Gwangju vs Raleigh - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Gwangju	Raleigh
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1062	$2317
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2600	$5372
🏠 One person rent	$453	$1430
🏘️ Family rent	$783	$2327
🍽️ Food expenses	$416	$612
🚐 Transport expenses	$112	$90.3
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$2400	$4411
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	14 km
🎓 Higher education	58	82
😀 Quality of life	86	89
🏙️ Population	1.41M	468K

The cost of living in Gwangju is 54% less expensive than in Raleigh. Cities ranked 5224th and 1246th ($1062 vs $2317) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 26th and 1054th 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 1.9 months in Raleigh. Gwangju ranked 6th best city to live in South Korea vs Raleigh ranked 64th in the United States, while ranked 424th and 245th 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 Raleigh

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

	Gwangju	Raleigh
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$6.5	$18
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$34.8	$72.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.51	$9.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.79	$5.67
☕ Cappuccino	$3.44	$6.02
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.44	$2.48
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$380	$1562
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$301	$1149
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$690	$2603
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$555	$1919
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$117	$133
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$181	$207
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$19.4	$65.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.91%	6.42%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7292	$3603
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4811	$2208
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.86	$1.68
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$62.7	$48.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$7.57	$16.3
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.16	$0.79
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.72	$0.97
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.24	$3.39
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.59	$2.78
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.46	$4.45
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.93	$14.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.36	$10.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.8	$16.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.05	$5.47
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.76	$1.26
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.92	$4.98
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.27	$5.45
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.24	$2.68
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.3	$3.36
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.85	$1.46
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.63	$2.63
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.5	$15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.49	$2.92
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.11	$8.71
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$8.12	$10.6
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.41	$4.44
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.13	$3.97
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.38	$2.73
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$38.7	$44.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$8.28	$15
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$34.2	$137
💇 Haircut, simple	$6.4	$28.8
👖 Brand Jeans	$47	$54.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$60.2	$108
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$254	$1374
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$12561	$24650

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 Raleigh

Distance	City	Cost of living
12 km or 7.6 mi	Garner	$2246
15 km or 9.1 mi	Cary	$2470
17 km or 10 mi	Morrisville	$1831
21 km or 13 mi	Wake Forest	$2194
21 km or 13 mi	Apex	$2278
25 km or 16 mi	Holly Springs	$2313
28 km or 18 mi	Fuquay-Varina	$2242
30 km or 19 mi	Durham	$2109
38 km or 23 mi	Chapel Hill	$2308
60 km or 37 mi	Henderson	$2111
61 km or 38 mi	Sanford	$1943
65 km or 41 mi	Wilson	$2003
77 km or 48 mi	Rocky Mount	$1780
77 km or 48 mi	Goldsboro	$1773
78 km or 49 mi	Burlington	$2123
87 km or 54 mi	Fayetteville	$2159
106 km or 66 mi	Asheboro	$2081
109 km or 68 mi	Danville	$1750
110 km or 68 mi	Greensboro	$2036
114 km or 71 mi	Roanoke Rapids	$2056
114 km or 71 mi	Kinston	$2088
117 km or 73 mi	Greenville	$2057
123 km or 76 mi	High Point	$1917
129 km or 80 mi	Thomasville	$2030
133 km or 83 mi	Kernersville	$2202
137 km or 85 mi	Lumberton	$1987
141 km or 87 mi	Rockingham	$2079
149 km or 92 mi	Winston-Salem	$2122
163 km or 101 mi	Jacksonville	$2001
165 km or 103 mi	New Bern	$1847
166 km or 103 mi	Salisbury	$2080
182 km or 113 mi	Kannapolis	$2027
182 km or 113 mi	Lynchburg	$1814
183 km or 114 mi	Concord	$1963
189 km or 117 mi	Havelock	$1969
190 km or 118 mi	Wilmington	$2211
191 km or 119 mi	Petersburg	$2378
196 km or 122 mi	Monroe	$2126
196 km or 122 mi	Mint Hill	$2174
198 km or 123 mi	Roanoke	$1736