Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Mexico Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 33.5% more expensive than Mexico overall.

Restaurants: pay 20.6% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 77.6% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 1.3% more in South Korea
Housing: pay 26.0% more in South Korea
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.0% more in South Korea
Clothing: pay 11.1% more in South Korea

The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, and transportation in South Korea are more expensive than in Mexico. Notably, childcare and groceries are significantly more expensive in South Korea.

South Korea vs. Mexico Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 20.6% less for restaurants

	Mexico	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.13 MX$185.42	$6.72 ₩9,865	-33.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.37 MX$153.09	$5.50 ₩8,068	-34.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.38 MX$25.18	$1.47 ₩2,152	+6.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.04 MX$19.08	$0.82 ₩1,211	-20.9%
Average			-20.6%

Mexico vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 77.6% more for groceries

	Mexico	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$2.62 MX$47.88	$2.87 ₩4,217	+9.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.26 MX$77.96	$5.63 ₩8,255	+32.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.95 MX$108.83	$7.67 ₩11,264	+29.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.45 MX$44.82	$2.84 ₩4,162	+15.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.68 MX$67.25	$3.34 ₩4,896	-9.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.27 MX$23.18	$3.24 ₩4,748	+155.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.67 MX$12.31	$1.39 ₩2,037	+106.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 MX$16.95	$2.80 ₩4,104	+201.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 MX$15.10	$2.40 ₩3,528	+191.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.90 MX$16.43	$1.78 ₩2,616	+98.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.98 MX$17.91	$1.20 ₩1,767	+23.0%
Average			+77.6%

Mexico vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.3% more for transportation

	Mexico	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.00 MX$91.52	$4.40 ₩6,458	-12.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$28.70 MX$525.08	$47.17 ₩69,233	+64.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,996.60 MX$439,017.76	$26,440.41 ₩38,804,738	+10.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.51 MX$356.97	$8.33 ₩12,228	-57.3%
Average			+1.3%

Mexico vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.0% more for housing

	Mexico	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.35 MX$537.00	$21.68 ₩31,824	-26.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$587.67 MX$10,751.35	$473.91 ₩695,518	-19.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$443.50 MX$8,113.74	$357.19 ₩524,216	-19.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$49.22 MX$900.56	$132.53 ₩194,509	+169.2%
Average			+26.0%

Mexico vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Mexico	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$236.91 MX$4,334.27	$378.52 ₩555,533	+59.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,569.03 MX$101,885.42	$15,055.40 ₩22,095,763	+170.3%
Average			+115.1%

Mexico vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 24.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Mexico	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.44 MX$44.57	$3.12 ₩4,576	+28.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.34 MX$61.09	$3.57 ₩5,236	+6.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.42 MX$80.80	$3.18 ₩4,673	-27.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.27 MX$718.39	$49.86 ₩73,176	+27.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.43 MX$99.41	$10.12 ₩14,850	+86.2%
Average			+24.0%

Mexico vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.1% more for clothing

	Mexico	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.04 MX$970.34	$66.46 ₩97,538	+25.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.66 MX$743.79	$50.68 ₩74,384	+24.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$95.33 MX$1,744.14	$72.74 ₩106,755	-23.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$87.49 MX$1,600.60	$103.23 ₩151,509	+18.0%
Average			+11.1%

Mexico vs. South Korea - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Mexico vs.

Iceland

Mexico vs.

United States

Mexico vs.

Egypt

Mexico vs.

Thailand

Mexico vs.

Peru

Mexico vs.

Ireland

Mexico vs.

France

Mexico vs.

Germany

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Mexico City vs. Seoul

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Mexico

Add prices for South Korea

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about South Korea or Mexico. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.