Gwangju vs Philadelphia - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Gwangju	Philadelphia
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1062	$2597
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2600	$5854
🏠 One person rent	$453	$1514
🏘️ Family rent	$783	$2239
🍽️ Food expenses	$416	$740
🚐 Transport expenses	$112	$187
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$2400	$4328
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	11 km
🎓 Higher education	58	100
😀 Quality of life	86	92
🏙️ Population	1.41M	1.6M

The cost of living in Gwangju is 59% less expensive than in Philadelphia. Cities ranked 5224th and 742nd ($1062 vs $2597) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 26th and 648th in South Korea and the United States, respectively. Check South Korea vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2.3 months in Gwangju compared to 1.7 months in Philadelphia. Gwangju ranked 6th best city to live in South Korea vs Philadelphia ranked 14th in the United States, while ranked 424th and 87th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Gwangju vs Philadelphia

Prices for goods and services in Gwangju and Philadelphia are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Gwangju	Philadelphia
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$6.5	$23.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$34.8	$89.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.51	$12.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.79	$6.02
☕ Cappuccino	$3.44	$5.15
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.44	$2.9
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$380	$1612
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$301	$1201
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$690	$2399
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$555	$1810
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$117	$158
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$181	$238
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$19.4	$72.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.91%	6.52%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7292	$3762
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4811	$1992
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.86	$2.48
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$62.7	$95.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$7.57	$15.3
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.16	$0.84
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.72	$1.41
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.24	$4.2
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.59	$8.74
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.46	$4.6
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.93	$15.4
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.36	$13.2
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.8	$17.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.05	$6.15
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.76	$1.94
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.92	$4.78
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.27	$5.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.24	$3
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.3	$3.12
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.85	$1.6
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.63	$3.81
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.5	$15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.49	$2.24
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.11	$12.3
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$8.12	$9.25
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.41	$6.94
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.13	$3.99
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.38	$2.37
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$38.7	$60.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$8.28	$15.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$34.2	$85.8
💇 Haircut, simple	$6.4	$29.1
👖 Brand Jeans	$47	$49
👟 Brand Sneakers	$60.2	$93.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$254	$2195
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$12561	$17603

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Gwangju

Distance	City	Cost of living
24 km or 15 mi	Naju	$981
45 km or 28 mi	Jeongeup	$963
50 km or 31 mi	Namwon	$970
57 km or 36 mi	Suncheon	$1014
64 km or 39 mi	Mokpo	$991
71 km or 44 mi	Gimje	$964
76 km or 47 mi	Gwangyang	$996
76 km or 47 mi	Jeonju	$823
82 km or 51 mi	Yeosu	$1008
86 km or 54 mi	Iksan	$982
92 km or 57 mi	Gunsan	$1002
106 km or 66 mi	Jinju	$1111
116 km or 72 mi	Nonsan	$1005
127 km or 79 mi	Gyeryong	$945
131 km or 81 mi	Sacheon	$993
132 km or 82 mi	Asan	$1015
133 km or 82 mi	Boryeong	$1072
138 km or 86 mi	Daejeon	$922
142 km or 88 mi	Tongyeong	$981
145 km or 90 mi	Gongju	$1019
148 km or 92 mi	Masan	$994
150 km or 93 mi	Sejong	$986
151 km or 94 mi	Gimcheon	$916
156 km or 97 mi	Geoje	$961
158 km or 98 mi	Changwon	$1032
170 km or 106 mi	Miryang	$991
171 km or 106 mi	Daegu	$1043
171 km or 107 mi	Cheongju	$903
174 km or 108 mi	Gumi	$943
179 km or 111 mi	Sangju	$951
179 km or 111 mi	Gimhae	$946
180 km or 112 mi	Gyeongsan	$976
184 km or 114 mi	Cheonan	$1121
184 km or 115 mi	Seosan	$986
188 km or 117 mi	Jeju	$1064
193 km or 120 mi	Busan	$1114
194 km or 120 mi	Yangsan	$1005
194 km or 120 mi	Dangjin	$984
196 km or 122 mi	Mungyeong	$954
203 km or 126 mi	Jeju Island	$1079

Cities near Philadelphia

Distance	City	Cost of living
5.2 km or 3.2 mi	Camden	$2612
9.2 km or 5.7 mi	Pennsauken Township	$2604
12 km or 7.1 mi	Cherry Hill	$2699
12 km or 7.7 mi	West Deptford Township	$2636
16 km or 9.9 mi	Fox Chase	$2412
16 km or 9.9 mi	Deptford Township	$2632
19 km or 12 mi	Moorestown	$2572
21 km or 13 mi	Gloucester Township	$2626
21 km or 13 mi	Chester	$2493
22 km or 14 mi	Mount Laurel	$2549
25 km or 15 mi	Evesham Township	$2609
25 km or 16 mi	Willingboro Township	$2600
31 km or 19 mi	Medford	$2612
35 km or 22 mi	Levittown	$2350
35 km or 22 mi	Winslow Township	$2639
36 km or 23 mi	Monroe Township	$2639
38 km or 23 mi	West Chester	$2793
40 km or 25 mi	Wilmington	$2445
46 km or 28 mi	Trenton	$2392
46 km or 29 mi	Ewing Township	$2541
50 km or 31 mi	Hamilton Township	$2520
52 km or 32 mi	Pottstown	$2315
54 km or 33 mi	Lawrence Township	$2668
56 km or 35 mi	Vineland	$2603
58 km or 36 mi	Newark	$2207
59 km or 36 mi	Bridgeton	$2648
62 km or 38 mi	Princeton	$3077
63 km or 39 mi	Millville	$2609
64 km or 39 mi	East Windsor Township	$2740
65 km or 40 mi	Plainsboro Township	$2802
67 km or 42 mi	Montgomery Township	$2835
67 km or 42 mi	Manchester Township	$2714
71 km or 44 mi	Jackson Township	$2753
72 km or 45 mi	South Brunswick	$2835
77 km or 48 mi	Allentown	$2301
77 km or 48 mi	Bethlehem	$2323
77 km or 48 mi	Hillsborough Township	$2933
78 km or 48 mi	Reading	$2171
78 km or 49 mi	Barnegat Township	$2684
79 km or 49 mi	Manalapan Township	$2801