Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

Tennessee, USA

Tennessee vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Tennessee is 45.6% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Tennessee
Groceries: pay 20.6% less in Tennessee
Transportation: pay 2.0% less in Tennessee
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in Tennessee
Childcare: pay 47.4% more in Tennessee
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.5% more in Tennessee
Clothing: pay 4.8% less in Tennessee

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

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Tennessee vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	South Korea	Tennessee
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.06 ₩9,413	$18.27	+158.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 ₩8,222	$10.66	+72.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.53 ₩2,037	$2.65	+73.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 ₩1,180	$2.14	+141.7%
Average			+114.4%

South Korea vs. Tennessee - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.6% less for groceries

	South Korea	Tennessee
Bread 1 loaf	$3.04 ₩4,051	$3.26	+7.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.12 ₩8,166	$6.27	+2.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.23 ₩10,971	$3.85	-53.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.94 ₩3,919	$4.00	+36.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.11 ₩5,479	$5.35	+30.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$4.00 ₩5,336	$2.85	-28.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.55 ₩2,067	$0.72	-53.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.00 ₩3,996	$1.64	-45.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.63 ₩3,510	$1.94	-26.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$2.03 ₩2,713	$1.09	-46.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.26 ₩1,683	$1.52	+20.1%
Average			-20.6%

South Korea vs. Tennessee - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.0% less for transportation

	South Korea	Tennessee
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.01 ₩6,678	$3.39	-32.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.10 ₩61,477	$43.71	-5.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,394.53 ₩38M	$35,239.91	+24.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.59 ₩11,459	$16.38	+90.6%
Average			-2.0%

South Korea vs. Tennessee - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

	South Korea	Tennessee
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.34 ₩32,458	$70.05	+187.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$561.73 ₩749K	$1,477.03	+162.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$387.83 ₩517K	$1,212.76	+212.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$153.72 ₩205K	$153.79
Average			+144.9%

South Korea vs. Tennessee - Cost of housing

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pay 47.4% more for childcare

	South Korea	Tennessee
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$545.93 ₩728K	$1,074.20	+96.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$20,214.53 ₩27M	$22,313.44	+10.4%
Average			+47.4%

South Korea vs. Tennessee - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.5% more for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Tennessee
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.30 ₩4,398	$5.46	+65.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.66 ₩4,884	$5.44	+48.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.35 ₩4,463	$9.64	+187.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.32 ₩76,432	$39.08	-31.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.28 ₩15,047	$13.96	+23.7%
Average			+27.5%

South Korea vs. Tennessee - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.8% less for clothing

	South Korea	Tennessee
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.53 ₩90,049	$51.21	-24.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.43 ₩71,245	$41.52	-22.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.10 ₩104K	$92.27	+18.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.84 ₩137K	$121.26	+17.9%
Average			-4.8%

South Korea vs. Tennessee - 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. Tennessee

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Size Comparison · See true size

South Korea is around the same size as Tennessee.

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

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

City Size Comparison · See true size

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