Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ulsan and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Ulsan: $1,339 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

65

Cost of Living Index in Ulsan
Learn more

Ulsan Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Ulsan

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,339

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ulsan 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 Ulsan and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,339 in Ulsan versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Ulsan $1,339
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,185 in Ulsan versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Ulsan $2,185
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,030 in Ulsan versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Ulsan $3,030
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Ulsan costs roughly 15% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ulsan is 1% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.62 ₩10.1K

$10.75 MX$199

-29.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.63 ₩59.3K

$50.3 MX$929

-11.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.93 ₩7,882

$11.10 MX$205

-46.58%

Cappuccino

$3.32 ₩4,410

$3.68 MX$68.1

-9.78%

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

$0.88 ₩1,175

$1.65 MX$30.42

-46.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ₩619

$1.30 MX$24.08

-63.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 ₩4,006

$3.32 MX$61.3

-9.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 ₩5,826

$5.54 MX$102

-20.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.36 ₩3,139

$1.77 MX$32.68

33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$3.25 ₩4,315

$3.05 MX$56.4

6.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.16 ₩4,207

$2.01 MX$37.20

57.21%

Eggs

$2.73 ₩3,634

$2.77 MX$51.1

-1.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.88 ₩14.5K

$11.91 MX$220

-8.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 ₩14.1K

$9.33 MX$172

13.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.54 ₩32.6K

$15.02 MX$278

63.38%

Apples (1kg)

$11.39 ₩15.1K

$3.08 MX$56.8

269.81%

Banana (1kg)

$3.74 ₩4,975

$1.95 MX$35.97

91.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$8.09 ₩10.8K

$2.03 MX$37.54

298.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.05 ₩8,048

$2.21 MX$40.92

173.76%

Potato (1kg)

$6.01 ₩7,992

$2.02 MX$37.41

197.52%

Onion (1kg)

$3.26 ₩4,328

$1.82 MX$33.67

79.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.89 ₩3,844

$1.52 MX$28.07

90.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 ₩1,707

$1.28 MX$23.65

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.12 ₩4,154

$5.27 MX$97.4

-40.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.52 ₩24.6K

$16.12 MX$298

14.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.45 ₩3,264

$1.95 MX$36.05

25.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.44 ₩4,577

$4.25 MX$78.6

-19.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.14 ₩1,511

$0.31 MX$5.82

267.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.89 ₩3,849

$2.00 MX$36.93

44.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₩1,040

$0.53 MX$9.86

47.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.96 ₩22.6K

$5.62 MX$104

201.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ₩1,899

$1.52 MX$28.07

-5.92%

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

$30.0K ₩39.9M

$21.0K MX$388.7K

42.71%

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

$34.1K ₩45.4M

$25.2K MX$465.3K

35.57%

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

$197 ₩261.8K

$62.5 MX$1,155

215.07%

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

$37.06 ₩49.3K

$28.77 MX$532

28.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.21 ₩36.2K

$34.45 MX$637

-21.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.4 ₩80.3K

$57.1 MX$1,055

5.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$10.30 ₩13.7K

$6.67 MX$123

54.42%

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

$263 ₩349.3K

$431 MX$7,964

-39.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.0K ₩29.3M

$11.7K MX$216.9K

87.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.5 ₩68.5K

$70.8 MX$1,308

-27.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.56 ₩60.6K

$51.8 MX$958

-12.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.0 ₩81.2K

$109 MX$2,011

-43.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.0 ₩99.7K

$112 MX$2,076

-33.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$373 ₩495.3K

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-64.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$244 ₩324.7K

$665 MX$12.3K

-63.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$761 ₩1.0M

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-67.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$648 ₩861.8K

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-47.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,483 ₩6.0M

$3,554 MX$65.7K

26.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,479 ₩3.3M

$1,977 MX$36.5K

25.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,331 ₩3.1M

$975 MX$18.0K

139.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.22

11.3

-62.65%

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

Last update for Ulsan: October 11, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ulsan

$489 36.5%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 34% $166

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ulsan

$261 19.5%

Mexico City

$126 8% 51.9% $135

Accommodation & Living

Ulsan

$244 18.2%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 172% $421

Eating Out

Ulsan

$148 11%

Mexico City

$203 13% 37.3% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Ulsan

$105 7.8%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 47.5% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Ulsan

$81 6.1%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 13.1% $11

Getting Around

Ulsan

$11 * 0.9%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 127% $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 $373 in Ulsan and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ulsan pays 139% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $45.00 in Ulsan vs $50.0 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $489 vs $323, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Ulsan

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

05:30 5:30 AM

14:30 2:30 PM

15 h behind Ulsan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,129,827

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to KRW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ulsan Mexico City 12,050 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Ulsan
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

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

Ulsan and Mexico City differ by about 17% in total monthly costs ($1,339 vs $1,567 including rent). Ulsan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 139% higher in Ulsan, 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: $373 in Ulsan versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $263 in Ulsan versus $431 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ulsan – a meal for two runs $45.00 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,339 in Ulsan versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ulsan but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Ulsan 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.

Safety-wise, Ulsan and Mexico City are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Ulsan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.