Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ciudad del Carmen and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Ciudad del Carmen: $1,134 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Ciudad del Carmen
Learn more

Ciudad del Carmen Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
Learn more

Monterrey Living Index

Jump to prices

Ciudad del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,134

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,134 in Ciudad del Carmen versus $1,599 in Monterrey.

Ciudad del Carmen $1,134
Monterrey $1,599

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,830 in Ciudad del Carmen versus $2,493 in Monterrey.

Ciudad del Carmen $1,830
Monterrey $2,493

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,526 in Ciudad del Carmen versus $3,387 in Monterrey.

Ciudad del Carmen $2,526
Monterrey $3,387

Living in Ciudad del Carmen costs roughly 29% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ciudad del Carmen is 16% below, Monterrey is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.82 MX$200

$13.80 MX$255

-21.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.74 MX$808

$47.99 MX$887

-8.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.37 MX$155

$10.65 MX$197

-21.41%

Cappuccino

$3.59 MX$66.4

$3.99 MX$73.7

-10.03%

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

$1.40 MX$25.90

$1.66 MX$30.76

-15.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.06 MX$19.51

$0.99 MX$18.21

7.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.51 MX$46.35

$2.36 MX$43.64

6.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.06 MX$75.0

$4.43 MX$81.8

-8.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 MX$29.12

$1.82 MX$33.58

-13.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.60 MX$47.99

$2.83 MX$52.4

-8.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 MX$31.72

$1.92 MX$35.44

-10.42%

Eggs

$2.45 MX$45.37

$2.48 MX$45.78

-1.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.29 MX$153

$11.74 MX$217

-29.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.50 MX$157

$9.10 MX$168

-6.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.29 MX$209

$12.53 MX$232

-9.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.67 MX$49.41

$3.34 MX$61.6

-20.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 MX$28.38

$1.57 MX$29.10

-1.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.04

$2.16 MX$39.86

-12.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 MX$32.18

$2.47 MX$45.65

-29.55%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.89

$2.31 MX$42.64

-13.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$2.68 MX$49.47

-29.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 MX$26.20

$1.46 MX$26.90

-2.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 MX$20.97

$1.19 MX$22.07

-5.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.0

$4.75 MX$87.8

-10.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.49 MX$194

$13.58 MX$251

-22.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 MX$33.45

$1.92 MX$35.52

-5.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 MX$59.2

$2.88 MX$53.2

11.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 MX$11.68

$0.79 MX$14.66

-20.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 MX$47.02

$1.59 MX$29.44

59.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 MX$35.58

$1.06 MX$19.58

82.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.17 MX$206

$10.80 MX$200

3.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 MX$26.40

$1.55 MX$28.59

-7.74%

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

$21.3K MX$393.4K

$24.2K MX$446.4K

-11.87%

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

$24.0K MX$443.0K

$24.3K MX$449.4K

-1.43%

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

$57.4 MX$1,060

$117 MX$2,159

-50.90%

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

$22.57 MX$417

$26.38 MX$488

-14.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$26.04 MX$481

11.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.59 MX$639

$30.26 MX$559

14.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.16 MX$372

$21.25 MX$393

-5.13%

Cinema Ticket

$5.30 MX$97.9

$5.23 MX$96.6

1.34%

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

$215 MX$3,973

$673 MX$12.4K

-68.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,691 MX$86.7K

$11.1K MX$205.2K

-57.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.7 MX$1,010

$72.1 MX$1,332

-24.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.28 MX$744

$42.38 MX$783

-4.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.7 MX$1,824

$112 MX$2,066

-11.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.5 MX$1,636

$119 MX$2,200

-25.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$603 MX$11.1K

$949 MX$17.5K

-36.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$389 MX$7,196

$666 MX$12.3K

-41.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,038 MX$19.2K

$1,821 MX$33.7K

-42.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 MX$14.3K

$1,271 MX$23.5K

-39.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,938 MX$35.8K

$4,050 MX$74.8K

-52.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,132 MX$20.9K

$2,348 MX$43.4K

-51.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 MX$21.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.79

-4.16%

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

Last update for Ciudad del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ciudad del Carmen

$389 34.3%

Monterrey

$666 41.7% 71.1% $277

Groceries & Markets

Ciudad del Carmen

$264 23.3%

Monterrey

$304 19% 15.3% $40

Eating Out

Ciudad del Carmen

$185 16.3%

Monterrey

$221 13.9% 19.6% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Ciudad del Carmen

$127 11.2%

Monterrey

$155 9.7% 22.4% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ciudad del Carmen

$109 9.6%

Monterrey

$169 10.6% 55.3% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Ciudad del Carmen

$45 4%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 9.9% $4.5

Getting Around

Ciudad del Carmen

$15 * 1.3%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 182% $27

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 $603 in Ciudad del Carmen and $949 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44.00 in Ciudad del Carmen vs $48.00 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $264 vs $304 per month, with Ciudad del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Ciudad del Carmen

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

07:17 7:17 AM

Same time as Ciudad del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

191,238

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ciudad del Carmen Monterrey 1,170 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Ciudad del Carmen
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

Ciudad del Carmen vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ciudad del Carmen and Monterrey differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($1,134 vs $1,599 including rent). Ciudad del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,702 in Ciudad del Carmen and $2,399 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $603 in Ciudad del Carmen versus $949 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Monterrey. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,134 per month in Ciudad del Carmen versus $1,599 in Monterrey – a 41% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,134 in Ciudad del Carmen versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ciudad del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Ciudad del Carmen 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 Ciudad del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.