South Korea
Latest Average Wage
+3.1% · 5 years
$61,259
Country Comparison
South Korea vs Canada
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
South Korea
vs
Canada
$61,2592025
Latest Average Wage
Canada +10.8%
(vs South Korea)
$67,9012025
+3.1%2025
5-Year Wage Change
South Korea +3.4 pts
(vs Canada)
−0.3%2025
+18.3%2025
10-Year Wage Change
South Korea +13.3 pts
(vs Canada)
+5.0%2025
60.12024
Overall Price Level
Canada +25.9 index points
(vs South Korea)
862024
Wages are PPP-adjusted average annual wages; price levels use the United States reference of 100. Years shown are each country's latest reported observation.
How Wages Have Changed
Follow PPP-adjusted average annual wages in constant prices across both economies.
USD PPP, constant prices · missing years shown as gaps, never interpolated
Canada
Latest Average Wage
−0.3% · 5 years
$67,901
Wage Milestones
South Korea
10 Years Ago
$51,769 (2015)
Historical Peak
$61,259 (2025)
Latest Wage
$61,259 (2025)
Canada
10 Years Ago
$64,667 (2015)
Historical Peak
$68,434 (2021)
Latest Wage
$67,901 (2025)
Compare Everyday Price Levels
See how eight consumer price categories compare with the United States reference value of 100.
United States = 100 · Differences shown in index points
South Korea (KOR)Canada (CAN)
Overall
−25.9 index points
100
60.1vs86
Food
+28.0 index points
100
136vs108
Clothing
−15.0 index points
100
103vs118
Housing
−45.1 index points
100
38vs83.1
Health
−25.2 index points
100
37vs62.2
Transport
−29.2 index points
100
73.8vs103
Recreation
−20.4 index points
100
71.6vs92
Restaurants & Accommodation
−15.2 index points
100
82.4vs97.6
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Canada's latest average wage is $67,901 for 2025, about 10.8% higher than South Korea's $61,259 for 2025 — computed straight from the two reported values. That is roughly $6,641 a year on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, South Korea shows the stronger movement at +0.6%, against +0.2% for Canada. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +3.1% against −0.3%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Housing shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 38 for South Korea against 83.1 for Canada. Canada sits on the higher side of that 45.1-point spread; South Korea reads 45.1 index points lower on the US=100 scale. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Clothing: South Korea reads 103 and Canada 118 for 2024, just 15.0 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Restaurants & Accommodation at 15.2 index points apart. Closeness here describes the index readings only, not the baskets behind them.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Canada's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is $67,901 for 2025, moderately higher than South Korea's $61,259 for 2025. In relative terms the gap is 10.8% — calculated from the two reported values — equivalent to about $6,641 a year on the same purchasing-power basis. Both figures are expressed in USD PPP at constant 2025 prices, so they can be set side by side without any further conversion. For scale, neither series has moved by that much within any single reported year, so the gap is structural rather than the product of one unusual observation. Over ten years South Korea recorded +18.3% and Canada +5.0%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction.
Wage Direction
No single shared direction describes this pairing; each side follows its own recent path. South Korea sits at the highest point of its series — $61,259 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +18.3%. Canada stands just below its historical high of $68,434 in 2021, only 0.8% away, with a ten-year change of +5.0%. With the five-year changes at +3.1% for South Korea and −0.3% for Canada, the horizons are clearer when read side by side rather than folded into one trend statement. All changes here are measured in real, PPP-adjusted terms, so they describe purchasing-power movement rather than nominal pay increases.
Price Profile
South Korea's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 60.1, and Canada's reads 86, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Canada reads higher in 7 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Housing: 38 for South Korea against 83.1 for Canada, a gap of 45.1 index points. At the other end, Clothing brings the two closest — 103 versus 118, a gap of just 15.0 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, South Korea reads above 100 in 2 of its 8 reported categories, and Canada in 3 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
