Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

Michigan, USA

Michigan vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Michigan is 39.1% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Michigan
Groceries: pay 20.7% less in Michigan
Transportation: pay 9.0% more in Michigan
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Michigan
Childcare: pay 54.6% more in Michigan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.0% more in Michigan
Clothing: pay 12.4% less in Michigan

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

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Michigan vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	South Korea	Michigan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.06 ₩9,413	$18.33	+159.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 ₩8,222	$10.87	+76.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.53 ₩2,037	$2.56	+67.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 ₩1,180	$1.92	+116.9%
Average			+113.2%

South Korea vs. Michigan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.7% less for groceries

	South Korea	Michigan
Bread 1 loaf	$3.04 ₩4,051	$3.15	+3.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.12 ₩8,166	$6.51	+6.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.23 ₩10,971	$3.21	-61.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.94 ₩3,919	$3.29	+11.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.11 ₩5,479	$5.27	+28.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$4.00 ₩5,336	$2.22	-44.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.55 ₩2,067	$0.73	-53.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.00 ₩3,996	$2.13	-29.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.63 ₩3,510	$2.17	-17.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$2.03 ₩2,713	$1.43	-29.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.26 ₩1,683	$1.49	+18.2%
Average			-20.7%

South Korea vs. Michigan - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.0% more for transportation

	South Korea	Michigan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.01 ₩6,678	$3.73	-25.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.10 ₩61,477	$54.17	+17.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,394.53 ₩38M	$34,818.91	+22.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.59 ₩11,459	$20.75	+141.5%
Average			+9.0%

South Korea vs. Michigan - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	South Korea	Michigan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.34 ₩32,458	$61.25	+151.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$561.73 ₩749K	$1,272.01	+126.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$387.83 ₩517K	$1,015.75	+161.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$153.72 ₩205K	$136.71	-11.1%
Average			+109.7%

South Korea vs. Michigan - Cost of housing

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pay 54.6% more for childcare

	South Korea	Michigan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$545.93 ₩728K	$1,330.85	+143.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$20,214.53 ₩27M	$19,812.04	-2.0%
Average			+54.6%

South Korea vs. Michigan - Cost of childcare

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pay 22.0% more for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Michigan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.30 ₩4,398	$5.29	+60.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.66 ₩4,884	$5.13	+40.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.35 ₩4,463	$9.54	+185.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.32 ₩76,432	$43.25	-24.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.28 ₩15,047	$11.42	+1.2%
Average			+22.0%

South Korea vs. Michigan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.4% less for clothing

	South Korea	Michigan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.53 ₩90,049	$53.03	-21.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.43 ₩71,245	$39.60	-25.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.10 ₩104K	$83.56	+7.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.84 ₩137K	$97.15	-5.5%
Average			-12.4%

South Korea vs. Michigan - 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

Compare further: South Korea vs. Michigan

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