Gwangju vs Philadelphia - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Gwangju	Philadelphia
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1081	$2584
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2620	$5778
🏠 One person rent	$462	$1504
🏘️ Family rent	$793	$2234
🍽️ Food expenses	$422	$732
🚐 Transport expenses	$114	$191
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$2442	$4329
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	11 km
🎓 Higher education	58	100
😀 Quality of life	87	93
🏙️ Population	1.49M	1.6M

The cost of living in Gwangju is 58% less expensive than in Philadelphia. Cities ranked 5038th and 744th ($1081 vs $2584) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 26th and 660th 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 7th best city to live in South Korea vs Philadelphia ranked 25th in the United States, while ranked 363rd and 95th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Gwangju vs Philadelphia infographic

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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	$6.64	$20
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$35.2	$95.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.63	$13.1
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.78	$6.02
☕ Cappuccino	$3.46	$5.04
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.32	$2.84
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$390	$1597
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$307	$1193
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$709	$2401
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$560	$1807
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$119	$153
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$183	$232
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$19.6	$76.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.94%	6.58%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7419	$3243
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4877	$2372
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.88	$2.52
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$63.2	$99
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$7.55	$15.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.17	$0.85
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.74	$1.39
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.27	$4.24
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.64	$8.95
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.52	$4.46
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.98	$14.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.38	$13
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.9	$20.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.11	$6.04
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.79	$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.11	$4.5
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.4	$5.82
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.28	$3.1
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.35	$3.25
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.85	$1.47
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.69	$3.85
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.8	$15.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.52	$1.98
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.14	$14.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$8.13	$9.23
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.5	$7.01
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.24	$4
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.39	$2.35
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$45.4	$58.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$8.33	$14.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$34.8	$85.6
💇 Haircut, simple	$6.38	$28.6
👖 Brand Jeans	$47.8	$51.1
👟 Brand Sneakers	$61.1	$95
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$253	$2021
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$10915	$15283

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	$1001
45 km or 28 mi	Jeongeup	$981
50 km or 31 mi	Namwon	$980
57 km or 36 mi	Suncheon	$1016
64 km or 39 mi	Mokpo	$1005
71 km or 44 mi	Gimje	$982
76 km or 47 mi	Gwangyang	$991
76 km or 47 mi	Jeonju	$831
82 km or 51 mi	Yeosu	$994
86 km or 54 mi	Iksan	$998
92 km or 57 mi	Gunsan	$1020
106 km or 66 mi	Jinju	$1064
116 km or 72 mi	Nonsan	$1046
127 km or 79 mi	Gyeryong	$976
131 km or 81 mi	Sacheon	$984
132 km or 82 mi	Asan	$1050
133 km or 82 mi	Boryeong	$1085
138 km or 86 mi	Daejeon	$959
142 km or 88 mi	Tongyeong	$934
145 km or 90 mi	Gongju	$1063
148 km or 92 mi	Masan	$1008
150 km or 93 mi	Sejong	$1020
151 km or 94 mi	Gimcheon	$934
156 km or 97 mi	Geoje	$913
158 km or 98 mi	Changwon	$1084
170 km or 106 mi	Miryang	$1038
171 km or 106 mi	Daegu	$1062
171 km or 107 mi	Cheongju	$924
174 km or 108 mi	Gumi	$949
179 km or 111 mi	Sangju	$957
179 km or 111 mi	Gimhae	$975
180 km or 112 mi	Gyeongsan	$1001
184 km or 114 mi	Cheonan	$1153
184 km or 115 mi	Seosan	$1068
188 km or 117 mi	Jeju	$1069
193 km or 120 mi	Busan	$1108
194 km or 120 mi	Yangsan	$1039
194 km or 120 mi	Dangjin	$1059
196 km or 122 mi	Mungyeong	$973
203 km or 126 mi	Jeju Island	$1100

Cities near Philadelphia

Distance	City	Cost of living
5.2 km or 3.2 mi	Camden	$2593
9.2 km or 5.7 mi	Pennsauken Township	$2580
12 km or 7.1 mi	Cherry Hill	$2638
12 km or 7.7 mi	West Deptford Township	$2616
16 km or 9.9 mi	Fox Chase	$2408
16 km or 9.9 mi	Deptford Township	$2603
19 km or 12 mi	Moorestown	$2578
21 km or 13 mi	Gloucester Township	$2603
21 km or 13 mi	Chester	$2476
22 km or 14 mi	Mount Laurel	$2568
25 km or 15 mi	Evesham Township	$2594
25 km or 16 mi	Willingboro Township	$2637
31 km or 19 mi	Medford	$2627
35 km or 22 mi	Levittown	$2358
35 km or 22 mi	Winslow Township	$2620
36 km or 23 mi	Monroe Township	$2610
38 km or 23 mi	West Chester	$2737
40 km or 25 mi	Wilmington	$2267
46 km or 28 mi	Trenton	$2676
46 km or 29 mi	Ewing Township	$2609
50 km or 31 mi	Hamilton Township	$2671
52 km or 32 mi	Pottstown	$2355
54 km or 33 mi	Lawrence Township	$2741
56 km or 35 mi	Vineland	$2533
58 km or 36 mi	Newark	$2121
59 km or 36 mi	Bridgeton	$2608
62 km or 38 mi	Princeton	$3102
63 km or 39 mi	Millville	$2524
64 km or 39 mi	East Windsor Township	$2797
65 km or 40 mi	Plainsboro Township	$2846
67 km or 42 mi	Montgomery Township	$2883
67 km or 42 mi	Manchester Township	$2714
71 km or 44 mi	Jackson Township	$2770
72 km or 45 mi	South Brunswick	$2880
77 km or 48 mi	Allentown	$2323
77 km or 48 mi	Bethlehem	$2278
77 km or 48 mi	Hillsborough Township	$2948
78 km or 48 mi	Reading	$2239
78 km or 49 mi	Barnegat Township	$2737
79 km or 49 mi	Manalapan Township	$2886