Cost of living comparison

 New York, USA
compared to
 South Korea
South Korea vs. New York Cost of Living Summary
South Korea vs. New York Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of New York, you would:

pay 53.1% less for restaurants

 
New York
South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.04
 
$6.16
₩8,412
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.50
 
$5.24
₩7,155
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.37
 
$1.47
₩2,010

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pay 10.6% more for groceries

 
New York
South Korea
Bread
1 loaf
$3.74
 
$3.08
₩4,202
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.35
 
$5.40
₩7,381
Milk (1 gallon) $4.05
 
$7.46
₩10,186

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pay 25.7% less for transportation

 
New York
South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.60
 
$4.39
₩5,999
Monthly public transit pass $97.65
 
$45.32
₩61,890
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,535.81
 
$27,023.07
₩36,906,200

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pay 62.4% less for housing

 
New York
South Korea
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$63.86
 
$17.65
₩24,111
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,925.71
 
$426.93
₩583,073
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,646.33
 
$328.41
₩448,524

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pay 40.0% less for childcare

 
New York
South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,553.18
 
$373.40
₩509,964
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,861.84
 
$22,907.58
₩31,285,553

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pay 43.4% less for entertainment and sports

 
New York
South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.09
 
$3.09
₩4,226
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.84
 
$3.39
₩4,629
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$13.68
 
$3.21
₩4,389

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pay 0.1% less for clothing

 
New York
South Korea
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$50.08
 
$60.70
₩82,906
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.74
 
$44.52
₩60,806
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$82.58
 
$72.99
₩99,688

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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: May 2025
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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.

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