Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Seoul and Jiangmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Jiangmen: $513 a month against $1,794 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $15,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
Learn more

Seoul Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Jiangmen
Learn more

Jiangmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,794

/mo nomad

Jiangmen

🇨🇳 China

$513

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Seoul and in Jiangmen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,794 in Seoul versus $513 in Jiangmen.

Seoul $1,794
Jiangmen $513

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,863 in Seoul versus $998 in Jiangmen.

Seoul $2,863
Jiangmen $998

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,931 in Seoul versus $1,483 in Jiangmen.

Seoul $3,931
Jiangmen $1,483

Living in Seoul is roughly 249% more expensive than in Jiangmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Seoul is 33% above, Jiangmen is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.80 ₩11.7K

$3.29 ¥21.97

167.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.4 ₩90.9K

$30.07 ¥201

127.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₩10.0K

$5.31 ¥35.49

42.00%

Cappuccino

$4.23 ₩5,624

$2.30 ¥15.38

83.91%

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

$1.63 ₩2,167

$0.43 ¥2.87

279.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 ₩985

$0.31 ¥2.08

138.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.64 ₩4,843

$0.91 ¥6.09

300.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.15 ₩8,175

$1.46 ¥9.79

321.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.01 ₩2,679

$1.60 ¥10.71

25.62%

White Bread (500g)

$3.13 ₩4,164

$1.63 ¥10.89

92.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.32 ₩5,744

$1.07 ¥7.12

303.74%

Eggs

$3.61 ₩4,794

$1.77 ¥11.86

103.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.83 ₩23.7K

$21.48 ¥144

-16.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 ₩13.9K

$2.28 ¥15.27

358.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.80 ₩34.3K

$13.38 ¥89.5

92.83%

Apples (1kg)

$7.66 ₩10.2K

$2.16 ¥14.47

254.63%

Banana (1kg)

$3.38 ₩4,499

$0.89 ¥5.94

279.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.81 ₩7,723

$1.17 ¥7.80

396.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.41 ₩8,520

$1.43 ¥9.57

348.25%

Potato (1kg)

$3.75 ₩4,983

$0.64 ¥4.28

485.94%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 ₩3,375

$0.93 ¥6.25

173.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.84 ₩3,782

$0.29 ¥1.93

879.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 ₩1,472

$0.55 ¥3.65

101.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.35 ₩4,455

$3.06 ¥20.45

9.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.49 ₩24.6K

$12.19 ¥81.5

51.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₩3,185

$0.69 ¥4.63

247.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.37 ₩4,480

$1.76 ¥11.74

91.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.14 ₩1,521

$0.44 ¥2.93

159.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.11 ₩61.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.49 ₩4,643

$1.41 ¥9.41

147.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 ₩840

$0.39 ¥2.60

61.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 ₩11.8K

$7.09 ¥47.43

24.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 ₩2,005

$1.34 ¥8.97

12.69%

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

$29.3K ₩38.9M

$19.8K ¥132.2K

48.02%

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

$28.2K ₩37.5M

$16.5K ¥110.5K

70.67%

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

$218 ₩289.2K

$49.45 ¥331

339.88%

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

$35.15 ₩46.7K

$8.60 ¥57.5

308.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.29 ₩28.3K

$12.27 ¥82.1

73.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.1 ₩77.2K

$30.28 ¥202

91.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.10 ₩21.4K

$4.51 ¥30.19

256.98%

Cinema Ticket

$11.31 ₩15.0K

$6.49 ¥43.40

74.27%

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

$1,948 ₩2.6M

$251 ¥1,676

676.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.9K ₩30.4M

$7,533 ¥50.4K

203.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.0 ₩75.8K

$30.21 ¥202

88.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.39 ₩44.4K

$39.86 ¥266

-16.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.5 ₩95.0K

$72.5 ¥485

-1.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.5 ₩109.7K

$44.20 ¥296

86.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$901 ₩1.2M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$612 ₩813.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,526 ₩3.4M

$444 ¥2,968

469.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,266 ₩1.7M

$273 ¥1,826

363.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$29.4K ₩39.1M

$6,098 ¥40.8K

382.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.9K ₩15.8M

$1,223 ¥8,178

873.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,650 ₩4.9M

$592 ¥3,957

516.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.08

3.35

21.79%

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

Last update for Seoul: October 11, 2026

Last update for Jiangmen: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Seoul

$612 34.1%

Jiangmen

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Seoul

$477 26.6%

Jiangmen

$230 44.9% 51.7% $246

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Seoul

$274 15.3%

Jiangmen

$70 13.7% 74.3% $204

Eating Out

Seoul

$184 10.2%

Jiangmen

$80 15.6% 56.3% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Seoul

$110 6.1%

Jiangmen

$84 16.4% 23.6% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Seoul

$81 4.5%

Jiangmen

$43 8.4% 46.4% $37

Getting Around

Seoul

$57 3.2%

Jiangmen

$5.1 * 1% 91.1% $52

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

Cost Breakdown

Seoul pays 517% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $68.0 in Seoul vs $30.00 in Jiangmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $477 vs $230 per month, with Jiangmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Seoul

🇨🇳 Jiangmen

🕒 Local time

18:33 6:33 PM

17:33 5:33 PM

1 h behind Seoul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,509,458 Capital

4,448,871

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to KRW – South Korean Won Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to KRW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Seoul Jiangmen 2,130 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Seoul
Jiangmen

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

Seoul vs Jiangmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Seoul and Jiangmen differ by about 249% in total monthly costs ($1,794 vs $513 including rent). Jiangmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 517% higher in Seoul, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $1,948 in Seoul versus $251 in Jiangmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Jiangmen – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $68.0 in Seoul. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $513 in Jiangmen versus $1,794 in Seoul, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Jiangmen but tight or insufficient in Seoul. The gap between the two cities makes Jiangmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Seoul and Jiangmen 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 Jiangmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 249% less than in Seoul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.