Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Carolina vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

South Carolina is 74.4% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in South Carolina
Groceries: pay 1.5% more in South Carolina
Transportation: pay 21.2% more in South Carolina
Housing: pay 2.8 times more in South Carolina
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in South Carolina
Entertainment and Sports: pay 49.4% more in South Carolina
Clothing: pay 7.1% less in South Carolina

The cost of housing, childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, and groceries in South Carolina are more expensive than in South Korea. Notably, housing, childcare, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in South Carolina.

South Carolina vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	South Korea	South Carolina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,907	$19.17	+185.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,102	$11.16	+103.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,161	$2.65	+81.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,216	$2.13	+157.8%
Average			+131.7%

South Korea vs. South Carolina - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.5% more for groceries

	South Korea	South Carolina
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,235	$3.44	+19.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,290	$5.99	+6.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,311	$3.54	-53.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,180	$4.18	+47.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,917	$5.64	+68.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,768	$2.64	-18.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,045	$0.76	-45.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,121	$2.49	-11.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,543	$2.31	-4.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,627	$1.63	-8.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,775	$1.38	+14.7%
Average			+1.5%

South Korea vs. South Carolina - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.2% more for transportation

	South Korea	South Carolina
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,485	$2.88	-34.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,524	$46.17	-2.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	$33,190.90	+25.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,280	$16.34	+96.1%
Average			+21.2%

South Korea vs. South Carolina - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.8 times more for housing

	South Korea	South Carolina
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,958	$66.47	+206.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩698,442	$1,589.94	+235.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩526,420	$1,366.92	+282.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩195,326	$141.20	+6.5%
Average			+182.8%

South Korea vs. South Carolina - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	South Korea	South Carolina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩557,869	$1,346.85	+255.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	$19,168.15	+27.3%
Average			+141.6%

South Korea vs. South Carolina - Cost of childcare

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pay 49.4% more for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	South Carolina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,595	$5.29	+69.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,258	$5.17	+45.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,693	$7.67	+141.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,483	$32.75	-34.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,912	$12.71	+25.6%
Average			+49.4%

South Korea vs. South Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.1% less for clothing

	South Korea	South Carolina
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,948	$50.06	-24.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,697	$35.86	-29.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩107,204	$84.43	+16.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩152,146	$112.81	+9.3%
Average			-7.1%

South Korea vs. South Carolina - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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