Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cali and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Cali: $1,054 a month against $1,607 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Cali
Learn more

Cali Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
Learn more

Monterrey Living Index

Jump to prices

Cali

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,054

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,607

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,054 in Cali versus $1,607 in Monterrey.

Cali $1,054
Monterrey $1,607

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,614 in Cali versus $2,512 in Monterrey.

Cali $1,614
Monterrey $2,512

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,174 in Cali versus $3,417 in Monterrey.

Cali $2,174
Monterrey $3,417

Living in Cali costs roughly 34% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cali is 21% below, Monterrey is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.26 COP 23.4K

$13.75 MX$250

-47.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.04 COP 119.3K

$50.2 MX$913

-26.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.05 COP 25.9K

$11.13 MX$203

-27.67%

Cappuccino

$1.54 COP 4,972

$4.04 MX$73.5

-61.88%

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

$1.25 COP 4,027

$1.70 MX$31.00

-26.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 COP 2,702

$0.99 MX$18.00

-15.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.16 COP 10.2K

$2.41 MX$43.80

31.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 COP 11.5K

$4.48 MX$81.6

-20.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 COP 4,998

$1.92 MX$34.98

-19.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 COP 6,026

$2.89 MX$52.6

-35.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,822

$1.94 MX$35.34

-22.68%

Eggs

$2.77 COP 8,907

$2.50 MX$45.47

10.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.40 COP 20.6K

$12.30 MX$224

-47.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 COP 22.2K

$9.33 MX$170

-26.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.92 COP 31.9K

$13.07 MX$238

-24.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.43 COP 11.0K

$3.38 MX$61.5

1.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 COP 4,186

$1.58 MX$28.75

-17.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 COP 5,659

$2.20 MX$40.07

-20.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,421

$2.45 MX$44.48

-31.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 COP 4,730

$2.26 MX$41.09

-34.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 COP 4,722

$2.74 MX$49.89

-46.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 COP 3,551

$1.53 MX$27.83

-28.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 COP 3,004

$1.26 MX$22.94

-26.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 COP 11.7K

$4.84 MX$88.1

-25.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.56 COP 40.5K

$13.59 MX$247

-7.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,565

$1.91 MX$34.69

-25.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,712

$3.06 MX$55.8

-21.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.05 COP 3,370

$0.80 MX$14.47

31.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.00 COP 93.4K

$31.77 MX$578

-8.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.83 COP 2,664

$1.62 MX$29.50

-48.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.10 MX$19.99

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.97 MX$199

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 COP 4,040

$1.52 MX$27.68

-17.76%

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

$21.4K MX$388.7K

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

$33.7K COP 108.5M

$25.5K MX$463.3K

32.32%

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

$111 COP 358.1K

$120 MX$2,178

-7.11%

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

$12.79 COP 41.2K

$27.08 MX$493

-52.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.75 COP 95.8K

$26.70 MX$486

11.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.38 COP 91.4K

$31.15 MX$567

-8.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.95 MX$399

Cinema Ticket

$8.24 COP 26.5K

$5.14 MX$93.5

60.31%

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

$688 MX$12.5K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$207.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.8 COP 243.9K

$71.9 MX$1,308

5.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.8 COP 173.3K

$43.30 MX$788

24.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 COP 394.4K

$112 MX$2,040

9.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 COP 350.7K

$122 MX$2,216

-10.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$638 COP 2.1M

$957 MX$17.4K

-33.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$291 COP 937.4K

$670 MX$12.2K

-56.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,498 COP 4.8M

$1,887 MX$34.3K

-20.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$479 COP 1.5M

$1,305 MX$23.7K

-63.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,159 MX$75.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,437 MX$44.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$567 COP 1.8M

$1,133 MX$20.6K

-49.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.58

11.79

-1.78%

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

Last update for Cali: October 4, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cali

$291 27.6%

Monterrey

$670 41.4% 130% $379

Groceries & Markets

Cali

$235 22.3%

Monterrey

$312 19.3% 32.9% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Cali

$162 15.4%

Monterrey

$157 9.7% 3.3% $5.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cali

$154 14.6%

Monterrey

$174 10.7% 12.8% $20

Eating Out

Cali

$132 12.5%

Monterrey

$224 13.8% 69.3% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Cali

$45 4.3%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 7.6% $3.4

Getting Around

Cali

$34 * 3.2%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 23.7% $8.1

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 $638 in Cali and $957 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 100% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $37.00 in Cali vs $50.0 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $312 per month, with Cali cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Cali

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

21:47 9:47 PM

20:47 8:47 PM

1 h behind Cali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,568,609

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.11 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,220 COP (10,000 COP = 3.11 USD). 1 EUR = 3,611 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.4 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cali Monterrey 3,540 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Cali
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

Cali vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cali is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 52% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 100% lower in Monterrey. 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: $638 in Cali versus $957 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cali – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Cali runs roughly 10% less than in Monterrey. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,054 in Cali versus $1,607 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cali but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Cali the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cali is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Monterrey, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Cali gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.