---
title: "Cost of Living: Seoul vs New York — Geo-Parity"
description: "United States is 81% more expensive than South Korea for monthly essentials ($2,410 vs $1,334). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-korea-vs-united-states/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=KR&target=US"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · KR vs US

# 🇰🇷 Seoul vs 🇺🇸 New York: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$1,334** in South Korea vs **$2,410** in United States — 81% more expensive.

- **Essentials, South Korea**: $1,334/mo
- **Essentials, United States**: $2,410/mo
- **Difference**: +81%
- **1-bed city rent, United States**: $1,750/mo

## Biggest differences

Smallest premium in United States

- Jeans (mid-range brand): +21%
- Running shoes (brand): +21%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: +21%

Pricier in United States

- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: +96%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: +96%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: +96%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | South Korea | United States | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $894 | $1,750 | +96% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $715 | $1,400 | +96% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,635 | $3,200 | +96% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $10.62 | $18.00 | +69% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $44.25 | $75.00 | +69% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $6.81 | $11.00 | +62% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.75 | $1.10 | +47% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $2.18 | $3.20 | +47% |
| Eggs, dozen | $2.32 | $3.40 | +47% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $6.81 | $10.00 | +47% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.73 | $4.00 | +47% |
| Apples, 1kg | $3.27 | $4.80 | +47% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $8.18 | $12.00 | +47% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.36 | $2.00 | +47% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $3.54 | $6.00 | +69% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $6.60 | $8.00 | +21% |
| Cappuccino | $2.95 | $5.00 | +69% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.57 | $2.30 | +47% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $40.24 | $65.00 | +62% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.70 | $2.75 | +62% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $2.36 | $4.00 | +69% |
| Taxi, per km | $1.06 | $1.80 | +70% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.78 | $0.95 | +22% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $124 | $200 | +62% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $43.33 | $70.00 | +62% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $27.86 | $45.00 | +62% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $29.50 | $50.00 | +69% |
| Cinema seat | $8.26 | $14.00 | +69% |
| Men's haircut | $17.70 | $30.00 | +69% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $45.40 | $55.00 | +21% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $74.29 | $90.00 | +21% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $148 | $250 | +69% |

Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the [interactive tool](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=prices&base=KR&target=US).

## Beyond prices

What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about **11,071 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 🇺🇸 United States |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $2,316 | $5,087 |
| Rent, modelled 1-bed Monthly, USD. | $797 | $1,109 |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | 34.4% | 21.8% |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $1,058 | $1,472 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 2.6 | 3.7 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Seoul and New York. | 76 | 73 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | strong | strong |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 2 (very low) | 3.2 (low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 18 | 10 + 3 regional |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 19.2 | 9.9 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 83.6 | 78.9 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.5 | 5.8 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 97.9% | 94.7% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 273.4 | 271.2 |

## Cheap for you, or cheap for everyone?

Rent measured twice: against a $6,000/month remote income, and against what people actually earn locally. The gap between the two is the arbitrage — and it is the reason somewhere can be affordable to you and unaffordable to a local at once.

🇰🇷 South Korea

21.1 pts

13.3% of your income vs 34.4% of a local wage

🇺🇸 United States

3.3 pts

18.5% of your income vs 21.8% of a local wage

Worked at $6,000/month. [Run it on your own income](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=housing)

## The whole South Korea → United States move, in one place

Everything above is free and always will be. The relocation report is the same engines run together for this one corridor: what you keep after rent, prices, healthcare and tax; the local wage ladder you would be earning against; which visas your income qualifies for; the day count that makes you tax-resident; and the months worth being there for.

[See the South Korea → United States report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/south-korea-to-united-states/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: United States vs South Korea](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-states-vs-south-korea/)
- [Fair salary: South Korea → United States](https://geo-parity.com/salary/south-korea-to-united-states/)

## More comparisons

### South Korea compared with

- [South Korea vs Denmark](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-korea-vs-denmark/)
- [South Korea vs Australia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-korea-vs-australia/)
- [South Korea vs Switzerland](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-korea-vs-switzerland/)
- [South Korea vs United Kingdom](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-korea-vs-united-kingdom/)
- [South Korea vs Norway](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-korea-vs-norway/)
- [South Korea vs New Zealand](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-korea-vs-new-zealand/)

### Moving to United States from

- [Portugal vs United States](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/portugal-vs-united-states/)
- [Singapore vs United States](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/singapore-vs-united-states/)
- [Greece vs United States](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/greece-vs-united-states/)
- [Japan vs United States](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/japan-vs-united-states/)
- [Czechia vs United States](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/czechia-vs-united-states/)
- [United Arab Emirates vs United States](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-united-states/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much more expensive is United States than South Korea?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $2,410 in United States versus $1,334 in South Korea — 81% more. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in United States?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $6.00 in United States, versus about $3.54 in South Korea.
- **How much is rent in United States compared to South Korea?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $1,750/month in United States versus $894/month in South Korea (+96%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- **How are these prices estimated?**: Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.

Model estimates — verify locally. Agents: GET /api/micro-costs.json?base=KR&target=US.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-korea-vs-united-states/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=KR&target=US