Cost of living comparison

compared to

United States vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

United States is 84.6% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in United States
Groceries: pay 1.0% less in United States
Transportation: pay 37.7% more in United States
Housing: pay 2.9 times more in United States
Childcare: pay 2.6 times more in United States
Entertainment and Sports: pay 76.1% more in United States
Clothing: pay 2.9% less in United States

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

United States vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United States instead of South Korea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	South Korea	United States
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,865	$19.45	+189.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,068	$11.12	+102.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,152	$2.56	+74.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,211	$2.00	+143.0%
Average			+127.2%

South Korea vs. United States - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.0% less for groceries

	South Korea	United States
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,217	$3.56	+23.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,255	$6.50	+15.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,264	$3.97	-48.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,162	$4.27	+50.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,896	$5.41	+62.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,748	$2.37	-26.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,037	$0.78	-43.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,104	$2.04	-27.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,528	$2.21	-8.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,616	$1.34	-24.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,767	$1.38	+15.0%
Average			-1.0%

South Korea vs. United States - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.7% more for transportation

	South Korea	United States
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,458	$3.41	-22.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,233	$65.85	+39.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,804,738	$32,336.38	+22.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,228	$17.61	+111.4%
Average			+37.7%

South Korea vs. United States - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.9 times more for housing

	South Korea	United States
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,824	$68.97	+218.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩695,518	$1,664.59	+251.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩524,216	$1,416.15	+296.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩194,509	$150.19	+13.3%
Average			+194.8%

South Korea vs. United States - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	South Korea	United States
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩555,533	$1,387.27	+266.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,095,763	$23,196.46	+54.1%
Average			+160.3%

South Korea vs. United States - Cost of childcare

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pay 76.1% more for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	United States
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,576	$5.84	+87.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,236	$5.15	+44.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,673	$9.90	+210.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,176	$51.45	+3.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,850	$13.64	+34.8%
Average			+76.1%

South Korea vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.9% less for clothing

	South Korea	United States
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,538	$51.08	-23.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,384	$41.81	-17.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩106,755	$87.56	+20.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩151,509	$112.04	+8.5%
Average			-2.9%

South Korea vs. United States - 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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