Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. United States Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 27.9% cheaper than United States overall.

Restaurants: pay 54.4% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 15.3% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 17.6% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 56.7% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 53.9% less in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.8% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 6.6% 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.

South Korea vs. United States Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 54.4% less for restaurants

	United States	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.45	$6.72 ₩9,865	-65.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.12	$5.50 ₩8,068	-50.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.56	$1.47 ₩2,152	-42.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.00	$0.82 ₩1,211	-58.8%
Average			-54.4%

United States vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.3% more for groceries

	United States	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$3.56	$2.87 ₩4,217	-19.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.50	$5.63 ₩8,255	-13.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.97	$7.67 ₩11,264	+93.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.27	$2.84 ₩4,162	-33.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.41	$3.34 ₩4,896	-38.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.37	$3.24 ₩4,748	+36.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78	$1.39 ₩2,037	+77.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.04	$2.80 ₩4,104	+37.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.21	$2.40 ₩3,528	+8.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.34	$1.78 ₩2,616	+32.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.38	$1.20 ₩1,767	-13.0%
Average			+15.3%

United States vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.6% less for transportation

	United States	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.41	$4.40 ₩6,458	+28.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.85	$47.17 ₩69,233	-28.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,336.38	$26,440.41 ₩38,804,738	-18.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.61	$8.33 ₩12,228	-52.7%
Average			-17.6%

United States vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 56.7% less for housing

	United States	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.97	$21.68 ₩31,824	-68.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,664.59	$473.91 ₩695,518	-71.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,416.15	$357.19 ₩524,216	-74.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$150.19	$132.53 ₩194,509	-11.8%
Average			-56.7%

United States vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 53.9% less for childcare

	United States	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,387.27	$378.52 ₩555,533	-72.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,196.46	$15,055.40 ₩22,095,763	-35.1%
Average			-53.9%

United States vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.8% less for entertainment and sports

	United States	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.84	$3.12 ₩4,576	-46.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.15	$3.57 ₩5,236	-30.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.90	$3.18 ₩4,673	-67.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.45	$49.86 ₩73,176	-3.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.64	$10.12 ₩14,850	-25.8%
Average			-34.8%

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

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pay 6.6% more for clothing

	United States	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.08	$66.46 ₩97,538	+30.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.81	$50.68 ₩74,384	+21.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.56	$72.74 ₩106,755	-16.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$112.04	$103.23 ₩151,509	-7.9%
Average			+6.6%

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: December 2025

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