Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

Minnesota, USA

Minnesota vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Minnesota is 40.9% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in Minnesota
Groceries: pay 21.6% less in Minnesota
Transportation: pay 13.6% more in Minnesota
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Minnesota
Childcare: pay 49.0% more in Minnesota
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.1% more in Minnesota
Clothing: pay 11.6% less in Minnesota

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

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Minnesota vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	South Korea	Minnesota
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.06 ₩9,413	$18.95	+168.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 ₩8,222	$11.15	+80.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.53 ₩2,037	$2.61	+70.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 ₩1,180	$2.03	+128.8%
Average			+119.9%

South Korea vs. Minnesota - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.6% less for groceries

	South Korea	Minnesota
Bread 1 loaf	$3.04 ₩4,051	$3.16	+4.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.12 ₩8,166	$5.06	-17.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.23 ₩10,971	$3.46	-58.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.94 ₩3,919	$3.53	+20.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.11 ₩5,479	$5.11	+24.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$4.00 ₩5,336	$2.47	-38.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.55 ₩2,067	$0.70	-54.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.00 ₩3,996	$2.22	-25.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.63 ₩3,510	$1.91	-27.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$2.03 ₩2,713	$1.43	-29.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.26 ₩1,683	$1.51	+19.8%
Average			-21.6%

South Korea vs. Minnesota - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.6% more for transportation

	South Korea	Minnesota
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.01 ₩6,678	$3.59	-28.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.10 ₩61,477	$81.54	+76.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,394.53 ₩38M	$33,254.22	+17.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.59 ₩11,459	$14.67	+70.8%
Average			+13.6%

South Korea vs. Minnesota - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	South Korea	Minnesota
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.34 ₩32,458	$65.49	+169.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$561.73 ₩749K	$1,239.20	+120.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$387.83 ₩517K	$979.66	+152.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$153.72 ₩205K	$146.33	-4.8%
Average			+107.3%

South Korea vs. Minnesota - Cost of housing

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pay 49.0% more for childcare

	South Korea	Minnesota
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$545.93 ₩728K	$1,233.72	+126.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$20,214.53 ₩27M	$19,863.23	-1.7%
Average			+49.0%

South Korea vs. Minnesota - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.1% more for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Minnesota
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.30 ₩4,398	$5.65	+71.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.66 ₩4,884	$5.37	+46.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.35 ₩4,463	$11.34	+238.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.32 ₩76,432	$54.26	-5.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.28 ₩15,047	$13.47	+19.4%
Average			+40.1%

South Korea vs. Minnesota - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.6% less for clothing

	South Korea	Minnesota
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.53 ₩90,049	$53.46	-20.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.43 ₩71,245	$44.59	-16.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.10 ₩104K	$82.69	+5.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.84 ₩137K	$89.81	-12.7%
Average			-11.6%

South Korea vs. Minnesota - 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. Minnesota

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Quality of Life Comparison · 3 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

South Korea is about 2.1 times smaller than Minnesota.

Moving from South Korea to Minnesota · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

City Size Comparison · See true size

Compare the size of Seoul vs Minneapolis

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