Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cambridge, Canada and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,641 a month against $2,529 in Cambridge, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
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Cambridge Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Cambridge

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,529

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,529 in Cambridge versus $1,641 in Monterrey.

Cambridge $2,529
Monterrey $1,641

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,458 in Cambridge versus $2,573 in Monterrey.

Cambridge $3,458
Monterrey $2,573

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,386 in Cambridge versus $3,504 in Monterrey.

Cambridge $4,386
Monterrey $3,504

Living in Cambridge is roughly 54% more expensive than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cambridge 87% above, Monterrey 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.65 CA$24.73

$13.37 MX$251

32.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.4 CA$79.0

$47.95 MX$900

17.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.62 CA$14.89

$10.79 MX$203

-1.58%

Cappuccino

$3.42 CA$4.79

$3.77 MX$70.7

-9.28%

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

$1.94 CA$2.72

$1.51 MX$28.37

28.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 CA$1.79

$1.03 MX$19.33

24.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.89 CA$6.85

$2.48 MX$46.60

97.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.52 CA$9.14

$4.36 MX$81.8

49.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.05 CA$2.87

$1.89 MX$35.58

8.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.42 CA$3.39

$2.85 MX$53.5

-15.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.34 CA$4.68

$1.86 MX$34.86

79.57%

Eggs

$3.38 CA$4.74

$2.47 MX$46.31

36.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.59 CA$16.25

$11.81 MX$222

-1.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.56 CA$16.20

$8.97 MX$168

28.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.53 CA$20.36

$12.57 MX$236

15.59%

Apples (1kg)

$4.01 CA$5.62

$3.20 MX$60.0

25.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 CA$1.86

$1.50 MX$28.23

-12.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.11 CA$5.76

$2.12 MX$39.90

93.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.73 CA$5.23

$2.33 MX$43.82

60.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.63 CA$3.69

$2.22 MX$41.75

18.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 CA$2.79

$2.58 MX$48.54

-22.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.09 CA$2.93

$1.45 MX$27.15

44.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 CA$1.91

$1.22 MX$22.94

12.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.68 CA$17.78

$4.80 MX$90.1

164.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.34 CA$17.30

$13.30 MX$250

-7.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.62 CA$3.67

$1.93 MX$36.28

35.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.06 CA$5.69

$2.86 MX$53.6

41.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.81 CA$3.94

$0.80 MX$15.00

251.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$69.1 CA$96.8

$30.94 MX$581

123.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.25 CA$4.56

$1.83 MX$34.42

77.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.81 CA$2.53

$1.06 MX$19.86

70.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.09 CA$39.37

$10.82 MX$203

159.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 CA$1.78

$1.47 MX$27.65

-13.61%

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

$26.7K CA$37.4K

$24.1K MX$452.3K

10.78%

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

$21.0K CA$29.5K

$23.5K MX$442.0K

-10.66%

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

$151 CA$212

$115 MX$2,152

32.09%

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

$42.55 CA$59.6

$26.37 MX$495

61.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.3 CA$71.9

$25.70 MX$483

99.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.73 CA$40.28

$30.53 MX$573

-5.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.27 MX$400

Cinema Ticket

$10.39 CA$14.56

$4.96 MX$93.1

109.48%

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

$399 CA$560

$679 MX$12.7K

-41.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.2K CA$22.7K

$14.2K MX$266.4K

14.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.5 CA$87.6

$72.2 MX$1,356

-13.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.98 CA$46.23

$41.94 MX$788

-21.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.9 CA$113

$107 MX$2,019

-24.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 CA$151

$119 MX$2,228

-9.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,518 CA$2,128

$1,018 MX$19.1K

49.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 CA$1,958

$722 MX$13.6K

93.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,097 CA$2,940

$1,966 MX$36.9K

6.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,896 CA$2,657

$1,416 MX$26.6K

33.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,368 CA$6,123

$4,203 MX$78.9K

3.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,701 CA$5,188

$2,782 MX$52.2K

33.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,019 CA$4,232

$1,096 MX$20.6K

175.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.22

11.79

-55.73%

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

Last update for Cambridge: November 3, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cambridge

$1.4K 55.2%

Monterrey

$722 44% 48.3% $675

Groceries & Markets

Cambridge

$353 14%

Monterrey

$302 18.4% 14.5% $51

Eating Out

Cambridge

$264 10.5%

Monterrey

$216 13.2% 18.4% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cambridge

$245 9.7%

Monterrey

$167 10.2% 32% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Cambridge

$128 5.1%

Monterrey

$153 9.3% 19.9% $25

Getting Around

Cambridge

$93 3.7%

Monterrey

$41 2.5% 55.4% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Cambridge

$50 2%

Monterrey

$40 2.5% 18.3% $9.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,518 in Cambridge and $1,018 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cambridge pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $56 in Cambridge vs $48 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $353 vs $302 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Cambridge

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

10:02 10:02 AM

09:02 9:02 AM

1 h behind Cambridge

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

138,479

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.635 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.635 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cambridge Monterrey 2,670 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cambridge
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

Cambridge vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey is about 35% cheaper overall, especially in transport, groceries, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Cambridge is about 2.8 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: $1,518 in Cambridge versus $1,018 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Cambridge. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Monterrey – a meal for two runs $48 versus $56 in Cambridge. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Monterrey gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 35% less than in Cambridge. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.