San Diego vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 10, 2024

	San Diego	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$3346	$1461
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$7719	$4186
🏠 One person rent	$2248	$677
🏘️ Family rent	$4052	$1788
🍽️ Food expenses	$722	$526
🚐 Transport expenses	$185	$155
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$5772	$2981
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	87	100
😀 Quality of life	92	94
🏙️ Population	1.39M	9.67M

The cost of living in San Diego is 129% more expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 45th and 3861st ($3346 vs $1461) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 36th and 1st 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 1.7 months in San Diego compared to 2 months in Seoul. San Diego ranked 12th best city to live in the United States vs Seoul ranked 2nd in South Korea, while ranked 75th and 43rd 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	$20.9	$7.68
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$85.8	$40.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$12.9	$5.99
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$8.25	$3.79
☕ Cappuccino	$5.51	$3.91
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.62	$1.63
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2399	$827
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1894	$460
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$4351	$2513
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3534	$1348
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$184	$120
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$286	$184
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$69.1	$23.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.53%	5.14%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$9294	$21201
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7063	$11781
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.52	$1.14
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$72.6	$47.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$20.2	$9.05
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.38	$1.27
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.16	$2.29
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.98	$3.23
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.91	$3.3
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.72	$3.68
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15	$13.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.4	$9.23
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$18.4	$38.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.96	$7.91
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.69	$3.75
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.78	$5.86
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.11	$6.13
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.54	$4.03
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.34	$3.25
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.6	$0.9
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.2	$2.43
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$18.3	$22.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.1	$2.76
🚬 Cigarette pack	$11.3	$3.42
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$16.2	$5.05
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$10.9	$5.98
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$5.94	$2.35
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.98	$3.13
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$72.4	$54.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$18	$11.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$132	$25.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$28	$10.4
👖 Brand Jeans	$56.2	$62.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$99.1	$91
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1752	$410
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$21468	$21834

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	$2973
7.2 km or 4.5 mi	National	$2877
13 km or 7.8 mi	Lemon Grove	$2783
14 km or 9 mi	Chula Vista	$2893
14 km or 9 mi	La Mesa	$2775
16 km or 9.8 mi	Imperial Beach	$2786
18 km or 11 mi	La Jolla	$2821
21 km or 13 mi	El Cajon	$2936
24 km or 15 mi	Tijuana	$1050
25 km or 15 mi	Santee	$2799
30 km or 19 mi	Poway	$2765
38 km or 24 mi	Encinitas	$2853
40 km or 25 mi	Las Delicias	$922
43 km or 26 mi	Rosarito Beach	$922
46 km or 29 mi	Escondido	$2795
47 km or 30 mi	San Marcos	$2718
52 km or 33 mi	Carlsbad	$2997
54 km or 33 mi	Vista	$2783
57 km or 36 mi	Oceanside	$2926
73 km or 46 mi	Fallbrook	$2767
88 km or 55 mi	Temecula	$2579
91 km or 57 mi	San Clemente	$2886
95 km or 59 mi	Murrieta	$3006
97 km or 61 mi	Dana Point	$2828
98 km or 61 mi	French Valley	$2650
99 km or 61 mi	San Juan Capistrano	$2842
99 km or 61 mi	Wildomar	$2717
104 km or 65 mi	Laguna Niguel	$3001
107 km or 66 mi	Laguna Beach	$2928
107 km or 67 mi	Menifee	$2587
109 km or 68 mi	Ensenada	$912
109 km or 68 mi	Lake Elsinore	$2654
110 km or 68 mi	Mission Viejo	$3444
110 km or 69 mi	Laguna Hills	$3035
111 km or 69 mi	Rancho Santa Margarita	$2950
114 km or 71 mi	Aliso Viejo	$3330
114 km or 71 mi	Lake Forest	$3047
115 km or 72 mi	Hemet	$2789
119 km or 74 mi	Perris	$2595
119 km or 74 mi	Temescal Valley	$2647

Cities near Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1085
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1008
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1038
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1005
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$936
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1074
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1084
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1127
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1087
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1068
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$1025
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$941
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1003
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$966
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$988
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1057
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1020
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$990
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$970
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1067
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$968
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$989
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1142
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1049
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1025
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1077
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1567
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1036
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$1053
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1041
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$839
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$1025
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1140
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1222
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$1027
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$1098
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$997
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$1111
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1562
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$1043