Indoor air quality can be affected by indoor sources, ventilation, decay, and outdoor levels. Various indoor and out-door combustion sources produce nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$), which is a by-product of high temperature fossil fuel combustion. Especially, the presence of gas ranges and smoking have been identified as major factors contributing to indoor $NO_2$ exposures. In this study, we compared an industrial complex area with a country area by assessing the personal exposure to $NO_2$with measurements of indoor and outdoor $NO_2$ levels in residences and by house characteristics and questionnaire. Personal exposure concentrations were significantly correlated with indoor $NO_2$ concentrations of residences in both the industrial complex area and the country area with correlation coefficients of 0.561 and 0.664, respectively, compared to outdoors. Multiple regression analysis, indicated that indoor $NO_2$ levels in residences were only affected by outdoor levels (p = 0.000) in spite of higher indoor sources such as smoking. Therefore, it is suggested that outdoor air quality as well as indoor air quality should be considered in the reduction of the personal exposure to air pollutants.