Cost of living comparison

Washington, USA

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 41.8% cheaper than Washington.

Restaurants: pay 59.6% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 17.3% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 20.7% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 66.4% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 54.6% less in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.8% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 7.4% more in South Korea

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

Planning a move to South Korea? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

South Korea vs. Washington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Washington, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 59.6% less for restaurants

	Washington	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$22.26	$7.06 ₩9,413	-68.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.24	$6.17 ₩8,222	-49.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.75	$1.53 ₩2,037	-44.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.18	$0.88 ₩1,180	-59.4%
Average			-59.6%

Washington vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.3% more for groceries

	Washington	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$4.04	$3.04 ₩4,051	-24.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.06	$6.12 ₩8,166	-13.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.15	$8.23 ₩10,971	+98.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.91	$2.94 ₩3,919	-40.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.11	$4.11 ₩5,479	-32.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.34	$4.00 ₩5,336	+71.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.83	$1.55 ₩2,067	+87.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.87	$3.00 ₩3,996	+60.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.03	$2.63 ₩3,510	+29.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.24	$2.03 ₩2,713	+64.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.24	$1.26 ₩1,683	+1.5%
Average			+17.3%

Washington vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 20.7% less for transportation

	Washington	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.99	$5.01 ₩6,678	+0.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$70.32	$46.10 ₩61,477	-34.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,567.40	$28,394.53 ₩38M	-17.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.13	$8.59 ₩11,459	-49.8%
Average			-20.7%

Washington vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 66.4% less for housing

	Washington	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$77.56	$24.34 ₩32,458	-68.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,772.00	$561.73 ₩749K	-68.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,547.68	$387.83 ₩517K	-74.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$175.22	$153.72 ₩205K	-12.3%
Average			-66.4%

Washington vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 54.6% less for childcare

	Washington	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,891.11	$545.93 ₩728K	-71.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$28,281.22	$20,214.53 ₩27M	-28.5%
Average			-54.6%

Washington vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Washington	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.38	$3.30 ₩4,398	-48.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.43	$3.66 ₩4,884	-32.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.44	$3.35 ₩4,463	-70.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.23	$57.32 ₩76,432	+3.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.12	$11.28 ₩15,047	-25.4%
Average			-32.8%

Washington vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.4% more for clothing

	Washington	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.08	$67.53 ₩90,049	+24.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.93	$53.43 ₩71,245	+30.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.87	$78.10 ₩104K	-13.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.43	$102.84 ₩137K	-6.0%
Average			+7.4%

Washington vs. South Korea - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Washington vs. South Korea

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Korea?

Quality of Life Comparison · 3 statistics

Make 58.7% less money in South Korea

Size Comparison · See true size

Washington is about 1.7 times bigger than South Korea.

Moving from Washington to South Korea · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

City Size Comparison · See true size

Compare the size of Seattle vs Seoul

More cost comparisons

Washington vs.

Oregon

Washington vs.

Texas

Washington vs.

Florida

Washington vs.

Idaho

Washington vs.

California

Washington vs.

Colorado

Washington vs.

Arizona

Washington vs.

North Carolina

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in United States vs. South Korea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and South Korea.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Washington

Add prices for South Korea

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about South Korea or Washington. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.