Honolulu vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Honolulu	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$3173	$1383
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$7419	$3421
🏠 One person rent	$1978	$635
🏘️ Family rent	$3525	$1111
🍽️ Food expenses	$855	$484
🚐 Transport expenses	$129	$152
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$4215	$1954
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	7 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	62	100
😀 Quality of life	88	93
🏙️ Population	351K	9.67M

The cost of living in Honolulu is 129% more expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 122nd and 4296th ($3173 vs $1383) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 90th and 2nd in the United States and South Korea, respectively. Check the United States vs South Korea comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.3 months in Honolulu compared to 1.4 months in Seoul. Honolulu ranked 103rd best city to live in the United States vs Seoul ranked 2nd in South Korea, while ranked 322nd and 90th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Honolulu vs Seoul infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/honolulu/seoul.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Honolulu vs Seoul infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/honolulu/seoul" target="_blank">Honolulu vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Honolulu vs Seoul

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

	Honolulu	Seoul
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$19.7	$7.28
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$90.1	$43.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$14.9	$5.99
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$8.31	$3.46
☕ Cappuccino	$6.89	$3.69
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.63	$1.66
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1983	$764
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1696	$460
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3566	$1372
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3123	$841
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$160	$97.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$248	$147
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$65	$16.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.5%	3.97%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$9387	$20727
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7920	$10845
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$3.02	$1.04
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$79.4	$44.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$25.3	$9.78
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.23	$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.04	$2.01
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$5.77	$2.68
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.8	$2.55
🥚 Eggs, x12	$8.01	$3.27
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.1	$14.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$19.5	$9.59
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$20.6	$33
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.07	$7.35
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.32	$3.34
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.97	$5.41
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.62	$5.24
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.14	$3.68
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.93	$2.95
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.14	$0.8
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$4.59	$1.8
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$19.2	$17.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$4.28	$1.97
🚬 Cigarette pack	$12.9	$3.12
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$12.7	$3.56
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$7.95	$3.98
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$6.99	$3.5
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$3.53	$1.3
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$51.8	$47.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$18.1	$10
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$172	$62.2
💇 Haircut, simple	$25.6	$16.7
👖 Brand Jeans	$61.4	$49.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$116	$67.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1645	$357
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$20539	$21347

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Honolulu

Distance	City	Cost of living
15 km or 9.1 mi	East Honolulu	$2892
16 km or 10 mi	Pearl	$2637
19 km or 12 mi	Waipahu	$2700
24 km or 15 mi	Mililani Mauka	$2631
152 km or 94 mi	Kahului	$3155
191 km or 118 mi	Kauai	$2825
267 km or 166 mi	Kailua-Kona	$3515
339 km or 211 mi	Hilo	$2402
2149 km or 1335 mi	London	$532
3662 km or 2275 mi	Djarrit	$1502
3674 km or 2283 mi	Majuro	$1496
3836 km or 2383 mi	Eureka	$2064
3840 km or 2386 mi	Ukiah	$2778
3843 km or 2388 mi	Pacifica	$3218
3847 km or 2390 mi	Daly	$3223
3848 km or 2391 mi	San Bruno	$3230
3849 km or 2392 mi	South San Francisco	$3227
3849 km or 2392 mi	Millbrae	$3285
3850 km or 2392 mi	Windsor	$2864
3852 km or 2393 mi	Rohnert Park	$2946
3852 km or 2393 mi	San Rafael	$3797
3852 km or 2394 mi	Burlingame	$3317
3853 km or 2394 mi	Petaluma	$3297
3853 km or 2394 mi	Novato	$3094
3854 km or 2395 mi	San Francisco	$4110
3855 km or 2395 mi	Santa Rosa	$2884
3855 km or 2396 mi	San Mateo	$3756
3856 km or 2396 mi	Belmont	$3553
3858 km or 2397 mi	San Carlos	$3382
3859 km or 2398 mi	South Tarawa	$533
3859 km or 2398 mi	Foster	$3634
3859 km or 2398 mi	Redwood	$3890
3860 km or 2398 mi	Monterey	$2858
3860 km or 2399 mi	Santa Cruz	$3719
3863 km or 2400 mi	Menlo Park	$3359
3864 km or 2401 mi	Seaside	$1905
3866 km or 2402 mi	Richmond	$3026
3866 km or 2402 mi	Palo Alto	$3765
3867 km or 2403 mi	San Pablo	$3014
3867 km or 2403 mi	Los Altos	$3182

Cities near Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1134
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1097
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1090
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1078
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$918
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1178
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1138
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1435
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1307
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1175
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$1004
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$948
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1112
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$1098
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$1080
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1196
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1065
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$1049
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$1066
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1088
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$1023
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$1028
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1120
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1098
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1076
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1171
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1568
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1079
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$1141
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1078
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$874
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$1059
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1110
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1153
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$1068
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$920
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$924
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$1037
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1565
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$1020