Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alexandria and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Alexandria: $1,044 a month against $1,607 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Monterrey outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

50

Cost of Living Index in Alexandria
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Alexandria Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Alexandria

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,044

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,607

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Alexandria and in Monterrey

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,044 in Alexandria versus $1,607 in Monterrey.

Alexandria $1,044
Monterrey $1,607

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,704 in Alexandria versus $2,512 in Monterrey.

Alexandria $1,704
Monterrey $2,512

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,364 in Alexandria versus $3,417 in Monterrey.

Alexandria $2,364
Monterrey $3,417

Living in Alexandria costs roughly 35% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Alexandria is 22% below, Monterrey is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.61 JMD 2,466

$13.75 MX$252

13.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$76.6 JMD 12.1K

$50.2 MX$921

52.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.75 JMD 1,381

$11.13 MX$204

-21.38%

Cappuccino

$5.28 JMD 834

$4.04 MX$74.2

30.69%

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

$1.16 JMD 184

$1.70 MX$31.29

-31.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 JMD 107

$0.99 MX$18.17

-31.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 JMD 359

$2.41 MX$44.21

-5.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 JMD 508

$4.48 MX$82.3

-28.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.09 JMD 646

$1.92 MX$35.31

113.02%

White Bread (500g)

$3.86 JMD 610

$2.89 MX$53.1

33.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 JMD 250

$1.94 MX$35.67

-18.04%

Eggs

$3.53 JMD 557

$2.50 MX$45.90

41.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.57 JMD 1,826

$12.30 MX$226

-5.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.39 JMD 1,009

$9.33 MX$171

-31.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.30 JMD 1,626

$13.07 MX$240

-21.19%

Apples (1kg)

$6.22 JMD 983

$3.38 MX$62.1

84.02%

Banana (1kg)

$3.93 JMD 621

$1.58 MX$29.02

148.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.47 JMD 1,180

$2.20 MX$40.45

239.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.01 JMD 475

$2.45 MX$44.89

22.86%

Potato (1kg)

$3.33 JMD 525

$2.26 MX$41.47

47.35%

Onion (1kg)

$2.59 JMD 409

$2.74 MX$50.4

-5.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.12 JMD 492

$1.53 MX$28.09

103.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 JMD 232

$1.26 MX$23.16

16.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.74 JMD 1,538

$4.84 MX$88.9

101.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.57 JMD 1,827

$13.59 MX$249

-14.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 JMD 458

$1.91 MX$35.01

51.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 JMD 643

$3.06 MX$56.3

33.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.60

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.77 MX$583

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 JMD 185

$1.62 MX$29.78

-27.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.13 JMD 494

$1.10 MX$20.17

184.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.42 JMD 1,013

$10.97 MX$201

-41.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 JMD 224

$1.52 MX$27.93

-6.58%

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

$44.9K JMD 7.1M

$21.4K MX$392.4K

110.09%

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

$32.9K JMD 5.2M

$25.5K MX$467.6K

29.30%

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

$174 JMD 27.5K

$120 MX$2,198

45.52%

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

$30.04 JMD 4,744

$27.08 MX$497

10.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.0 JMD 8,365

$26.70 MX$490

98.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.15 MX$572

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.95 MX$403

Cinema Ticket

$13.14 JMD 2,074

$5.14 MX$94.4

155.64%

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

$359 JMD 56.7K

$688 MX$12.6K

-47.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,225 JMD 1.3M

$11.4K MX$209.8K

-28.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.28 JMD 3,676

$71.9 MX$1,321

-67.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.50 JMD 4,974

$43.30 MX$795

-27.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.3 JMD 12.2K

$112 MX$2,059

-31.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 JMD 16.1K

$122 MX$2,236

-16.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$957 MX$17.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$670 MX$12.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,887 MX$34.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,305 MX$24.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,159 MX$76.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,437 MX$44.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,133 MX$20.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

11.79

-19.85%

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

Last update for Alexandria: October 5, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Alexandria

$388 37.6%

Monterrey

$312 19.3% 19.5% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alexandria

$257 24.9%

Monterrey

$174 10.7% 32.6% $84

Eating Out

Alexandria

$240 23.2%

Monterrey

$224 13.8% 6.7% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Alexandria

$105 10.2%

Monterrey

$157 9.7% 49.1% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Alexandria

$26 * 2.5%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 57.7% $15

Getting Around

Alexandria

$17 * 1.6%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 150% $25

Accommodation & Living

Alexandria

- * 0%

Monterrey

$670 41.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $77.0 in Alexandria vs $50.0 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $388 vs $312 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Alexandria

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

05:39 5:39 AM

04:39 4:39 AM

1 h behind Alexandria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,927

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.65 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.65 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Alexandria Monterrey 2,500 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Alexandria
Monterrey

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

Alexandria vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alexandria and Monterrey differ by about 54% in total monthly costs ($1,044 vs $1,607 including rent). Alexandria is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,567 in Alexandria and $2,411 in Monterrey to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $359 in Alexandria versus $688 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Alexandria – a meal for two runs $77.0 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,044 in Alexandria versus $1,607 in Monterrey, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Alexandria but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Alexandria 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.

Expats usually find Alexandria gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.