Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ashburn, VA and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,641 a month against $3,341 in Ashburn, VA, rent and utilities included – about $20,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

159

Cost of Living Index in Ashburn, VA
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Ashburn, VA Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Ashburn, VA

🇺🇸 United States

$3,341

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ashburn, VA 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 Ashburn, VA and in Monterrey actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,341 in Ashburn, VA versus $1,641 in Monterrey.

Ashburn, VA $3,341
Monterrey $1,641

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,512 in Ashburn, VA versus $2,573 in Monterrey.

Ashburn, VA $4,512
Monterrey $2,573

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,683 in Ashburn, VA versus $3,504 in Monterrey.

Ashburn, VA $5,683
Monterrey $3,504

Living in Ashburn, VA is roughly 104% more expensive than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ashburn, VA 147% above, Monterrey 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.27 $24.27

$13.37 MX$250

81.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.4 $90.4

$47.95 MX$897

88.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.16 $13.16

$10.79 MX$202

21.96%

Cappuccino

$5.99 $5.99

$3.77 MX$70.4

58.89%

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

$3.02 $3.02

$1.51 MX$28.26

100.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 $2.66

$1.03 MX$19.25

158.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.11 $8.11

$2.48 MX$46.41

227.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.10 $10.10

$4.36 MX$81.5

131.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 $1.12

$1.89 MX$35.43

-40.74%

White Bread (500g)

$4.11 $4.11

$2.85 MX$53.3

44.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.16 $5.16

$1.86 MX$34.71

177.42%

Eggs

$5.45 $5.45

$2.47 MX$46.12

120.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.20 $17.20

$11.81 MX$221

45.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.26 $15.26

$8.97 MX$168

70.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.31 $18.31

$12.57 MX$235

45.66%

Apples (1kg)

$5.39 $5.39

$3.20 MX$59.8

68.44%

Banana (1kg)

$2.35 $2.35

$1.50 MX$28.12

56.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.51 $6.51

$2.12 MX$39.74

207.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.71 $5.71

$2.33 MX$43.64

145.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.79 $2.79

$2.22 MX$41.58

25.68%

Onion (1kg)

$3.91 $3.91

$2.58 MX$48.34

51.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.29 $2.29

$1.45 MX$27.04

57.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.73 $2.73

$1.22 MX$22.85

123.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.66 $9.66

$4.80 MX$89.7

101.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.13 $16.13

$13.30 MX$249

21.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 $2.35

$1.93 MX$36.14

21.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.59 $4.59

$2.86 MX$53.4

60.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.27 $2.27

$0.80 MX$14.94

183.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$71.6 $71.6

$30.94 MX$579

131.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.11 $4.11

$1.83 MX$34.28

124.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 $1.53

$1.06 MX$19.78

44.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.78 $23.78

$10.82 MX$202

119.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.47 MX$27.54

-29.25%

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

$35.7K $35.7K

$24.1K MX$450.4K

48.10%

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

$25.9K $25.9K

$23.5K MX$440.2K

10.01%

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

$160 $160

$115 MX$2,144

39.18%

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

$66.4 $66.4

$26.37 MX$493

151.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$78.5 $78.5

$25.70 MX$481

205.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.0 $62.0

$30.53 MX$571

102.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.08 $12.08

$21.27 MX$398

-43.21%

Cinema Ticket

$17.70 $17.70

$4.96 MX$92.8

256.85%

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

$1,589 $1,589

$679 MX$12.7K

134.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.0K $28.0K

$14.2K MX$265.3K

97.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.0 $53.0

$72.2 MX$1,350

-26.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.47 $44.47

$41.94 MX$784

6.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.3 $97.3

$107 MX$2,011

-9.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 $127

$119 MX$2,219

6.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 $1,981

$1,018 MX$19.0K

94.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,828 $1,828

$722 MX$13.5K

153.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,119 $4,119

$1,966 MX$36.8K

109.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,242 $2,242

$1,416 MX$26.5K

58.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,934 $2,934

$4,203 MX$78.6K

-30.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,103 $3,103

$2,782 MX$52.0K

11.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$7,478 $7,478

$1,096 MX$20.5K

582.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.89

11.79

-41.56%

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

Last update for Ashburn, VA: November 2, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ashburn, VA

$1.8K 54.7%

Monterrey

$722 44% 60.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Ashburn, VA

$485 14.5%

Monterrey

$302 18.4% 37.7% $182

Eating Out

Ashburn, VA

$389 11.6%

Monterrey

$216 13.2% 44.5% $173

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ashburn, VA

$304 9.1%

Monterrey

$167 10.2% 45.3% $138

Clothing & Footwear

Ashburn, VA

$145 4.3%

Monterrey

$153 9.3% 5.8% $8.5

Sport & Entertainment

Ashburn, VA

$97 2.9%

Monterrey

$40 2.5% 58.4% $57

Getting Around

Ashburn, VA

$92 2.8%

Monterrey

$41 2.5% 55.4% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,981 in Ashburn, VA and $1,018 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ashburn, VA pays about 6.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $90 in Ashburn, VA vs $48 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $485 vs $302 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Ashburn, VA

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

16:19 4:19 PM

15:19 3:19 PM

1 h behind Ashburn, VA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,511

1,142,994

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.895 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.895 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.9 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ashburn, VA Monterrey 2,600 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ashburn, VA
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

Ashburn, VA vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $3,341 in Ashburn, VA and $1,641 in Monterrey, so Monterrey is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Ashburn, VA is about 6.8 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: $1,981 in Ashburn, VA versus $1,018 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,589 in Ashburn, VA versus $679 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 60% higher in Ashburn, VA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,641 in Monterrey versus $3,341 in Ashburn, VA, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Monterrey but tight or insufficient in Ashburn, VA. The gap between the two cities makes Monterrey 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 Monterrey gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Ashburn, VA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.