# Cost of living in Seoul

What it costs to live in Seoul, South Korea — $1,385/month for one person renting a 1-bedroom in the centre, all-in.

## Monthly budgets by household

| Household | Total USD / month |
| --- | --- |
| Single | $1,385 |
| Couple | $1,724 |
| Family (4) | $5,823 |
| Retirees | $1,724 |

Each total is rent plus food, utilities, transport, and the usual recurring costs — not a bare rent figure.

## Where the money goes (Single)

| Category | USD / month | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rent | $871 | 1BR |
| Groceries & eating out | $264 |  |
| Transport | $44 |  |
| Utilities & phones | $206 |  |

## Rent

| Apartment | USD / month |
| --- | --- |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | $580 |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | $871 |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre | $1,132 |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre | $2,075 |

## Groceries

| Item | USD |
| --- | --- |
| Milk (1L) | $2.00 |
| Bread (loaf) | $3.05 |
| Eggs (12) | $2.94 |
| Rice (1kg) | $3.16 |
| Chicken (1kg) | $9.66 |
| Apples (1kg) | $7.50 |
| Tomatoes (1kg) | $6.38 |
| Potatoes (1kg) | $3.47 |
| Water (1.5L) | $1.14 |
| Wine (mid-range) | $20 |
| Beer (0.5L) | $2.08 |

## Eating out

| Item | USD |
| --- | --- |
| Cheap meal | $8.81 |
| Mid-range dinner for 2 | $61 |
| Cappuccino | $3.66 |
| Beer (draught) | $3.39 |
| Coke (0.33L) | $1.56 |

## Getting around

| Item | USD |
| --- | --- |
| Monthly pass | $44 |
| Single ride | $1.05 |
| Taxi start | $3.25 |
| Taxi per km | $0.54 |
| Gasoline (1L) | $1.14 |

## Income and short stays

- **Average net salary (after tax):** $2,989/month
- **30-day trial stay (short-let, eating out, transport, SIM):** $2,037
- **Local currency:** KRW (1 USD ≈ 1339.33 KRW)

## Cities with comparable costs

| City | Rent (1-bed, centre) | Monthly total | Page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Shanghai | $907 | $1,146 | /cost-of-living/shanghai |
| Almaty | $756 | $1,241 | /cost-of-living/almaty |
| Shenzhen | $743 | $962 | /cost-of-living/shenzhen |
| Taipei | $735 | $1,044 | /cost-of-living/taipei |
| Phuket | $708 | $1,065 | /cost-of-living/phuket |

## Related pages

- Full city profile: /cities/seoul

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Source: [Townleap](https://www.townleap.com/cost-of-living/seoul) — permanent-relocation data for people picking a country to actually live in, not visit.

Cost figures are Numbeo-derived and in USD unless labelled otherwise. Economics are World Bank. Every number on this page is also on the HTML page at the same URL — this variant exists so you do not have to parse a React app to read a rent figure.