Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 30.7% cheaper than Washington.

Restaurants: pay 56.2% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 14.1% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 25.4% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 56.4% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 59.3% less in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.6% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 8.2% more in South Korea

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

South Korea vs. Washington Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 56.2% less for restaurants

	Washington	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$20.22	$6.72 ₩9,907	-66.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.00	$5.50 ₩8,102	-54.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.63	$1.47 ₩2,161	-44.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.05	$0.82 ₩1,216	-59.8%
Average			-56.2%

Washington vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.1% more for groceries

	Washington	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$3.94	$2.87 ₩4,235	-27.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.07	$5.63 ₩8,290	-20.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.20	$7.67 ₩11,311	+82.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.68	$2.84 ₩4,180	-39.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.75	$3.34 ₩4,917	-42.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.30	$3.24 ₩4,768	+40.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86	$1.39 ₩2,045	+60.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.02	$2.80 ₩4,121	+38.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.09	$2.40 ₩3,543	+15.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.20	$1.78 ₩2,627	+48.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.24	$1.20 ₩1,775	-2.6%
Average			+14.1%

Washington vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.4% less for transportation

	Washington	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.20	$4.40 ₩6,485	+4.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.70	$47.17 ₩69,524	-30.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,322.93	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	-23.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.81	$8.33 ₩12,280	-53.2%
Average			-25.4%

Washington vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 56.4% less for housing

	Washington	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$72.42	$21.68 ₩31,958	-70.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,724.04	$473.91 ₩698,442	-72.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,522.88	$357.19 ₩526,420	-76.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$141.51	$132.53 ₩195,326	-6.3%
Average			-56.4%

Washington vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 59.3% less for childcare

	Washington	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,634.82	$378.52 ₩557,869	-76.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,866.06	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	-41.8%
Average			-59.3%

Washington vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 39.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Washington	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.54	$3.12 ₩4,595	-52.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.33	$3.57 ₩5,258	-33.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.03	$3.18 ₩4,693	-71.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$56.25	$49.86 ₩73,483	-11.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.46	$10.12 ₩14,912	-30.0%
Average			-39.6%

Washington vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.2% more for clothing

	Washington	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.71	$66.46 ₩97,948	+33.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.67	$50.68 ₩74,697	+21.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.77	$72.74 ₩107,204	-18.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$108.22	$103.23 ₩152,146	-4.6%
Average			+8.2%

Washington 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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