Los Angeles vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Los Angeles	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$3420	$1296
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$7800	$3195
🏠 One person rent	$2177	$624
🏘️ Family rent	$3742	$1077
🍽️ Food expenses	$761	$438
🚐 Transport expenses	$263	$132
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$4482	$3066
😷 Air quality	Good	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	17 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	99	99
😀 Quality of life	93	95
🏙️ Population	3.9M	9.67M

The cost of living in Los Angeles is 164% more expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 62nd and 4545th ($3420 vs $1296) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 47th and 3rd 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 Los Angeles compared to 2.4 months in Seoul. Los Angeles ranked 8th best city to live in the United States vs Seoul ranked 1st in South Korea, while ranked 50th and 16th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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

Prices in Los Angeles vs Seoul

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

	Los Angeles	Seoul
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$22.4	$7.13
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$104	$45.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$14.1	$5.97
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$8.92	$3.36
☕ Cappuccino	$6.66	$3.47
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.53	$1.44
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2356	$717
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1856	$459
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$4109	$1281
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3268	$818
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$152	$98.8
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$236	$152
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$69.2	$14.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.28%	4.02%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$8186	$24031
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7185	$10129
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.76	$1.01
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$95.5	$40.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$19.5	$7.36
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.37	$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.32	$1.82
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$4.33	$2.4
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.26	$2.98
🥚 Eggs, x12	$6.59	$2.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.1	$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.3	$7.93
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$20.4	$25.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.08	$6.15
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.46	$3.06
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.3	$5.02
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.19	$4.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.89	$3.05
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.91	$2.37
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.67	$0.68
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.57	$1.46
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.3	$15.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.99	$1.86
🚬 Cigarette pack	$12.9	$2.98
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.24	$3.33
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$6.99	$3.6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$5.99	$2.88
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.92	$1.15
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$70.1	$45.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$18.2	$9.18
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$164	$52.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$29.5	$14.3
👖 Brand Jeans	$80.1	$49.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$110	$64.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1748	$480
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$23685	$19916

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Los Angeles

Distance	City	Cost of living
8.1 km or 5 mi	Huntington Park	$2945
8.9 km or 5.5 mi	Maywood	$2888
9.2 km or 5.7 mi	Florence-Graham	$2945
10 km or 6.2 mi	Bell	$2868
10 km or 6.2 mi	Monterey Park	$2786
11 km or 6.6 mi	Alhambra	$3031
11 km or 6.6 mi	South Pasadena	$3020
11 km or 7 mi	Cudahy	$2866
12 km or 7.6 mi	San Gabriel	$3184
12 km or 7.7 mi	Bell Gardens	$2798
12 km or 7.8 mi	West Hollywood	$3055
13 km or 7.8 mi	Montebello	$2826
13 km or 8 mi	South Gate	$2867
13 km or 8.2 mi	Glendale	$3717
14 km or 8.8 mi	Inglewood	$3066
15 km or 9 mi	Beverly Hills	$2945
15 km or 9.1 mi	Lynwood	$2880
15 km or 9.3 mi	Rosemead	$2868
15 km or 9.5 mi	Culver	$3054
15 km or 9.6 mi	Pasadena	$3802
16 km or 9.9 mi	Pico Rivera	$2818
16 km or 10 mi	Burbank	$3369
16 km or 10 mi	Downey	$2766
17 km or 11 mi	Compton	$2922
18 km or 11 mi	La Canada Flintridge	$3179
18 km or 11 mi	Hawthorne	$3139
18 km or 11 mi	Temple	$2909
18 km or 11 mi	South El Monte	$2849
18 km or 11 mi	West Whittier-Los Nietos	$2826
18 km or 11 mi	Paramount	$2793
19 km or 12 mi	Gardena	$3076
20 km or 12 mi	El Monte	$2858
21 km or 13 mi	Lawndale	$3243
21 km or 13 mi	Arcadia	$3020
21 km or 13 mi	Bellflower	$2758
22 km or 14 mi	Norwalk	$2694
22 km or 14 mi	Santa Monica	$3654
22 km or 14 mi	Whittier	$2835
23 km or 15 mi	Manhattan Beach	$3295
24 km or 15 mi	Carson	$3000

Cities near Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1089
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1052
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1029
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1031
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$868
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1152
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1094
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1455
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1313
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1090
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$943
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$894
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1053
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$1040
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$1022
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1179
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1010
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$1001
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$985
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1032
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$977
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$982
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1061
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1045
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1019
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1108
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1557
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1033
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$1048
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1016
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$819
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$952
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1062
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1128
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$917
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$852
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$865
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$993
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1562
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$971