Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Gwangju

For one person, living is cheaper in Gwangju: $1,341 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
64

Cost of Living Index in Gwangju
Learn more

Gwangju Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Gwangju

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,341

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,341 in Gwangju.

Mexico City $1,608
Gwangju $1,341

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $2,048 in Gwangju.

Mexico City $2,549
Gwangju $2,048

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,756 in Gwangju.

Mexico City $3,490
Gwangju $2,756

Living in Mexico City is roughly 20% more expensive than in Gwangju, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Gwangju is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$6.02 ₩8,080

76.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$34.32 ₩46.1K

40.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$5.82 ₩7,817

77.84%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$3.17 ₩4,258

16.40%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$1.59 ₩2,141

5.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.63 ₩848

101.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$2.38 ₩3,197

34.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$4.59 ₩6,170

15.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.72 ₩2,312

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$2.49 ₩3,348

22.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$2.29 ₩3,075

-15.28%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.64 ₩3,541

9.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$8.80 ₩11.8K

24.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$7.82 ₩10.5K

18.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$11.15 ₩15.0K

35.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$5.16 ₩6,934

-40.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$3.02 ₩4,050

-35.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$3.72 ₩5,000

-45.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$3.09 ₩4,144

-25.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$3.60 ₩4,835

-43.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.89 ₩2,541

-4.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$2.11 ₩2,838

-29.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$1.28 ₩1,725

-0.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$3.36 ₩4,515

57.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$11.19 ₩15.0K

43.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$1.51 ₩2,031

31.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$2.31 ₩3,100

83.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$1.01 ₩1,351

-69.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$68.8 ₩92.4K

-71.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$3.06 ₩4,102

-39.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.64 ₩854

-17.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$7.84 ₩10.5K

-32.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$1.20 ₩1,617

25.83%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$28.1K ₩37.7M

-22.49%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$35.2K ₩47.3M

-31.90%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$212 ₩284.5K

-70.27%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$44.13 ₩59.3K

-37.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$20.64 ₩27.7K

72.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$55.4 ₩74.3K

6.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$14.36 ₩19.3K

64.62%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$11.20 ₩15.0K

-42.86%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$299 ₩401.2K

44.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$17.5K ₩23.5M

-34.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$32.50 ₩43.6K

109.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$26.36 ₩35.4K

101.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$63.9 ₩85.8K

68.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$89.9 ₩120.7K

30.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$508 ₩682.6K

119.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$370 ₩496.4K

92.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$1,163 ₩1.6M

122.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$744 ₩998.6K

89.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$7,980 ₩10.7M

-54.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$6,343 ₩8.5M

-66.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$2,834 ₩3.8M

-66.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.6

215.28%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Gwangju: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Gwangju

$370 27.6% 48% $341

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Gwangju

$308 23% 3.6% $11

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Gwangju

$134 10% 32.7% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Gwangju

$96 7.1% 38.6% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Gwangju

$277 20.6% 120% $151

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Gwangju

$78 5.8% 8.4% $6

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Gwangju

$79 5.9% 211% $54

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $508 in Gwangju. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gwangju pays about 3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $34 in Gwangju for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $308 per month, with Gwangju cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇰🇷 Gwangju

🕒 Local time

13:03 1:03 PM

04:03 4:03 AM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,467,996

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,343 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Gwangju 12,250 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Gwangju

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

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

Gwangju is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and groceries. The 20% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 67% lower in Mexico City. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $508 in Gwangju. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Gwangju – a meal for two runs $34 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $1,341 in Gwangju – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,341 in Gwangju versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Gwangju but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Gwangju the clear choice for anyone on this 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.