Cost of Living inSuwon, South Korea
Image credit: YKJJ
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). South Korea: $55,071/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 38% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
Happiness
6.1 / 10
#51 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for South Korea; Suwon-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Excellent public schools
Expat access
Legally possible, hard in practice
hardInstruction
Korean
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
South Koreaβs public system is academically elite, especially in math and science, with very strong national outcomes.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident families can sometimes access local schools, but the Korean-language classroom and exam culture make it a difficult fit for most expat families.
β οΈ Homeschooling
Legally possible but culturally unusualSouth Korea requires school attendance but allows alternatives including homeschooling with education office approval. In practice, approval is difficult and homeschooling is culturally unusual. Some families use registered alternative schools instead.
Homeschool legality in South Korea β check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Childcare & Domestic Help
Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in South Korea.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$1,150-$2,250
Estimate-only country fallback
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$2,200-$4,250
Estimate-only country fallback
Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Suwon is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in South Korea.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
StrongHigh national coverage, deep nursing capacity, and solid hospital-bed capacity support this rating.
Public care
GoodBroad public coverage and country-level outcomes are comparatively strong support this rating.
Private care
MixedA meaningful tracked hospital and clinic network help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
88/100
2023
Physicians
2.61/1k
2022
Hospital beds
12.8/1k
2022
Out of pocket
34%
2024
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
83.6 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
4/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
1.2/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedThere is visible specialty depth and country-level outcomes are comparatively strong help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in South Korea yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI Β· Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | β |
| Agriculture & Farming | β |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | β |
| Construction | β |
| Education | β |
| Finance & Insurance | β |
| Healthcare & Social Work | β |
| Hospitality & Food Service | β |
| Information & Technology | β |
| Manufacturing | β |
| Mining & Quarrying | β |
| Other Services | β |
| Professional & Scientific Services | β |
| Real Estate | β |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | β |
| Transport & Logistics | β |
| Utilities | β |
2022 annual wages in Suwon, South Korea Β· Source: KOSTAT (region-adjusted)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can stay up to 90 days without a visa.
Long-Term Visa Programs
digital nomad
Workcation Visa (K-ETA Extension)
Migrated from legacy digital_nomad_visas row 35
working holiday
Working Holiday Visa (H-1)Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page β no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Suwon compared with the US?
Your money goes about 2.0x further in Suwon than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for South Korea here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Suwon cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Suwon is cheaper overall than New York City β overall living costs are about 38% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Suwon. We are using the country-level cost index for South Korea here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Suwon compare with New York City?
Rent in Suwon is about 84% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for South Korea here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Suwon?
Groceries in Suwon are about 23% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 64% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for South Korea here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Suwon
Suwon is the capital of Gyeonggi province in South Korea and home to about 1.23 million people roughly 30 kilometers south of central Seoul. Its economy is anchored by Samsung Electronics' headquarters and the surrounding semiconductor and display research complex in Yeongtong-gu, alongside the UNESCO-listed Hwaseong Fortress. The Seoul Metro Line 1 and the Suin-Bundang line keep it inside the practical Seoul commuter shed. Climate is humid continental with cold winters and hot wet summers. Relocators should weigh that Suwon offers Samsung-tied employment at scale with cheaper housing than southern Seoul, but it remains a Korean-language environment outside the Samsung campus, and the daily Seoul commute is real even with the new GTX express rail lines.
See the full breakdown β free
No password needed. Takes ~30 seconds.