Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

United States

Iowa City vs. Suwon Cost of Living Summary

Iowa City is 44.2% more expensive than Suwon.

Restaurants: pay 88.6% more in Iowa City
Groceries: pay 30.7% less in Iowa City
Transportation: pay 19.0% less in Iowa City
Housing: pay 2.7 times more in Iowa City
Childcare: pay 55.4% more in Iowa City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.6% more in Iowa City
Clothing: pay 20.8% more in Iowa City

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

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Iowa City vs. Suwon Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iowa City instead of Suwon, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 88.6% more for restaurants

	Suwon	Iowa City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 ₩8,001	$14.00	+133.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.46 ₩9,953	$9.00	+20.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 ₩2,090	$2.83	+80.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 ₩805	$2.19	+262.3%
Average			+88.6%

Suwon vs. Iowa City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.7% less for groceries

	Suwon	Iowa City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.61 ₩3,478	$2.71	+3.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.59 ₩7,454	$4.65	-16.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.87 ₩13,167	$3.02	-69.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.17 ₩4,233	$3.51	+10.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.18 ₩6,907	$4.77	-7.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.82 ₩3,761	$1.52	-46.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.32 ₩1,761	$0.54	-59.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.44 ₩3,247	$1.24	-49.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.95 ₩2,596	$2.20	+13.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.58 ₩2,107	$0.92	-42.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,603	$1.08	-9.9%
Average			-30.7%

Suwon vs. Iowa City - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.0% less for transportation

	Suwon	Iowa City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.10 ₩6,804	$3.83	-25.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.40 ₩63,199	$16.00	-66.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,162.26 ₩38M	$35,473.37	+26.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.92 ₩10,565	$20.00	+152.4%
Average			-19.0%

Suwon vs. Iowa City - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.7 times more for housing

	Suwon	Iowa City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.91 ₩23,886	$82.25	+359.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$435.40 ₩581K	$1,199.75	+175.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$348.32 ₩464K	$1,075.75	+208.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$142.51 ₩190K	$206.36	+44.8%
Average			+168.7%

Suwon vs. Iowa City - Cost of housing

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pay 55.4% more for childcare

	Suwon	Iowa City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$691.66 ₩922K	$1,266.67	+83.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,773.54 ₩24M	$23,429.75	+31.8%
Average			+55.4%

Suwon vs. Iowa City - Cost of childcare

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pay 38.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Suwon	Iowa City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.73 ₩4,976	$5.00	+34.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.36 ₩4,479	$5.67	+68.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 ₩4,976	$8.89	+138.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$43.79 ₩58,389	$49.33	+12.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 ₩14,929	$13.50	+20.6%
Average			+38.6%

Suwon vs. Iowa City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.8% more for clothing

	Suwon	Iowa City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$37.32 ₩49,763	$64.22	+72.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$106.98 ₩143K	$50.56	-52.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.37 ₩99,166	$100.00	+34.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$59.02 ₩78,692	$115.00	+94.9%
Average			+20.8%

Suwon vs. Iowa City - 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

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