Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Noumea and Seoul

For one person, living is cheaper in Seoul: $1,822 a month against $2,410 in Noumea, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Noumea
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Noumea Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
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Seoul Living Index

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Noumea

🇳🇨 New Caledonia

$2,410

/mo nomad

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,822

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Noumea 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 Noumea and in Seoul actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,410 in Noumea versus $1,822 in Seoul.

Noumea $2,410
Seoul $1,822

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,800 in Noumea versus $2,847 in Seoul.

Noumea $3,800
Seoul $2,847

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,190 in Noumea versus $3,872 in Seoul.

Noumea $5,190
Seoul $3,872

Living in Noumea is roughly 32% more expensive than in Seoul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Noumea 80% above, Seoul 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.86 CFPF 2,222

$9.10 ₩12.2K

129.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$114 CFPF 12.1K

$67.0 ₩89.8K

69.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.85 CFPF 1,475

$7.42 ₩9,941

86.66%

Cappuccino

$4.68 CFPF 499

$4.08 ₩5,470

14.71%

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

$2.01 CFPF 214

$1.60 ₩2,141

25.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 CFPF 136

$0.80 ₩1,078

58.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.50 CFPF 1,012

$3.65 ₩4,886

160.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.26 CFPF 774

$5.94 ₩7,956

22.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 CFPF 125

$2.05 ₩2,742

-42.93%

White Bread (500g)

$3.58 CFPF 381

$3.08 ₩4,130

16.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.16 CFPF 230

$4.21 ₩5,646

-48.69%

Eggs

$6.13 CFPF 653

$3.57 ₩4,784

71.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$30.21 CFPF 3,218

$17.95 ₩24.1K

68.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$27.65 CFPF 2,945

$10.64 ₩14.3K

159.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$28.19 CFPF 3,002

$26.44 ₩35.4K

6.62%

Apples (1kg)

$4.58 CFPF 488

$7.42 ₩9,946

-38.27%

Banana (1kg)

$7.29 CFPF 776

$3.53 ₩4,732

106.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.27 CFPF 668

$5.87 ₩7,866

6.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.98 CFPF 850

$6.37 ₩8,534

25.27%

Potato (1kg)

$5.55 CFPF 591

$3.75 ₩5,028

48.00%

Onion (1kg)

$3.86 CFPF 411

$2.49 ₩3,337

55.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$4.04 CFPF 431

$2.92 ₩3,911

38.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 CFPF 160

$1.15 ₩1,542

30.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.46 CFPF 2,072

$3.29 ₩4,408

491.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.03 CFPF 1,814

$18.49 ₩24.8K

-7.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 CFPF 590

$2.28 ₩3,057

142.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 ₩4,398

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.62 CFPF 492

$1.14 ₩1,526

305.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.47 ₩60.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.96 CFPF 741

$3.48 ₩4,663

100.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.11 CFPF 119

$0.60 ₩803

85.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.46 CFPF 2,286

$8.70 ₩11.7K

146.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.63 CFPF 174

$1.50 ₩2,004

8.67%

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

$32.5K CFPF 3.5M

$29.1K ₩39.0M

11.68%

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

$37.3K CFPF 4.0M

$28.2K ₩37.8M

32.21%

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

$205 CFPF 21.8K

$209 ₩279.9K

-2.07%

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

$44.24 CFPF 4,711

$35.13 ₩47.1K

25.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.09 CFPF 5,122

$21.18 ₩28.4K

127.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.48 CFPF 5,163

$57.3 ₩76.8K

-15.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.25 CFPF 879

$15.89 ₩21.3K

-48.08%

Cinema Ticket

$14.26 CFPF 1,518

$11.33 ₩15.2K

25.86%

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

$759 CFPF 80.8K

$1,902 ₩2.5M

-60.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,318 CFPF 992.3K

$22.5K ₩30.2M

-58.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$111 CFPF 11.9K

$58.9 ₩78.9K

89.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$65.0 CFPF 6,918

$32.12 ₩43.0K

102.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 CFPF 10.7K

$70.1 ₩94.0K

42.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$247 CFPF 26.3K

$82.5 ₩110.5K

199.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$761 CFPF 81.0K

$885 ₩1.2M

-14.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$761 CFPF 81.0K

$624 ₩835.5K

22.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,520 CFPF 161.9K

$2,494 ₩3.3M

-39.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,349 CFPF 143.7K

$1,275 ₩1.7M

5.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,777 CFPF 508.8K

$29.8K ₩40.0M

-83.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,453 CFPF 367.7K

$11.8K ₩15.9M

-70.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,726 CFPF 290.3K

$3,649 ₩4.9M

-25.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.13

4.08

-23.28%

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

Last update for Noumea: October 3, 2026

Last update for Seoul: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Noumea

$761 31.9%

Seoul

$624 34.7% 18.1% $137

Groceries & Markets

Noumea

$646 * 27.1%

Seoul

$479 26.7% 25.9% $167

Eating Out

Noumea

$340 14.2%

Seoul

$184 10.2% 45.9% $156

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Noumea

$297 12.4%

Seoul

$265 14.8% 10.7% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Noumea

$236 9.9%

Seoul

$110 6.1% 53.4% $126

Sport & Entertainment

Noumea

$77 3.2%

Seoul

$80 4.5% 3.9% $3

Getting Around

Noumea

$31 * 1.3%

Seoul

$57 3.1% 82.3% $26

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $761 in Noumea and $885 in Seoul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Seoul pays 34% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $114 in Noumea vs $67.0 in Seoul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $646 vs $479 per month, with Seoul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇨 Noumea

🇰🇷 Seoul

🕒 Local time

14:43 2:43 PM

12:43 12:43 PM

2 h behind Noumea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

91,386 Capital

9,509,458 Capital

💱 Currency

CFP Franc XPF Fr

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XPF = 9.39 USD

1,000 XPF = 8.37 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to XPF – CFP Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 CFP Franc (Fr)

CFP Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 107 XPF (1,000 XPF = 9.39 USD). 1 EUR = 119 XPF (1,000 XPF = 8.37 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,340 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 1,503 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.65 EUR).

USD to XPF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Noumea Seoul 7,830 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Noumea
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

Noumea vs Seoul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Seoul is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 32% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 34% lower in Seoul. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $761 in Noumea versus $885 in Seoul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $759 in Noumea versus $1,902 in Seoul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Seoul – a meal for two runs $67.0 versus $114 in Noumea. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,822 in Seoul versus $2,410 in Noumea, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Seoul but tight or insufficient in Noumea. The gap between the two cities makes Seoul the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Seoul is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Noumea, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Noumea and Seoul are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Seoul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Noumea. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.