Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ilsan and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Ilsan: $1,451 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

69

Cost of Living Index in Ilsan
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Ilsan Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Ilsan

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,451

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ilsan and in Mexico City

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Ilsan and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,451 in Ilsan versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Ilsan $1,451
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,327 in Ilsan versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Ilsan $2,327
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,204 in Ilsan versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Ilsan $3,204
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Ilsan costs roughly 10% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ilsan 7% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.71 ₩10.3K

$10.62 MX$198

-27.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.1 ₩89.9K

$48.35 MX$901

38.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.66 ₩10.3K

$10.35 MX$193

-25.99%

Cappuccino

$4.02 ₩5,386

$3.69 MX$68.7

8.94%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 ₩2,191

$1.67 MX$31.05

-2.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.79 ₩1,054

$1.27 MX$23.58

-37.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.73 ₩5,005

$3.19 MX$59.5

16.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.12 ₩8,202

$5.31 MX$98.9

15.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 ₩2,849

$1.72 MX$32.13

23.84%

White Bread (500g)

$3.03 ₩4,057

$3.04 MX$56.6

-0.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 ₩3,014

$1.94 MX$36.17

15.98%

Eggs

$3.38 ₩4,535

$2.89 MX$53.8

16.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.05 ₩21.5K

$10.97 MX$204

46.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.80 ₩10.5K

$9.25 MX$172

-15.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.37 ₩15.2K

$15.13 MX$282

-24.85%

Apples (1kg)

$7.74 ₩10.4K

$3.05 MX$56.8

153.77%

Banana (1kg)

$3.31 ₩4,440

$1.94 MX$36.17

70.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.66 ₩7,581

$2.03 MX$37.73

178.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.25 ₩8,382

$2.31 MX$43.12

170.56%

Potato (1kg)

$3.47 ₩4,647

$2.04 MX$37.91

70.10%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 ₩3,241

$1.80 MX$33.53

34.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.04 ₩2,737

$1.48 MX$27.56

37.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 ₩1,471

$1.27 MX$23.62

-13.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.33 ₩4,465

$5.30 MX$98.8

-37.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.82 ₩25.2K

$16.10 MX$300

16.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 ₩2,975

$1.98 MX$36.95

12.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 ₩4,342

$4.25 MX$79.2

-23.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.10 ₩1,476

$0.31 MX$5.68

254.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.46 ₩66.3K

$19.73 MX$368

150.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.62 ₩4,848

$1.84 MX$34.23

96.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.67 ₩893

$0.53 MX$9.94

26.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.11 ₩12.2K

$5.30 MX$98.7

71.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 ₩1,806

$1.51 MX$28.14

-10.60%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$30.1K ₩40.3M

$21.8K MX$405.3K

38.34%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$28.2K ₩37.8M

$24.0K MX$446.9K

17.63%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$213 ₩286.0K

$63.0 MX$1,173

238.74%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$35.99 ₩48.2K

$27.39 MX$510

31.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.31 ₩28.6K

$35.67 MX$664

-40.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.1 ₩73.8K

$58.9 MX$1,098

-6.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.03 ₩18.8K

$23.64 MX$441

-40.65%

Cinema Ticket

$11.39 ₩15.3K

$6.40 MX$119

77.97%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$380 ₩509.2K

$432 MX$8,041

-11.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.7K ₩23.8M

$11.4K MX$212.8K

55.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.3 ₩79.4K

$68.2 MX$1,271

-13.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.99 ₩44.2K

$53.1 MX$990

-37.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.0 ₩95.1K

$108 MX$2,008

-34.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.8 ₩112.3K

$117 MX$2,185

-28.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$493 ₩660.5K

$1,113 MX$20.7K

-55.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 ₩479.1K

$710 MX$13.2K

-49.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,157 ₩1.6M

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-55.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$758 ₩1.0M

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-46.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,170 ₩9.6M

$3,631 MX$67.6K

97.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,436 ₩7.3M

$2,135 MX$39.8K

154.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,539 ₩4.7M

$946 MX$17.6K

274.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.1

11.35

-63.88%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Ilsan: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Ilsan

$400 27.5%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 20% $80

Accommodation & Living

Ilsan

$357 24.6%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 98.8% $353

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ilsan

$271 18.7%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 53.4% $145

Eating Out

Ilsan

$173 12%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 14.5% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Ilsan

$111 7.7%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 40.2% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Ilsan

$78 5.4%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 7.9% $6.1

Getting Around

Ilsan

$61 4.2%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 58.1% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $493 in Ilsan and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ilsan pays about 3.7 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Ilsan vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $400 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Ilsan

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

14:52 2:52 PM

23:52 11:52 PM

15 h behind Ilsan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,061,752

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.7 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to KRW – South Korean Won Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1,340 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 1,492 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.7 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to KRW in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ilsan Mexico City 12,060 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Ilsan
Mexico City

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Ilsan vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ilsan is about 10% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Ilsan is about 3.7 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $493 in Ilsan versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,451 per month in Ilsan versus $1,608 in Mexico City – Ilsan is about 10% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 60% less than in Ilsan. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.