Japan vs South Korea

Compare PPP-adjusted average wages, long-term wage trends and consumer price levels using consistent OECD data.

Country A

Country B

Wage data: 2025 · Price data: 2024

Comparison Overview

Japan

Average wage (2025)

$50,183

1-year change: −0.5%
5-year change: −2.2%

Overall price level (2024)

59.2 (United States = 100)

South Korea's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 22.1% higher than Japan's.

South Korea

Average wage (2025)

$61,259

1-year change: +0.6%
5-year change: +3.1%

Overall price level (2024)

60.1 (United States = 100)

South Korea has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 22.1% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years South Korea shows the stronger change (+3.1% against −2.2%). Their overall price levels sit close together at 59.2 and 60.1 against the United States benchmark of 100, so consumer prices are broadly comparable between them. Both wage figures are for 2025 and the price levels for 2024, so the two economies are read at the same point in each series.

Wage History

See how PPP-adjusted average annual wages have changed in both economies.

PPP-adjusted annual wage (USD)

JapanSouth Korea

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Japan	South Korea
Latest wage	$50,183	$61,259
Latest year	2025	2025
1-year change	−0.5%	+0.6%
5-year change	−2.2%	+3.1%
10-year change	−1.6%	+18.3%
Historical peak	$52,662	$61,259
Peak year	1997	2025
Change from peak	−4.7%	0.0%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

South Korea records the higher figure: $61,259 against $50,183, a gap of 22.1%. The gap is clear enough to rank the two, though it says nothing about how the figure is distributed within either economy.

Both figures are for 2025, so this is a like-for-like comparison of the same year rather than of two different latest points.

Both use the same basis: PPP-adjusted US dollars at constant prices. That conversion strips out the price level differences between the two economies, which is what makes the two figures comparable at all — neither is a local-currency salary, and neither is what an employer in that country would write on a contract.

Recent Momentum

South Korea had the stronger latest year (+0.6% against −0.5%).

Japan was the one that fell, while South Korea rose, so the latest year moved them apart rather than together.

Widening the window to five years, the stronger of the two is South Korea: +3.1% against −2.2%.

For both economies the latest year points the same way as the five-year change, so the recent movement reads as continuation rather than a turn.

Long-Term Direction

The ten-year direction splits between them: −1.6% for Japan against +18.3% for South Korea. One long-term series is rising while the other is not, which is a more durable difference than any single year's movement.

South Korea is at its historical peak in the latest year, while Japan sits 4.7% from its high of 1997. One has recovered its previous ground and the other has not.

The gap has been widening rather than closing over the five-year window: the economy that already reported the higher wage is also the one growing faster.

Consumer Price Level Comparison

Compare eight consumer price categories with the United States benchmark of 100.

United States = 100
Missing values are shown as -

All differences are shown in index points. United States = 100.

Category	Japan	South Korea	Difference (JPN − KOR)	JPN vs U.S.	KOR vs U.S.
Overall	59.2	60.1	−0.9	−40.8	−39.9
Food	112	136	−24.0	+12.0	+36.0
Clothing	71	103	−32.0	−29.0	+3.0
Housing	48.5	38	+10.5	−51.5	−62.0
Health	33.9	37	−3.1	−66.1	−63.0
Transport	84.4	73.8	+10.6	−15.6	−26.2
Recreation	78.4	71.6	+6.8	−21.6	−28.4
Restaurants & Accommodation	72.6	82.4	−9.8	−27.4	−17.6

Overall
Japan59.2
South Korea60.1
Difference−0.9
JPN vs U.S.−40.8
KOR vs U.S.−39.9
Food
Japan112
South Korea136
Difference−24.0
JPN vs U.S.+12.0
KOR vs U.S.+36.0
Clothing
Japan71
South Korea103
Difference−32.0
JPN vs U.S.−29.0
KOR vs U.S.+3.0
Housing
Japan48.5
South Korea38
Difference+10.5
JPN vs U.S.−51.5
KOR vs U.S.−62.0
Health
Japan33.9
South Korea37
Difference−3.1
JPN vs U.S.−66.1
KOR vs U.S.−63.0
Transport
Japan84.4
South Korea73.8
Difference+10.6
JPN vs U.S.−15.6
KOR vs U.S.−26.2
Recreation
Japan78.4
South Korea71.6
Difference+6.8
JPN vs U.S.−21.6
KOR vs U.S.−28.4
Restaurants & Accommodation
Japan72.6
South Korea82.4
Difference−9.8
JPN vs U.S.−27.4
KOR vs U.S.−17.6

Japan and South Korea in Detail

Current Wage Position

Japan reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $50,183 for 2025, and South Korea $61,259 for 2025. That puts South Korea ahead by 22.1%.

Both figures are PPP-adjusted: converted using purchasing power parities rather than market exchange rates, and expressed in constant prices so different years stay comparable.

This matters for reading the gap. A market-rate conversion would move with currency markets and would not reflect what the money buys in each economy. These figures are built to compare purchasing power, not to tell you what a currency transfer would be worth.

Recent Wage Momentum

In the latest reported year Japan changed by −0.5% and South Korea by +0.6%. A single year is a narrow window, so it is worth reading alongside the five-year figure rather than on its own.

Over five years, South Korea records the larger change at +3.1%, against −2.2% for Japan. That is the difference in how far each series has travelled over the medium term, in real PPP-adjusted terms.

Short-term and five-year movement point the same way for both economies, so neither is currently being pulled against its own medium-term direction.

Long-Term Wage Direction

Across ten years the changes are −1.6% for Japan and +18.3% for South Korea. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Japan reached its highest recorded value of $52,662 in 1997, and the latest figure sits 4.7% from that high.

South Korea peaked at $61,259 in 2025, leaving its latest value 0.0% away from that point.

Over the long run the two point in opposite directions. That is the clearest structural difference between these series, and it matters more for reading them than any single year's change does.

Consumer Price Profile

Against the United States benchmark of 100, overall consumption sits at 59.2 in Japan and 60.1 in South Korea — effectively level.

The categories that separate them most are Clothing (−32.0) and Food (−24.0).

Health is where they are nearest, at 33.9 and 37.

Across the categories with data, South Korea is the more expensive of the two more often than not.

How to Interpret the Comparison

These are average wages, not median wages, and not take-home pay. An average is pulled by the whole distribution, so it does not describe a typical individual, occupation, city or employer in either economy.

The wage figures are already PPP-adjusted and in constant prices. They are not local-currency salaries and not amounts convertible at a market exchange rate.

The price levels are relative indices against United States = 100. They describe how price levels compare, not what a household actually spends.

Wages and price levels should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better. This page is for understanding how the two wage trends and price structures differ — nothing further follows from it.