Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Colima and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Colima: $952 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Colima
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Colima Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Colima

🇲🇽 Mexico

$952

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $952 in Colima versus $1,608 in Monterrey.

Colima $952
Monterrey $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,562 in Colima versus $2,521 in Monterrey.

Colima $1,562
Monterrey $2,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,173 in Colima versus $3,433 in Monterrey.

Colima $2,173
Monterrey $3,433

Living in Colima costs roughly 41% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Colima is 29% below, Monterrey is 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.58 MX$140

$13.85 MX$256

-45.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.52 MX$619

$49.70 MX$918

-32.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.16 MX$132

$11.05 MX$204

-35.20%

Cappuccino

$2.24 MX$41.33

$4.09 MX$75.6

-45.23%

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

$1.00 MX$18.48

$1.68 MX$30.97

-40.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.45

$1.03 MX$18.98

-18.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.23 MX$41.16

$2.40 MX$44.28

-7.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 MX$45.24

$4.35 MX$80.3

-43.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.57

$1.92 MX$35.55

-19.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.64 MX$48.76

$2.94 MX$54.2

-10.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 MX$22.40

$1.88 MX$34.66

-35.64%

Eggs

$2.76 MX$51.0

$2.55 MX$47.06

8.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.01 MX$148

$11.84 MX$219

-32.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.35 MX$154

$9.36 MX$173

-10.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.86 MX$182

$13.10 MX$242

-24.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 MX$52.7

$3.38 MX$62.5

-15.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.63

$1.52 MX$28.13

-5.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.78 MX$32.82

$2.19 MX$40.51

-18.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.70

$2.36 MX$43.63

-4.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.30 MX$42.50

$2.26 MX$41.76

1.77%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 MX$42.58

$2.73 MX$50.5

-15.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.36

$1.52 MX$28.17

-5.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.09

$1.24 MX$22.90

-12.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.61 MX$66.8

$4.75 MX$87.8

-24.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.76 MX$125

$13.66 MX$252

-50.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 MX$28.83

$1.89 MX$34.95

-17.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 MX$32.64

$2.99 MX$55.2

-40.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 MX$11.73

$0.85 MX$15.78

-25.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.51 MX$361

$30.95 MX$572

-36.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.40 MX$44.35

$1.68 MX$30.98

42.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.82 MX$52.1

$1.13 MX$20.87

149.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.41 MX$174

$11.15 MX$206

-15.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 MX$26.45

$1.56 MX$28.91

-8.33%

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

$20.9K MX$386.3K

$21.4K MX$395.8K

-2.41%

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

$22.7K MX$419.1K

$25.1K MX$463.2K

-9.52%

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

$64.9 MX$1,198

$119 MX$2,206

-45.67%

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

$20.24 MX$374

$26.21 MX$484

-22.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.71 MX$549

$26.78 MX$495

10.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.28 MX$652

$31.03 MX$573

13.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.72 MX$401

$21.43 MX$396

1.35%

Cinema Ticket

$4.63 MX$85.6

$5.29 MX$97.7

-12.48%

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

$147 MX$2,712

$691 MX$12.8K

-78.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,496 MX$46.1K

$11.5K MX$212.1K

-78.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.09 MX$833

$72.3 MX$1,335

-37.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.11 MX$464

$42.72 MX$789

-41.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.1 MX$1,369

$110 MX$2,024

-32.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 MX$1,884

$117 MX$2,158

-12.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$262 MX$4,849

$970 MX$17.9K

-72.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$261 MX$4,831

$664 MX$12.3K

-60.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$369 MX$6,826

$1,857 MX$34.3K

-80.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$589 MX$10.9K

$1,287 MX$23.8K

-54.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 MX$76.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,349 MX$43.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$287 MX$5,301

$1,146 MX$21.2K

-74.98%

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 Colima: October 12, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Colima

$261 27.5%

Monterrey

$664 41.3% 154% $402

Groceries & Markets

Colima

$250 26.2%

Monterrey

$310 19.3% 24.4% $61

Eating Out

Colima

$132 13.9%

Monterrey

$225 14% 69.6% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Colima

$115 12.1%

Monterrey

$172 10.7% 50.2% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Colima

$111 11.6%

Monterrey

$154 9.6% 38.6% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Colima

$45 4.7%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 6.6% $2.9

Getting Around

Colima

$39 4.1%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 8.1% $3.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $262 in Colima and $970 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 300% 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: $34.00 in Colima vs $50.0 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $250 vs $310 per month, with Colima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Colima

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

22:12 10:12 PM

Same time as Colima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

146,965

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

Colima Monterrey 800 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Colima
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

Colima vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Colima and Monterrey differ by about 69% in total monthly costs ($952 vs $1,608 including rent). Colima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 300% 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: $262 in Colima versus $970 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Colima runs roughly 59% less than in Monterrey. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $147 in Colima versus $691 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $952 in Colima versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Colima but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Colima 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.

Safety-wise, Colima 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 Colima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.