Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Northampton and Seoul

For one person, living is cheaper in Seoul: $1,804 a month against $2,442 in Northampton, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in Northampton
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Northampton Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
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Seoul Living Index

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Northampton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,442

/mo nomad

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,804

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Northampton and in Seoul

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Northampton and in Seoul actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,442 per month in Northampton vs $1,804 in Seoul, rent included.

Northampton $2,442
Seoul $1,804

A couple spends around $3,518 per month in Northampton vs $2,877 in Seoul, rent included.

Northampton $3,518
Seoul $2,877

A family of three spends $4,593 per month in Northampton vs $3,950 in Seoul, rent included.

Northampton $4,593
Seoul $3,950

Northampton costs about 35% more than Seoul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Northampton and Seoul sit above the global median – Northampton by 80%, Seoul by 33%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.21 £19.66

$9.10 ₩12.1K

188.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.8 £59.9

$66.7 ₩88.6K

19.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.68 £8.01

$7.49 ₩9,959

42.59%

Cappuccino

$4.90 £3.67

$4.19 ₩5,569

16.95%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 £1.86

$1.55 ₩2,067

60.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 £1.52

$0.79 ₩1,055

156.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.50 £4.13

$3.64 ₩4,846

51.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.52 £4.14

$6.14 ₩8,164

-10.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 £1.10

$2.11 ₩2,811

-30.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 £1.38

$3.05 ₩4,051

-39.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 £2.03

$4.21 ₩5,599

-35.63%

Eggs

$4.22 £3.16

$3.54 ₩4,709

19.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.09 £6.82

$18.02 ₩24.0K

-49.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.10 £6.08

$10.35 ₩13.8K

-21.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.44 £12.33

$26.47 ₩35.2K

-37.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.41 £2.56

$7.91 ₩10.5K

-56.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 £1.22

$3.44 ₩4,578

-52.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.18 £2.39

$5.64 ₩7,493

-43.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.40 £2.55

$6.41 ₩8,517

-46.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 £0.90

$3.71 ₩4,938

-67.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$2.52 ₩3,345

-27.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 £0.98

$2.87 ₩3,816

-54.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.16 ₩1,536

12.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.40 £17.56

$3.37 ₩4,480

594.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.77 £7.33

$18.72 ₩24.9K

-47.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.32 £2.49

$2.28 ₩3,036

45.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 £2.29

$3.31 ₩4,397

-7.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.35 £2.51

$1.13 ₩1,497

196.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$121 £91.1

$46.73 ₩62.1K

159.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.08 £3.06

$3.52 ₩4,684

15.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.02 £3.02

$0.64 ₩849

528.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.30 £23.48

$8.76 ₩11.7K

257.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.45 ₩1,930

42.76%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$37.8K £28.4K

$29.7K ₩39.4M

27.52%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$40.5K £30.3K

$28.2K ₩37.5M

43.46%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$366 £274

$211 ₩280.4K

73.45%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$17.52 £13.14

$35.36 ₩47.0K

-50.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.18 £33.14

$20.57 ₩27.4K

114.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.81 £23.86

$57.7 ₩76.7K

-44.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.70 £15.53

$16.20 ₩21.5K

27.78%

Cinema Ticket

$13.39 £10.05

$11.37 ₩15.1K

17.77%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,601 £1,201

$1,967 ₩2.6M

-18.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.8K ₩30.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.6 £63.4

$57.5 ₩76.4K

47.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.26 £30.20

$33.08 ₩44.0K

21.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.9 £54.7

$70.1 ₩93.2K

3.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 £82.7

$84.3 ₩112.0K

30.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,099 £824

$878 ₩1.2M

25.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$996 £748

$624 ₩829.7K

59.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,661 £1,246

$2,513 ₩3.3M

-33.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,540 £1,156

$1,287 ₩1.7M

19.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 £2,724

$30.4K ₩40.4M

-88.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,526 £2,645

$11.9K ₩15.8M

-70.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,640 £2,731

$3,599 ₩4.8M

1.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.21

4.08

27.70%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Northampton: October 18, 2026

Last update for Seoul: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Northampton

$996 40.8%

Seoul

$624 34.6% 37.4% $372

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Northampton

$427 17.5%

Seoul

$267 14.8% 37.6% $161

Eating Out

Northampton

$357 14.6%

Seoul

$185 10.3% 48.1% $172

Groceries & Markets

Northampton

$305 12.5%

Seoul

$480 26.6% 57.3% $175

Getting Around

Northampton

$159 6.5%

Seoul

$58 3.2% 63.6% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Northampton

$139 5.7%

Seoul

$110 6.1% 20.5% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Northampton

$59 2.4%

Seoul

$80 4.5% 37.3% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,099 in Northampton versus $878 in Seoul. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 1% higher in Northampton, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $80.0 in Northampton versus $67.0 in Seoul. Groceries tell a different story – $305 in Northampton vs $480 in Seoul – so Northampton wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Northampton

🇰🇷 Seoul

🕒 Local time

05:28 5:28 AM

13:28 1:28 PM

8 h ahead of Northampton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

245,899

9,509,458 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Northampton Seoul 8,830 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Northampton
Seoul

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Northampton vs Seoul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Northampton costs about 35% more than Seoul, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,663 per month in Northampton and $2,707 in Seoul. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Seoul, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 160% less in Seoul. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,601 per month in Northampton and $1,967 in Seoul. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Seoul, where all-in costs run around $1,804, than in Northampton at $2,442. In Seoul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Northampton it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Seoul – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Seoul. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Northampton makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.