Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

Ohio, USA

Ohio vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Ohio is 32.1% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 95.3% more in Ohio
Groceries: pay 26.4% less in Ohio
Transportation: pay 17.4% more in Ohio
Housing: pay 90.5% more in Ohio
Childcare: pay 54.5% more in Ohio
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.6% more in Ohio
Clothing: pay 13.2% less in Ohio

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

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Ohio vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 95.3% more for restaurants

	South Korea	Ohio
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.06 ₩9,422	$16.46	+133.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 ₩8,230	$10.26	+66.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.53 ₩2,039	$2.29	+49.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 ₩1,181	$1.77	+100.1%
Average			+95.3%

South Korea vs. Ohio - Cost of restaurants

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pay 26.4% less for groceries

	South Korea	Ohio
Bread 1 loaf	$3.04 ₩4,055	$2.88	-5.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.12 ₩8,174	$5.80	-5.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.23 ₩10,982	$3.15	-61.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.94 ₩3,923	$3.63	+23.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.11 ₩5,484	$5.15	+25.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$4.00 ₩5,342	$2.13	-46.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.55 ₩2,069	$0.66	-57.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.00 ₩4,000	$2.12	-29.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.63 ₩3,513	$2.00	-24.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$2.03 ₩2,715	$1.15	-43.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.26 ₩1,685	$1.19	-5.4%
Average			-26.4%

South Korea vs. Ohio - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.4% more for transportation

	South Korea	Ohio
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.01 ₩6,685	$3.77	-24.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.10 ₩61,538	$73.85	+60.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,394.53 ₩38M	$35,980.09	+26.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.59 ₩11,470	$17.52	+103.9%
Average			+17.4%

South Korea vs. Ohio - Cost of transportation

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pay 90.5% more for housing

	South Korea	Ohio
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.34 ₩32,490	$62.71	+157.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$561.73 ₩750K	$1,095.29	+95.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$387.83 ₩518K	$897.28	+131.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$153.72 ₩205K	$148.41	-3.5%
Average			+90.5%

South Korea vs. Ohio - Cost of housing

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pay 54.5% more for childcare

	South Korea	Ohio
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$545.93 ₩729K	$1,296.41	+137.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$20,214.53 ₩27M	$20,315.71	+0.5%
Average			+54.5%

South Korea vs. Ohio - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.6% more for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Ohio
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.30 ₩4,403	$5.06	+53.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.66 ₩4,888	$4.90	+33.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.35 ₩4,467	$9.71	+190.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.32 ₩76,507	$35.93	-37.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.28 ₩15,062	$11.79	+4.5%
Average			+15.6%

South Korea vs. Ohio - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.2% less for clothing

	South Korea	Ohio
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.53 ₩90,139	$49.76	-26.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.43 ₩71,316	$40.91	-23.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.10 ₩104K	$81.91	+4.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.84 ₩137K	$98.84	-3.9%
Average			-13.2%

South Korea vs. Ohio - 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. Ohio

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Quality of Life Comparison · 3 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

South Korea is around the same size as Ohio.

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

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

City Size Comparison · See true size

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