Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. United States Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 37.7% cheaper than United States overall.

Restaurants: pay 56.0% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 19.2% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 13.4% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 63.6% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 44.1% less in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.1% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 6.2% more in South Korea

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

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South Korea vs. United States Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 56.0% less for restaurants

	United States	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.86	$7.06 ₩9,462	-64.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.42	$6.17 ₩8,265	-46.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.67	$1.53 ₩2,047	-42.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.05	$0.88 ₩1,186	-56.9%
Average			-56.0%

United States vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.2% more for groceries

	United States	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$3.63	$3.04 ₩4,072	-16.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.52	$6.12 ₩8,209	-6.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.98	$8.23 ₩11,029	+106.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.30	$2.94 ₩3,940	-31.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.46	$4.11 ₩5,508	-24.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.34	$4.00 ₩5,364	+71.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80	$1.55 ₩2,078	+95.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.02	$3.00 ₩4,017	+48.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.19	$2.63 ₩3,528	+20.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.34	$2.03 ₩2,727	+51.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.39	$1.26 ₩1,692	-9.0%
Average			+19.2%

United States vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.4% less for transportation

	United States	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.01	$5.01 ₩6,713	+25.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$66.70	$46.10 ₩61,801	-30.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,164.82	$28,394.53 ₩38M	-16.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.02	$8.59 ₩11,519	-52.3%
Average			-13.4%

United States vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 63.6% less for housing

	United States	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$70.22	$24.34 ₩32,629	-65.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,681.01	$561.73 ₩753K	-66.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,404.28	$387.83 ₩520K	-72.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$157.64	$153.72 ₩206K	-2.5%
Average			-63.6%

United States vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 44.1% less for childcare

	United States	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,450.99	$545.93 ₩732K	-62.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,361.50	$20,214.53 ₩27M	-17.0%
Average			-44.1%

United States vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 28.1% less for entertainment and sports

	United States	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.00	$3.30 ₩4,422	-45.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31	$3.66 ₩4,909	-31.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.42	$3.35 ₩4,486	-67.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.68	$57.32 ₩76,834	+13.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.95	$11.28 ₩15,127	-19.1%
Average			-28.1%

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

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pay 6.2% more for clothing

	United States	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.15	$67.53 ₩90,524	+27.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.88	$53.43 ₩71,620	+27.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.76	$78.10 ₩105K	-13.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$114.01	$102.84 ₩138K	-9.8%
Average			+6.2%

United States vs. South Korea - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: United States vs. South Korea

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