Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ciudad Obregon and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Ciudad Obregon: $1,183 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Ciudad Obregon
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Ciudad Obregon Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Ciudad Obregon

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,183

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,183 in Ciudad Obregon versus $1,599 in Monterrey.

Ciudad Obregon $1,183
Monterrey $1,599

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Ciudad Obregon versus $2,493 in Monterrey.

Ciudad Obregon $1,868
Monterrey $2,493

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,553 in Ciudad Obregon versus $3,387 in Monterrey.

Ciudad Obregon $2,553
Monterrey $3,387

Living in Ciudad Obregon costs roughly 26% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ciudad Obregon is 13% below, Monterrey is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.31 MX$191

$13.80 MX$255

-25.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.41 MX$895

$47.99 MX$887

0.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.32 MX$154

$10.65 MX$197

-21.88%

Cappuccino

$3.94 MX$72.7

$3.99 MX$73.7

-1.25%

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

$1.24 MX$22.87

$1.66 MX$30.76

-25.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.13 MX$20.93

$0.99 MX$18.21

14.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 MX$47.31

$2.36 MX$43.64

8.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.33 MX$80.1

$4.43 MX$81.8

-2.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 MX$29.02

$1.82 MX$33.58

-13.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.57 MX$47.49

$2.83 MX$52.4

-9.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 MX$32.05

$1.92 MX$35.44

-9.90%

Eggs

$2.39 MX$44.10

$2.48 MX$45.78

-3.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.27 MX$153

$11.74 MX$217

-29.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.07 MX$149

$9.10 MX$168

-11.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.24 MX$208

$12.53 MX$232

-10.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.65 MX$48.92

$3.34 MX$61.6

-20.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 MX$27.48

$1.57 MX$29.10

-5.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 MX$34.15

$2.16 MX$39.86

-14.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.78 MX$32.82

$2.47 MX$45.65

-27.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$2.31 MX$42.64

-12.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 MX$32.07

$2.68 MX$49.47

-35.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 MX$27.18

$1.46 MX$26.90

0.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 MX$20.57

$1.19 MX$22.07

-6.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$4.75 MX$87.8

-10.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.44 MX$211

$13.58 MX$251

-15.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 MX$31.39

$1.92 MX$35.52

-11.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 MX$57.1

$2.88 MX$53.2

7.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 MX$12.48

$0.79 MX$14.66

-13.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 MX$46.69

$1.59 MX$29.44

59.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.67 MX$30.81

$1.06 MX$19.58

57.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.65 MX$178

$10.80 MX$200

-10.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 MX$25.00

$1.55 MX$28.59

-12.90%

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

$25.9K MX$478.2K

$24.2K MX$446.4K

7.12%

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

$25.4K MX$469.7K

$24.3K MX$449.4K

4.53%

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

$65.9 MX$1,218

$117 MX$2,159

-43.59%

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

$19.30 MX$357

$26.38 MX$488

-26.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.95 MX$535

$26.04 MX$481

11.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.67 MX$622

$30.26 MX$559

11.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.00 MX$370

$21.25 MX$393

-5.88%

Cinema Ticket

$5.07 MX$93.7

$5.23 MX$96.6

-3.06%

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

$215 MX$3,980

$673 MX$12.4K

-67.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,644 MX$85.8K

$11.1K MX$205.2K

-58.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 MX$987

$72.1 MX$1,332

-25.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.86 MX$755

$42.38 MX$783

-3.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 MX$1,862

$112 MX$2,066

-9.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.8 MX$1,659

$119 MX$2,200

-24.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$684 MX$12.6K

$949 MX$17.5K

-27.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$436 MX$8,053

$666 MX$12.3K

-34.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,160 MX$21.4K

$1,821 MX$33.7K

-36.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$786 MX$14.5K

$1,271 MX$23.5K

-38.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,931 MX$35.7K

$4,050 MX$74.8K

-52.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,120 MX$20.7K

$2,348 MX$43.4K

-52.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,189 MX$22.0K

$1,155 MX$21.3K

2.90%

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 Obregon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ciudad Obregon

$436 36.9%

Monterrey

$666 41.7% 52.9% $230

Groceries & Markets

Ciudad Obregon

$261 22.1%

Monterrey

$304 19% 16.4% $43

Eating Out

Ciudad Obregon

$186 15.7%

Monterrey

$221 13.9% 19.3% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Ciudad Obregon

$128 10.8%

Monterrey

$155 9.7% 21.2% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ciudad Obregon

$114 9.7%

Monterrey

$169 10.6% 48.3% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Ciudad Obregon

$44 3.7%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 7.1% $3.1

Getting Around

Ciudad Obregon

$14 * 1.2%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 206% $28

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 $684 in Ciudad Obregon and $949 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ciudad Obregon pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48.00 in Ciudad Obregon vs $48.00 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $261 vs $304 per month, with Ciudad Obregon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Ciudad Obregon

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

19:54 7:54 PM

20:54 8:54 PM

1 h ahead of Ciudad Obregon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

329,404

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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Between locations

Ciudad Obregon Monterrey 980 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

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

Ciudad Obregon wins on cost – living expenses run 35% lower than in Monterrey. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ciudad Obregon the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 3% higher in Ciudad Obregon, 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: $684 in Ciudad Obregon versus $949 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $215 in Ciudad Obregon versus $673 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ciudad Obregon – a meal for two runs $48.00 versus $48.00 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,183 in Ciudad Obregon versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ciudad Obregon but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Ciudad Obregon the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ciudad Obregon delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,183 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ciudad Obregon hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ciudad Obregon and Monterrey are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Ciudad Obregon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.