Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Pohang

For one person, living is cheaper in Pohang: $1,365 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 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
66

Cost of Living Index in Pohang
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Pohang Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Pohang

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,365

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Pohang actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,365 in Pohang.

Mexico City $1,608
Pohang $1,365

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $2,214 in Pohang.

Mexico City $2,549
Pohang $2,214

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $3,063 in Pohang.

Mexico City $3,490
Pohang $3,063

Living in Mexico City is roughly 18% more expensive than in Pohang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$6.08 ₩8,121

74.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$22.35 ₩29.8K

116.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$6.45 ₩8,615

60.47%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$3.09 ₩4,120

19.42%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$1.47 ₩1,969

13.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.50 ₩667

154.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$3.67 ₩4,903

-13.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$3.82 ₩5,097

39.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$2.30 ₩3,065

-25.22%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$3.17 ₩4,235

-4.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$1.53 ₩2,044

26.80%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$2.76 ₩3,679

4.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$11.07 ₩14.8K

-0.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$10.61 ₩14.2K

-12.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$24.68 ₩33.0K

-38.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$2.20 ₩2,944

38.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$3.60 ₩4,808

-46.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$7.98 ₩10.7K

-74.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$3.11 ₩4,147

-25.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$5.13 ₩6,842

-60.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$3.43 ₩4,577

-47.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$2.22 ₩2,964

-33.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$1.33 ₩1,777

-4.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$3.43 ₩4,579

54.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$6.90 ₩9,218

133.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$1.52 ₩2,034

30.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$3.44 ₩4,597

23.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$1.18 ₩1,581

-73.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$3.42 ₩4,565

-46.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$0.63 ₩839

-15.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$16.86 ₩22.5K

-68.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$1.30 ₩1,734

16.15%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$29.5K ₩39.4M

-26.21%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$29.4K ₩39.3M

-18.51%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$101 ₩135.1K

-37.75%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$37.06 ₩49.5K

-26.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$27.13 ₩36.2K

31.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$29.93 ₩40.0K

96.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$14.02 ₩18.7K

68.62%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$11.14 ₩14.9K

-42.55%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$635 ₩848.0K

-32.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$22.0K ₩29.3M

-47.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$104 ₩139.4K

-34.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$66.8 ₩89.2K

-20.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$92.8 ₩123.9K

16.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$113 ₩150.4K

4.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$484 ₩646.7K

129.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$440 ₩587.2K

61.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$1,256 ₩1.7M

105.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$1,032 ₩1.4M

36.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$8,173 ₩10.9M

-55.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$5,538 ₩7.4M

-61.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$2,203 ₩2.9M

-57.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.22

168.96%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Pohang: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Pohang

$440 32.2% 38.1% $271

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Pohang

$388 28.4% 21.3% $68

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Pohang

$139 10.2% 30% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Pohang

$170 12.4% 8.8% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Pohang

$165 12.1% 31.2% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Pohang

$52 3.8% 27.2% $20

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Pohang

$11 * 0.8% 55.6% $14

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $484 in Pohang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pohang pays about 2.3 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 $22 in Pohang. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $388, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇰🇷 Pohang

🕒 Local time

02:04 2:04 AM

17:04 5:04 PM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

514,869

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.49 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.71 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1,335 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.49 USD). 1 EUR = 1,490 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.71 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Pohang 12,020 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Pohang

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 Pohang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,365 in Pohang, so Pohang is about 15% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 57% 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 $484 in Pohang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $635 in Pohang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Pohang – a meal for two runs $22 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Pohang is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.