San Diego vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	San Diego	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$3428	$1334
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$7974	$3862
🏠 One person rent	$2311	$608
🏘️ Family rent	$4175	$1634
🍽️ Food expenses	$743	$488
🚐 Transport expenses	$180	$144
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$5531	$2911
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	87	100
😀 Quality of life	91	95
🏙️ Population	1.39M	9.67M

The cost of living in San Diego is 157% more expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 36th and 4104th ($3428 vs $1334) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 32nd 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 1.6 months in San Diego compared to 2.2 months in Seoul. San Diego ranked 13th best city to live in the United States vs Seoul ranked 1st in South Korea, while ranked 95th and 30th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in San Diego vs Seoul infographic

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Prices in San Diego vs Seoul

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

	San Diego	Seoul
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$22.1	$7.53
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$83.1	$40.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$15	$5.87
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$8.3	$3.5
☕ Cappuccino	$6.04	$3.57
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.96	$1.58
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2424	$754
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1978	$422
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$4583	$2293
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3654	$1250
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$177	$99.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$269	$155
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$66.3	$20.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.42%	4.85%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$9086	$19682
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7072	$11168
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.51	$1.05
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$72.1	$44.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$19.4	$8.29
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.33	$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.23	$2.06
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.95	$3.08
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.13	$3.06
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.2	$3.38
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.6	$12.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.3	$8.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$18.4	$32
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.75	$7.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.71	$3.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.32	$5.31
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.97	$5.9
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.75	$3.54
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.44	$2.82
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.69	$0.81
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.7	$2.18
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$17.6	$20.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.85	$2.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$12.1	$3.17
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$17.4	$4.67
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$13.1	$5.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$5.87	$2.16
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.99	$2.86
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$75	$48.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$17	$10.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$130	$22.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$31.9	$9.53
👖 Brand Jeans	$59.6	$58.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$98.3	$82.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1785	$420
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$28706	$20197

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near San Diego

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Coronado	$3065
7.2 km or 4.5 mi	National	$2962
13 km or 7.8 mi	Lemon Grove	$2914
14 km or 9 mi	Chula Vista	$3017
14 km or 9 mi	La Mesa	$2916
16 km or 9.8 mi	Imperial Beach	$2911
18 km or 11 mi	La Jolla	$2964
21 km or 13 mi	El Cajon	$3043
24 km or 15 mi	Tijuana	$1047
25 km or 15 mi	Santee	$2898
30 km or 19 mi	Poway	$2930
38 km or 24 mi	Encinitas	$3124
40 km or 25 mi	Las Delicias	$912
43 km or 26 mi	Rosarito Beach	$910
46 km or 29 mi	Escondido	$3279
47 km or 30 mi	San Marcos	$2917
52 km or 33 mi	Carlsbad	$3273
54 km or 33 mi	Vista	$2834
57 km or 36 mi	Oceanside	$3199
73 km or 46 mi	Fallbrook	$2907
88 km or 55 mi	Temecula	$2637
91 km or 57 mi	San Clemente	$2945
95 km or 59 mi	Murrieta	$3109
97 km or 61 mi	Dana Point	$2936
98 km or 61 mi	French Valley	$2732
99 km or 61 mi	San Juan Capistrano	$2950
99 km or 61 mi	Wildomar	$2763
104 km or 65 mi	Laguna Niguel	$3188
107 km or 66 mi	Laguna Beach	$2996
107 km or 67 mi	Menifee	$2578
109 km or 68 mi	Ensenada	$880
109 km or 68 mi	Lake Elsinore	$2694
110 km or 68 mi	Mission Viejo	$3496
110 km or 69 mi	Laguna Hills	$3082
111 km or 69 mi	Rancho Santa Margarita	$2971
114 km or 71 mi	Aliso Viejo	$3326
114 km or 71 mi	Lake Forest	$3020
115 km or 72 mi	Hemet	$2764
119 km or 74 mi	Perris	$2682
119 km or 74 mi	Temescal Valley	$2759

Cities near Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1122
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1171
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1089
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1070
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$955
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1161
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1129
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1400
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1283
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1163
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$1022
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$974
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1098
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$1099
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$1063
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1165
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1075
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$1070
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$1022
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1092
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$1055
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$1040
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1127
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1089
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1042
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1020
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1565
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1026
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$984
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1026
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$865
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$1033
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1074
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1151
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$1036
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$900
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$936
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$1016
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1550
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$1019