San Diego vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	San Diego	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$3469	$1383
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$7890	$3421
🏠 One person rent	$2370	$635
🏘️ Family rent	$4148	$1111
🍽️ Food expenses	$726	$484
🚐 Transport expenses	$179	$152
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$5254	$1954
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	86	100
😀 Quality of life	93	93
🏙️ Population	1.39M	9.67M

The cost of living in San Diego is 151% more expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 43rd and 4296th ($3469 vs $1383) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 33rd 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 1.5 months in San Diego compared to 1.4 months in Seoul. San Diego ranked 26th best city to live in the United States vs Seoul ranked 2nd in South Korea, while ranked 97th and 90th 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	$21.5	$7.28
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$85.1	$43.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$15.1	$5.99
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$8.63	$3.46
☕ Cappuccino	$6.32	$3.69
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.03	$1.66
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2499	$764
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2053	$460
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$4569	$1372
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3654	$841
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$156	$97.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$240	$147
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$71	$16.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.43%	3.97%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$9580	$20727
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7151	$10845
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.49	$1.04
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$71	$44.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$19.6	$9.78
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.25	$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.26	$2.01
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.92	$2.68
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.92	$2.55
🥚 Eggs, x12	$6.16	$3.27
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.2	$14.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.1	$9.59
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$20.3	$33
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.5	$7.35
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.74	$3.34
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.03	$5.41
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.81	$5.24
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.56	$3.68
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.37	$2.95
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.58	$0.8
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.26	$1.8
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$16.6	$17.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.91	$1.97
🚬 Cigarette pack	$12.3	$3.12
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$14.9	$3.56
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$9.97	$3.98
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$5.53	$3.5
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.47	$1.3
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$63.1	$47.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$17.9	$10
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$131	$62.2
💇 Haircut, simple	$30.4	$16.7
👖 Brand Jeans	$60.2	$49.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$108	$67.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1745	$357
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$28967	$21347

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	$3195
7.2 km or 4.5 mi	National	$3013
13 km or 7.8 mi	Lemon Grove	$2932
14 km or 9 mi	Chula Vista	$2972
14 km or 9 mi	La Mesa	$2943
16 km or 9.8 mi	Imperial Beach	$2909
18 km or 11 mi	La Jolla	$2996
21 km or 13 mi	El Cajon	$2988
24 km or 15 mi	Tijuana	$1210
25 km or 15 mi	Santee	$2887
30 km or 19 mi	Poway	$2922
38 km or 24 mi	Encinitas	$3066
40 km or 25 mi	Las Delicias	$1063
43 km or 26 mi	Rosarito Beach	$1055
46 km or 29 mi	Escondido	$3215
47 km or 30 mi	San Marcos	$2931
52 km or 33 mi	Carlsbad	$3252
54 km or 33 mi	Vista	$2930
57 km or 36 mi	Oceanside	$3274
73 km or 46 mi	Fallbrook	$2873
88 km or 55 mi	Temecula	$2681
91 km or 57 mi	San Clemente	$2967
95 km or 59 mi	Murrieta	$3049
97 km or 61 mi	Dana Point	$2994
98 km or 61 mi	French Valley	$2715
99 km or 61 mi	San Juan Capistrano	$3057
99 km or 61 mi	Wildomar	$2776
104 km or 65 mi	Laguna Niguel	$3490
107 km or 66 mi	Laguna Beach	$3075
107 km or 67 mi	Menifee	$2626
109 km or 68 mi	Ensenada	$903
109 km or 68 mi	Lake Elsinore	$2671
110 km or 68 mi	Mission Viejo	$3585
110 km or 69 mi	Laguna Hills	$3037
111 km or 69 mi	Rancho Santa Margarita	$3014
114 km or 71 mi	Aliso Viejo	$3450
114 km or 71 mi	Lake Forest	$2539
115 km or 72 mi	Hemet	$2742
119 km or 74 mi	Perris	$2691
119 km or 74 mi	Temescal Valley	$2782

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