Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cartago and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Cartago: $1,281 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Cartago
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Cartago Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Cartago

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,281

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,281 per month in Cartago vs $1,608 in Monterrey, rent included.

Cartago $1,281
Monterrey $1,608

A couple spends around $1,972 per month in Cartago vs $2,521 in Monterrey, rent included.

Cartago $1,972
Monterrey $2,521

A family of three spends $2,663 per month in Cartago vs $3,433 in Monterrey, rent included.

Cartago $2,663
Monterrey $3,433

Cartago is about 20% cheaper than Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cartago sits 5% below the global median, while Monterrey is 19% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.58 COP 24.1K

$13.85 MX$256

-45.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.20 COP 118.3K

$49.70 MX$918

-25.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.47 COP 26.9K

$11.05 MX$204

-23.35%

Cappuccino

$1.54 COP 4,884

$4.09 MX$75.5

-62.35%

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

$1.28 COP 4,063

$1.68 MX$30.94

-23.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 COP 2,634

$1.03 MX$18.96

-19.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 COP 9,869

$2.40 MX$44.23

29.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 COP 11.7K

$4.35 MX$80.3

-15.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 COP 5,088

$1.92 MX$35.51

-16.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.88 COP 5,973

$2.94 MX$54.2

-36.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 COP 4,751

$1.88 MX$34.63

-20.74%

Eggs

$2.93 COP 9,334

$2.55 MX$47.01

14.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.58 COP 20.9K

$11.84 MX$219

-44.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.11 COP 22.6K

$9.36 MX$173

-24.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.93 COP 31.6K

$13.10 MX$242

-24.20%

Apples (1kg)

$3.57 COP 11.4K

$3.38 MX$62.4

5.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 COP 4,200

$1.52 MX$28.10

-13.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.74 COP 5,530

$2.19 MX$40.47

-20.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 COP 5,184

$2.36 MX$43.58

-30.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.42 COP 4,522

$2.26 MX$41.72

-37.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,758

$2.73 MX$50.5

-45.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 COP 3,443

$1.52 MX$28.14

-28.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 COP 3,261

$1.24 MX$22.88

-16.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.69 COP 11.7K

$4.75 MX$87.8

-22.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.12 COP 41.7K

$13.66 MX$252

-3.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 COP 4,756

$1.89 MX$34.92

-20.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 COP 7,794

$2.99 MX$55.1

-18.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.02 COP 3,244

$0.85 MX$15.76

20.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$571

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 COP 2,524

$1.68 MX$30.95

-52.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.27 COP 7,230

$1.13 MX$20.85

100.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.40 COP 26.7K

$11.15 MX$206

-24.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 COP 4,211

$1.56 MX$28.88

-15.38%

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

$28.0K COP 89.1M

$21.4K MX$395.4K

30.85%

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

$34.6K COP 110.2M

$25.1K MX$462.7K

38.22%

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

$110 COP 349.3K

$119 MX$2,204

-8.00%

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

$13.23 COP 42.1K

$26.21 MX$484

-49.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.26 COP 96.2K

$26.78 MX$494

12.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.32 COP 134.6K

$31.03 MX$573

36.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$8.24 COP 26.2K

$5.29 MX$97.6

55.77%

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

$701 COP 2.2M

$691 MX$12.8K

1.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,430 COP 20.5M

$11.5K MX$211.9K

-43.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.8 COP 247.3K

$72.3 MX$1,334

7.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.1 COP 175.4K

$42.72 MX$789

29.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 COP 403.0K

$110 MX$2,022

15.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 COP 351.7K

$117 MX$2,156

-5.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$645 COP 2.1M

$970 MX$17.9K

-33.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 COP 1.6M

$664 MX$12.3K

-23.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 COP 3.3M

$1,857 MX$34.3K

-43.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$970 COP 3.1M

$1,287 MX$23.8K

-24.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,999 COP 6.4M

$4,162 MX$76.8K

-51.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,803 COP 5.7M

$2,349 MX$43.4K

-23.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

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 Cartago: October 11, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cartago

$509 39.7%

Monterrey

$664 41.3% 30.4% $155

Groceries & Markets

Cartago

$241 18.8%

Monterrey

$310 19.3% 28.9% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Cartago

$167 13%

Monterrey

$154 9.6% 7.8% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cartago

$153 12%

Monterrey

$172 10.7% 12.4% $19

Eating Out

Cartago

$136 10.6%

Monterrey

$225 14% 65.5% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Cartago

$59 4.6%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 29.2% $17

Getting Around

Cartago

$16 * 1.3%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 157% $25

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $645 in Cartago versus $970 in Monterrey. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $37.00 in Cartago versus $50.0 in Monterrey. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $241 vs $310 – making Cartago the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Cartago

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

04:34 4:34 AM

03:34 3:34 AM

1 h behind Cartago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

135,365

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.42 USD

100 MXN = 4.84 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 3,181 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,562 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 18.46 MXN (100 MXN = 5.42 USD). 1 EUR = 20.67 MXN (100 MXN = 4.84 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cartago Monterrey 3,490 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cartago
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

Cartago vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Monterrey is pricier by about 26%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,921 per month in Cartago and $2,412 in Monterrey. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cartago, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,281 in Cartago and $1,608 in Monterrey. That's a gap of about 26%.

Kindergarten costs $701 per month in Cartago and $691 in Monterrey. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cartago, where all-in costs run around $1,281, than in Monterrey at $1,608. In Cartago it covers expenses comfortably, while in Monterrey it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cartago – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Cartago. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Monterrey makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.