Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cozumel and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Cozumel: $1,163 a month against $1,647 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Cozumel
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Cozumel Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Cozumel

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,163

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,163 in Cozumel versus $1,647 in Monterrey.

Cozumel $1,163
Monterrey $1,647

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,813 in Cozumel versus $2,591 in Monterrey.

Cozumel $1,813
Monterrey $2,591

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,464 in Cozumel versus $3,536 in Monterrey.

Cozumel $2,464
Monterrey $3,536

Living in Cozumel costs roughly 29% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cozumel is 15% below, Monterrey is 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.67 MX$163

$13.45 MX$253

-35.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.79 MX$822

$48.43 MX$909

-9.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.00 MX$150

$10.90 MX$205

-26.61%

Cappuccino

$2.76 MX$51.7

$3.82 MX$71.7

-27.75%

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

$1.06 MX$19.85

$1.67 MX$31.28

-36.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 MX$17.68

$0.98 MX$18.45

-4.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.58 MX$29.60

$2.35 MX$44.12

-32.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 MX$57.6

$4.41 MX$82.8

-30.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$27.48

$1.80 MX$33.82

-18.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 MX$30.83

$2.79 MX$52.4

-41.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.96

$1.82 MX$34.26

-3.30%

Eggs

$1.85 MX$34.71

$2.51 MX$47.17

-26.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.02 MX$188

$12.09 MX$227

-17.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.79 MX$146

$9.41 MX$177

-17.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.30 MX$231

$12.71 MX$239

-3.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.36 MX$44.28

$3.21 MX$60.2

-26.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.79

$1.50 MX$28.12

-8.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$40.23

$2.14 MX$40.26

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 MX$28.77

$2.32 MX$43.58

-34.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 MX$41.22

$2.20 MX$41.34

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 MX$33.98

$2.60 MX$48.78

-30.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$27.31

$1.44 MX$27.04

0.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 MX$20.60

$1.17 MX$22.03

-5.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.42 MX$83.0

$4.79 MX$89.9

-7.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.59 MX$199

$13.22 MX$248

-19.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 MX$28.01

$1.94 MX$36.47

-23.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 MX$46.93

$2.89 MX$54.2

-13.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.59 MX$11.02

$0.87 MX$16.37

-32.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.76 MX$559

$31.14 MX$585

-4.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 MX$49.00

$1.66 MX$31.10

57.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.89 MX$54.3

$1.09 MX$20.53

165.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.76 MX$165

$10.67 MX$200

-17.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 MX$24.80

$1.47 MX$27.66

-10.20%

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

$19.5K MX$365.6K

$24.2K MX$455.2K

-19.67%

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

$23.1K MX$433.7K

$23.6K MX$442.2K

-1.92%

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

$57.8 MX$1,085

$118 MX$2,213

-50.97%

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

$20.69 MX$388

$25.55 MX$480

-19.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.21 MX$398

$26.43 MX$496

-19.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.82 MX$710

$30.77 MX$578

22.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.69 MX$370

$21.07 MX$396

-6.55%

Cinema Ticket

$5.97 MX$112

$5.09 MX$95.6

17.29%

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

$259 MX$4,861

$694 MX$13.0K

-62.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,514 MX$66.0K

$11.3K MX$212.5K

-68.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.1 MX$1,034

$72.5 MX$1,360

-24.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.5 MX$985

$41.51 MX$779

26.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.4 MX$1,867

$110 MX$2,060

-9.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.6 MX$1,570

$115 MX$2,158

-27.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$599 MX$11.2K

$1,056 MX$19.8K

-43.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$435 MX$8,162

$721 MX$13.5K

-39.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,573 MX$29.5K

$1,999 MX$37.5K

-21.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$741 MX$13.9K

$1,435 MX$26.9K

-48.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,899 MX$35.6K

$4,219 MX$79.2K

-55.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,140 MX$21.4K

$2,731 MX$51.3K

-58.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$651 MX$12.2K

$1,149 MX$21.6K

-43.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.64

11.79

-1.27%

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

Last update for Cozumel: October 24, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cozumel

$435 37.4%

Monterrey

$721 43.8% 65.9% $287

Groceries & Markets

Cozumel

$250 21.5%

Monterrey

$303 18.4% 21.2% $53

Eating Out

Cozumel

$148 12.8%

Monterrey

$217 13.2% 46.4% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Cozumel

$131 11.2%

Monterrey

$152 9.3% 16.5% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cozumel

$100 8.6%

Monterrey

$170 10.3% 70.4% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Cozumel

$50 4.3%

Monterrey

$41 2.5% 17.7% $8.8

Getting Around

Cozumel

$49 4.2%

Monterrey

$42 2.5% 15.1% $7.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $599 in Cozumel and $1,056 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 76% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Cozumel vs $48 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $250 vs $303 per month, with Cozumel cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Cozumel

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

19:41 7:41 PM

18:41 6:41 PM

1 h behind Cozumel

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

77,236

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Cozumel Monterrey 1,490 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cozumel
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

Cozumel vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,163 in Cozumel and $1,647 in Monterrey, so Cozumel is about 29% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 43% lower in Cozumel. 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: $599 in Cozumel versus $1,056 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Monterrey. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cozumel – a meal for two runs $44 versus $48 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Cozumel gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Cozumel gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.