Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ciudad Lerdo and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Ciudad Lerdo: $831 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Ciudad Lerdo
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Ciudad Lerdo Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Ciudad Lerdo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$831

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $831 in Ciudad Lerdo versus $1,599 in Monterrey.

Ciudad Lerdo $831
Monterrey $1,599

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,327 in Ciudad Lerdo versus $2,493 in Monterrey.

Ciudad Lerdo $1,327
Monterrey $2,493

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,823 in Ciudad Lerdo versus $3,387 in Monterrey.

Ciudad Lerdo $1,823
Monterrey $3,387

Living in Ciudad Lerdo costs roughly 48% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ciudad Lerdo is 39% below, Monterrey is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.54 MX$102

$13.80 MX$255

-59.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.39 MX$488

$47.99 MX$887

-45.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.67 MX$123

$10.65 MX$197

-37.37%

Cappuccino

$1.61 MX$29.70

$3.99 MX$73.7

-59.65%

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

$0.79 MX$14.66

$1.66 MX$30.76

-52.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 MX$10.43

$0.99 MX$18.21

-43.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.41 MX$26.01

$2.36 MX$43.64

-40.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 MX$50.9

$4.43 MX$81.8

-37.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.08 MX$19.95

$1.82 MX$33.58

-40.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.33 MX$24.63

$2.83 MX$52.4

-53.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 MX$19.82

$1.92 MX$35.44

-44.27%

Eggs

$1.61 MX$29.73

$2.48 MX$45.78

-35.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.80 MX$70.3

$11.74 MX$217

-67.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.86 MX$71.2

$9.10 MX$168

-57.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.71 MX$124

$12.53 MX$232

-46.45%

Apples (1kg)

$1.34 MX$24.67

$3.34 MX$61.6

-59.88%

Banana (1kg)

$0.78 MX$14.40

$1.57 MX$29.10

-50.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.80 MX$14.84

$2.16 MX$39.86

-62.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.80 MX$14.77

$2.47 MX$45.65

-67.61%

Potato (1kg)

$0.85 MX$15.76

$2.31 MX$42.64

-63.20%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 MX$15.71

$2.68 MX$49.47

-68.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.52 MX$9.68

$1.46 MX$26.90

-64.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 MX$12.60

$1.19 MX$22.07

-42.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.74 MX$69.1

$4.75 MX$87.8

-21.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.62 MX$122

$13.58 MX$251

-51.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.06

$1.92 MX$35.52

-43.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 MX$24.74

$2.88 MX$53.2

-53.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 MX$12.58

$0.79 MX$14.66

-13.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.78 MX$255

$31.36 MX$579

-56.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 MX$21.83

$1.59 MX$29.44

-25.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.92 MX$35.52

$1.06 MX$19.58

81.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.51 MX$102

$10.80 MX$200

-48.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 MX$22.84

$1.55 MX$28.59

-20.00%

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

$18.2K MX$336.1K

$24.2K MX$446.4K

-24.72%

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

$21.0K MX$388.4K

$24.3K MX$449.4K

-13.57%

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

$32.65 MX$603

$117 MX$2,159

-72.05%

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

$13.57 MX$251

$26.38 MX$488

-48.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.84 MX$404

$26.04 MX$481

-16.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.57 MX$620

$30.26 MX$559

10.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.34 MX$376

$21.25 MX$393

-4.28%

Cinema Ticket

$3.92 MX$72.4

$5.23 MX$96.6

-25.05%

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

$140 MX$2,580

$673 MX$12.4K

-79.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,745 MX$50.7K

$11.1K MX$205.2K

-75.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.70 MX$512

$72.1 MX$1,332

-61.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.70 MX$401

$42.38 MX$783

-48.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$55.5 MX$1,026

$112 MX$2,066

-50.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$43.18 MX$798

$119 MX$2,200

-63.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$615 MX$11.4K

$949 MX$17.5K

-35.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,123

$666 MX$12.3K

-42.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,054 MX$19.5K

$1,821 MX$33.7K

-42.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$781 MX$14.4K

$1,271 MX$23.5K

-38.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,880 MX$34.7K

$4,050 MX$74.8K

-53.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,158 MX$21.4K

$2,348 MX$43.4K

-50.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$218 MX$4,036

$1,155 MX$21.3K

-81.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.53

11.79

-10.69%

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

Last update for Ciudad Lerdo: October 20, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ciudad Lerdo

$385 46.4%

Monterrey

$666 41.7% 72.9% $281

Groceries & Markets

Ciudad Lerdo

$140 16.9%

Monterrey

$304 19% 117% $164

Eating Out

Ciudad Lerdo

$102 12.2%

Monterrey

$221 13.9% 118% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ciudad Lerdo

$68 8.2%

Monterrey

$169 10.6% 149% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Ciudad Lerdo

$67 8%

Monterrey

$155 9.7% 133% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Ciudad Lerdo

$41 5%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 1.7% $0.7

Getting Around

Ciudad Lerdo

$27 3.3%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 51.8% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $615 in Ciudad Lerdo and $949 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 429% 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: $26.00 in Ciudad Lerdo vs $48.00 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $140 vs $304 per month, with Ciudad Lerdo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Ciudad Lerdo

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

08:53 8:53 AM

Same time as Ciudad Lerdo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

96,243

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

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Ciudad Lerdo Monterrey 320 km

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Ciudad Lerdo
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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 Lerdo vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ciudad Lerdo wins on cost – living expenses run 93% lower than in Monterrey. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ciudad Lerdo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 429% 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: $615 in Ciudad Lerdo versus $949 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ciudad Lerdo runs roughly 128% less than in Monterrey. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $140 in Ciudad Lerdo versus $673 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $831 in Ciudad Lerdo versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ciudad Lerdo but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Ciudad Lerdo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ciudad Lerdo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $831 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ciudad Lerdo hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Ciudad Lerdo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 93% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.