South Korea vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
South Korea vs. United States Cost Breakdown

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

pay 54.4% less for restaurants

 
United States
South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.59
 
$6.16
₩8,518
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.47
 
$5.24
₩7,246
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.50
 
$1.47
₩2,036

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pay 17.9% more for groceries

 
United States
South Korea
Bread
1 loaf
$3.49
 
$3.08
₩4,255
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.33
 
$5.40
₩7,474
Milk (1 gallon) $3.91
 
$7.46
₩10,315

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pay 19.3% less for transportation

 
United States
South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.61
 
$4.39
₩6,075
Monthly public transit pass $65.15
 
$45.32
₩62,672
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,583.67
 
$27,023.07
₩37,372,666

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pay 62.5% less for housing

 
United States
South Korea
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$67.50
 
$17.65
₩24,416
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,655.99
 
$426.93
₩590,443
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,423.40
 
$328.41
₩454,193

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pay 34.8% less for childcare

 
United States
South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,351.84
 
$373.40
₩516,410
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $22,265.44
 
$22,907.58
₩31,680,978

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pay 36.0% less for entertainment and sports

 
United States
South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.78
 
$3.09
₩4,279
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.04
 
$3.39
₩4,687
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.68
 
$3.21
₩4,445

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pay 0.1% less for clothing

 
United States
South Korea
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$50.38
 
$60.70
₩83,954
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$40.66
 
$44.52
₩61,574
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$85.52
 
$72.99
₩100,948

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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: June 2025
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