Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Mexico City Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 18.9% more expensive than Mexico City.

Restaurants: pay 32.0% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 64.0% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 61.9% more in South Korea
Housing: pay 30.3% more in South Korea
Childcare: pay 13.1% more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.6% more in South Korea
Clothing: pay 5.9% less in South Korea

The cost of groceries, transportation, housing, childcare, and entertainment and sports in South Korea are more expensive than in Mexico City. Expenses including restaurants and clothing are lower in South Korea.

South Korea vs. Mexico City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Mexico City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 32.0% less for restaurants

	Mexico City	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.86 MX$197.31	$6.72 ₩9,907	-38.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.82 MX$160.32	$5.50 ₩8,102	-37.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 MX$31.47	$1.47 ₩2,161	-15.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 MX$23.70	$0.82 ₩1,216	-36.7%
Average			-32.0%

Mexico City vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 64.0% more for groceries

	Mexico City	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$2.63 MX$47.71	$2.87 ₩4,235	+9.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.04 MX$91.60	$5.63 ₩8,290	+11.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.54 MX$118.83	$7.67 ₩11,311	+17.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.61 MX$47.38	$2.84 ₩4,180	+8.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.80 MX$69.15	$3.34 ₩4,917	-12.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.37 MX$24.88	$3.24 ₩4,768	+136.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 MX$14.54	$1.39 ₩2,045	+73.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.97 MX$17.69	$2.80 ₩4,121	+187.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 MX$16.47	$2.40 ₩3,543	+165.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 MX$17.42	$1.78 ₩2,627	+85.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.99 MX$18.07	$1.20 ₩1,775	+21.1%
Average			+64.0%

Mexico City vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 61.9% more for transportation

	Mexico City	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.14 MX$93.37	$4.40 ₩6,485	-14.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$19.54 MX$355.17	$47.17 ₩69,524	+141.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,030.45 MX$364,045.47	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	+32.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.42 MX$80.42	$8.33 ₩12,280	+88.3%
Average			+61.9%

Mexico City vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.3% more for housing

	Mexico City	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.93 MX$562.20	$21.68 ₩31,958	-29.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,079.15 MX$19,613.07	$473.91 ₩698,442	-56.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$677.25 MX$12,308.67	$357.19 ₩526,420	-47.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$37.36 MX$679.03	$132.53 ₩195,326	+254.7%
Average			+30.3%

Mexico City vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 13.1% more for childcare

	Mexico City	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$430.39 MX$7,822.12	$378.52 ₩557,869	-12.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,897.53 MX$198,058.25	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	+38.2%
Average			+13.1%

Mexico City vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Mexico City	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.26 MX$59.19	$3.12 ₩4,595	-4.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.81 MX$69.31	$3.57 ₩5,258	-6.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.34 MX$78.93	$3.18 ₩4,693	-26.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.44 MX$1,062.21	$49.86 ₩73,483	-14.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.51 MX$118.39	$10.12 ₩14,912	+55.3%
Average			+0.6%

Mexico City vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.9% less for clothing

	Mexico City	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.95 MX$1,107.65	$66.46 ₩97,948	+9.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$48.08 MX$873.77	$50.68 ₩74,697	+5.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.72 MX$1,921.42	$72.74 ₩107,204	-31.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.91 MX$2,015.75	$103.23 ₩152,146	-6.9%
Average			-5.9%

Mexico City vs. South Korea - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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See the cost of living in Mexico vs. South Korea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Mexico and South Korea.

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