Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

North Dakota, USA

North Dakota vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

North Dakota is 33.8% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.5 times more in North Dakota
Groceries: pay 15.1% less in North Dakota
Transportation: pay 10.7% less in North Dakota
Housing: pay 78.1% more in North Dakota
Childcare: pay 89.1% more in North Dakota
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.5% more in North Dakota
Clothing: pay 17.8% less in North Dakota

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

North Dakota vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in North Dakota instead of South Korea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.5 times more for restaurants

	South Korea	North Dakota
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.06 ₩9,422	$19.30	+173.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 ₩8,230	$12.96	+110.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.53 ₩2,039	$3.78	+147.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 ₩1,181	$2.46	+177.8%
Average			+147.3%

South Korea vs. North Dakota - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.1% less for groceries

	South Korea	North Dakota
Bread 1 loaf	$3.04 ₩4,055	$2.97	-2.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.12 ₩8,174	$8.16	+33.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.23 ₩10,982	$4.12	-50.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.94 ₩3,923	$3.74	+27.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.11 ₩5,484	$6.51	+58.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$4.00 ₩5,342	$2.54	-36.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.55 ₩2,069	$0.91	-41.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.00 ₩4,000	$1.75	-41.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.63 ₩3,513	$2.18	-17.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$2.03 ₩2,715	$1.25	-38.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.26 ₩1,685	$1.43	+13.2%
Average			-15.1%

South Korea vs. North Dakota - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.7% less for transportation

	South Korea	North Dakota
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.01 ₩6,685	$3.52	-29.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.10 ₩61,538	$42.00	-8.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,394.53 ₩38M	$32,921.00	+15.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.59 ₩11,470	??
Average			-10.7%

South Korea vs. North Dakota - Cost of transportation

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pay 78.1% more for housing

	South Korea	North Dakota
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.34 ₩32,490	$72.92	+199.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$561.73 ₩750K	$1,004.65	+78.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$387.83 ₩518K	$815.11	+110.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$153.72 ₩205K	$146.48	-4.7%
Average			+78.1%

South Korea vs. North Dakota - Cost of housing

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pay 89.1% more for childcare

	South Korea	North Dakota
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$545.93 ₩729K	$1,032.40	+89.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$20,214.53 ₩27M	??
Average			+89.1%

South Korea vs. North Dakota - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.5% more for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	North Dakota
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.30 ₩4,403	$5.38	+62.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.66 ₩4,888	$7.01	+91.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.35 ₩4,467	$10.46	+212.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.32 ₩76,507	$54.00	-5.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.28 ₩15,062	$13.69	+21.3%
Average			+45.5%

South Korea vs. North Dakota - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.8% less for clothing

	South Korea	North Dakota
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.53 ₩90,139	$40.20	-40.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.43 ₩71,316	$39.61	-25.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.10 ₩104K	$97.17	+24.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.84 ₩137K	$85.56	-16.8%
Average			-17.8%

South Korea vs. North Dakota - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: South Korea vs. North Dakota

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 3 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

South Korea is about 1.8 times smaller than North Dakota.

City Size Comparison · See true size

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