Data Scientist Salary: Boston vs Seoul
Annual median salary comparison (2024). All figures include local currency, USD equivalent, and PPP-adjusted purchasing power.
🇺🇸 Boston
United States
$178K USD
$178K USD
$178K PPP
Higher Purchasing Power
VS
USD Difference
+218%
Boston vs Seoul
🇰🇷 Seoul
South Korea
₩74.8M KRW
$56K USD
$90K PPP
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Boston | Seoul | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Currency Salary | $178K USD | ₩74.8M KRW | — |
| USD Equivalent | $178K | $56K | +218% |
| PPP-Adjusted SalaryWINNER | $178K 🏆 | $90K | +97% |
| 25th Percentile | $143K USD | ₩59.8M KRW | — |
| Median | $178K USD | ₩74.8M KRW | — |
| 75th Percentile | $223K USD | ₩93.4M KRW | — |
| Annual Mean | $193K USD | ₩80.7M KRW | — |
What Does This Mean?
Boston offers a Data Scientist salary of $178K USD, while Seoul offers $56K USD — a difference of +218% in raw terms.
After adjusting for purchasing power parity (PPP), Boston's salary is worth $178K in US purchasing power terms, versus $90K for Seoul. This means Boston offers better real purchasing power for this role.
PPP adjustment accounts for differences in local prices — for example, housing costs 3x more in San Francisco than in Warsaw, so a San Francisco salary needs to be much higher to provide an equivalent standard of living.