Cost of living comparison

 Washington (DC), United States
compared to
 Seoul, South Korea
Seoul vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Seoul vs. Washington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Seoul instead of Washington, you would:

pay 55.7% less for restaurants

 
Washington
Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $25.00
 
$7.88
₩11,432
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.00
 
$6.09
₩8,834
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.78
 
$1.59
₩2,302

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pay 9.3% more for groceries

 
Washington
Seoul
Bread
1 loaf
$4.34
 
$3.10
₩4,491
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.84
 
$6.52
₩9,467
Milk (1 gallon) $4.14
 
$8.06
₩11,693

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pay 26.5% less for transportation

 
Washington
Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.66
 
$4.59
₩6,658
Monthly public transit pass $75.00
 
$44.40
₩64,433
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,699.74
 
$27,023.07
₩39,211,820

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pay 54.3% less for housing

 
Washington
Seoul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$66.46
 
$22.27
₩32,321
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,582.95
 
$883.18
₩1,281,537
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $2,028.70
 
$490.54
₩711,797

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pay 64.3% less for childcare

 
Washington
Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $2,273.25
 
$385.48
₩559,352
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $38,250.00
 
$20,782.92
₩30,157,052

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pay 50.0% less for entertainment and sports

 
Washington
Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $8.00
 
$3.58
₩5,196
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.55
 
$3.60
₩5,227
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.75
 
$3.22
₩4,677

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pay 19.0% less for clothing

 
Washington
Seoul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$74.13
 
$59.13
₩85,797
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$50.77
 
$46.64
₩67,683
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$105.47
 
$86.69
₩125,796

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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: March 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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