Cost of Living Comparison

  1. Cost of Living
  2. United States
  3. South Korea
  4. Comparison
USD
COMPARED TO
KRW

South Korea is 2.5% cheaper than United States.

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

pay 39.1% less for restaurants

  United States help_outline South Korea help_outline  
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.25 $6.44
₩7,318
-54.8%
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $7.75 $5.68
₩6,449
-26.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.90 $1.43
₩1,621
-25.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) $1.53 $0.76
₩869
-50.1%
Average -39.1%
United States vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants
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local_grocery_store

pay 49.6% more for groceries

  United States help_outline South Korea help_outline  
Bread
1 loaf
 $2.71 $2.48
₩2,820
-8.5%
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.56 $7.96
₩9,049
+43.4%
Milk (1 gallon) $3.22 $8.05
₩9,149
+149.9%
Eggs
1 dozen
 $2.30 $2.68
₩3,048
+16.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) $4.18 $4.72
₩5,360
+13.0%
Apples (1 lb) $2.07 $4.20
₩4,775
+102.7%
Bananas (1 lb) $0.75 $1.92
₩2,184
+155.9%
Oranges (1 lb) $1.88 $1.90
₩2,164
+1.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb) $1.94 $2.90
₩3,295
+49.4%
Potatoes (1 lb) $1.24 $1.59
₩1,808
+28.8%
Onions (1 lb) $1.25 $1.15
₩1,309
-7.6%
Average +49.6%
United States vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries
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drive_eta

pay 18.8% more for transportation

  United States help_outline South Korea help_outline  
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.62 $5.13
₩5,830
+96.0%
Monthly public transit pass $63.05 $51.90
₩58,965
-17.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $23,189.08 $30,823.59
₩35,017,756
+32.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) $16.83 $10.77
₩12,240
-36.0%
Average +18.8%
United States vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation
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home

pay 51.2% less for housing

  United States help_outline South Korea help_outline  
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $67.11 $28.33
₩32,184
-57.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,225.46 $504.61
₩573,274
-58.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,034.80 $351.08
₩398,855
-66.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
 $128.68 $100.37
₩114,032
-22.0%
Average -51.2%
United States vs. South Korea - Cost of housing
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child_care

pay 3.9% less for childcare

  United States help_outline South Korea help_outline  
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $891.12 $408.65
₩464,254
-54.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $15,195.09 $22,217.48
₩25,240,614
+46.2%
Average -3.9%
United States vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare
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gamepad

pay 14.5% less for entertainment and sports

  United States help_outline South Korea help_outline  
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.52 $3.14
₩3,570
-30.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.18 $3.77
₩4,285
-9.9%
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $7.90 $4.31
₩4,897
-45.4%
Monthly membership at local gym $39.67 $50.77
₩57,682
+28.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema $11.58 $9.85
₩11,193
-14.9%
Average -14.5%
United States vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports
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store

pay 23.0% more for clothing

  United States help_outline South Korea help_outline  
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $43.02 $59.21
₩67,265
+37.6%
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $35.26 $44.15
₩50,157
+25.2%
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $75.54 $78.59
₩89,284
+4.0%
Men's business shoes (leather) $95.31 $119.54
₩135,800
+25.4%
Average +23.0%
United States vs. South Korea - 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: January 2022
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