times more for housing
|
South Korea
|
Hawaii
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$24.34
₩33,198
|
$73.95
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$561.73
₩766K
|
$2,389.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$387.83
₩529K
|
$2,073.89
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.72
₩210K
|
$227.50
|
|
South Korea vs. Hawaii - Cost of housing
pay 87.3% more for childcare
|
South Korea
|
Hawaii
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$545.93
₩745K
|
$1,779.83
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,214.53
₩28M
|
$21,749.17
|
|
South Korea vs. Hawaii - Cost of childcare
pay 68.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
South Korea
|
Hawaii
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.30
₩4,499
|
$7.67
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.66
₩4,995
|
$7.08
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.35
₩4,565
|
$13.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$57.32
₩78,173
|
$60.03
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.28
₩15,390
|
$15.09
|
|
South Korea vs. Hawaii - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.3% more for clothing
|
South Korea
|
Hawaii
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.53
₩92,101
|
$61.60
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.43
₩72,869
|
$43.66
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$78.10
₩107K
|
$98.78
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$102.84
₩140K
|
$134.12
|
|
South Korea vs. Hawaii - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: South Korea vs. Hawaii
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Hawaii?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 3 statistics
Make 77.0% more money in Hawaii
→
Size Comparison · See true size
South Korea is about 6 times bigger than Hawaii.
→
Moving from South Korea to Hawaii · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Seoul vs Honolulu
→
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
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.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Hawaii or South Korea. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.