Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

United States

United States vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

United States is 60.5% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in United States
Groceries: pay 16.1% less in United States
Transportation: pay 15.5% more in United States
Housing: pay 2.7 times more in United States
Childcare: pay 79.0% more in United States
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.1% more in United States
Clothing: pay 5.8% less in United States

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

Planning a move to United States? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

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	$7.06 ₩9,426	$19.86	+181.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 ₩8,234	$11.42	+85.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.53 ₩2,040	$2.67	+74.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 ₩1,182	$2.05	+131.8%
Average			+127.3%

South Korea vs. United States - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.1% less for groceries

	South Korea	United States
Bread 1 loaf	$3.04 ₩4,057	$3.63	+19.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.12 ₩8,178	$6.52	+6.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.23 ₩10,987	$3.98	-51.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.94 ₩3,925	$4.30	+46.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.11 ₩5,487	$5.46	+32.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$4.00 ₩5,344	$2.34	-41.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.55 ₩2,070	$0.80	-48.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.00 ₩4,001	$2.02	-32.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.63 ₩3,515	$2.19	-16.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$2.03 ₩2,716	$1.34	-33.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.26 ₩1,686	$1.39	+9.8%
Average			-16.1%

South Korea vs. United States - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 15.5% more for transportation

	South Korea	United States
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.01 ₩6,687	$4.01	-20.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.10 ₩61,565	$66.70	+44.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,394.53 ₩38M	$34,164.82	+20.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.59 ₩11,475	$18.02	+109.8%
Average			+15.5%

South Korea vs. United States - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.7 times more for housing

	South Korea	United States
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.34 ₩32,505	$70.22	+188.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$561.73 ₩750K	$1,681.01	+199.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$387.83 ₩518K	$1,404.28	+262.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$153.72 ₩205K	$157.64	+2.5%
Average			+174.5%

South Korea vs. United States - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 79.0% more for childcare

	South Korea	United States
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$545.93 ₩729K	$1,450.99	+165.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$20,214.53 ₩27M	$24,361.50	+20.5%
Average			+79.0%

South Korea vs. United States - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.1% more for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	United States
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.30 ₩4,405	$6.00	+81.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.66 ₩4,891	$5.31	+45.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.35 ₩4,469	$10.42	+211.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.32 ₩76,541	$50.68	-11.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.28 ₩15,069	$13.95	+23.6%
Average			+39.1%

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

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.8% less for clothing

	South Korea	United States
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.53 ₩90,178	$53.15	-21.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.43 ₩71,347	$41.88	-21.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.10 ₩104K	$89.76	+14.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.84 ₩137K	$114.01	+10.9%
Average			-5.8%

South Korea vs. United States - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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. United States

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in United States?

Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Make 2.5 times more money in United States

Size Comparison · See true size

South Korea is about 99 times smaller than United States.

Moving from South Korea to United States · OECD 2023

14,240 people moved from South Korea to United States.

City Size Comparison · See true size

Compare the size of Seoul vs New York City

More cost comparisons

South Korea vs.

Japan

South Korea vs.

United Kingdom

South Korea vs.

Canada

South Korea vs.

India

South Korea vs.

Hong Kong

South Korea vs.

Singapore

South Korea vs.

South Africa

South Korea vs.

Australia

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Seoul vs. Washington

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for South Korea

Add prices for United States

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about United States or South Korea. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.