Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Elgin, IL and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Elgin, IL: $1,035 a month against $1,607 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Monterrey outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

51

Cost of Living Index in Elgin, IL
Learn more

Elgin, IL Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
Learn more

Monterrey Living Index

Jump to prices

Elgin, IL

🇺🇸 United States

$1,035

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,607

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,035 in Elgin, IL versus $1,607 in Monterrey.

Elgin, IL $1,035
Monterrey $1,607

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,614 in Elgin, IL versus $2,512 in Monterrey.

Elgin, IL $2,614
Monterrey $2,512

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,192 in Elgin, IL versus $3,417 in Monterrey.

Elgin, IL $4,192
Monterrey $3,417

Living in Elgin, IL costs roughly 36% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Elgin, IL is 23% below, Monterrey is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.93 $19.93

$13.75 MX$253

44.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.5 $59.5

$50.2 MX$923

18.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.07 $10.07

$11.13 MX$205

-9.52%

Cappuccino

$3.90 $3.90

$4.04 MX$74.3

-3.47%

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

$3.03 $3.03

$1.70 MX$31.33

78.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 $2.05

$0.99 MX$18.19

107.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.96 $5.96

$2.41 MX$44.27

147.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.92 $4.92

$4.48 MX$82.5

9.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.89 $0.89

$1.92 MX$35.36

-53.65%

White Bread (500g)

$3.54 $3.54

$2.89 MX$53.2

22.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.34 $4.34

$1.94 MX$35.72

123.71%

Eggs

$3.73 $3.73

$2.50 MX$45.97

49.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.35 $11.35

$12.30 MX$226

-7.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.45 $13.45

$9.33 MX$172

44.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.71 $11.71

$13.07 MX$240

-10.41%

Apples (1kg)

$4.49 $4.49

$3.38 MX$62.2

32.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 $1.27

$1.58 MX$29.07

-19.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 $2.57

$2.20 MX$40.51

16.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.22 $4.22

$2.45 MX$44.96

72.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 $1.99

$2.26 MX$41.54

-11.95%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 $2.08

$2.74 MX$50.4

-24.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.84 $1.84

$1.53 MX$28.13

20.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.37 $2.37

$1.26 MX$23.19

88.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.79 $10.79

$4.84 MX$89.0

122.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.56 $15.56

$13.59 MX$250

14.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.62 $2.62

$1.91 MX$35.06

37.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 $3.49

$3.06 MX$56.4

14.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.62

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.77 MX$584

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.06 $4.06

$1.62 MX$29.82

150.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 $2.02

$1.10 MX$20.20

83.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.28 $28.28

$10.97 MX$202

157.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.52 MX$27.98

-31.58%

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

$36.5K $36.5K

$21.4K MX$393.0K

70.92%

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

$24.9K $24.9K

$25.5K MX$468.3K

-2.11%

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

$99.4 $99.4

$120 MX$2,201

-17.01%

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

$52.2 $52.2

$27.08 MX$498

92.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.61 $49.61

$26.70 MX$491

85.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.15 MX$573

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.95 MX$404

Cinema Ticket

$14.76 $14.76

$5.14 MX$94.5

187.16%

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

$1,690 $1,690

$688 MX$12.6K

145.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.2K $23.2K

$11.4K MX$210.1K

102.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.27 $39.27

$71.9 MX$1,323

-45.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.2 $50.2

$43.30 MX$796

15.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 $100

$112 MX$2,062

-10.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 $122

$122 MX$2,240

0.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$957 MX$17.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$670 MX$12.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,175 $2,175

$1,887 MX$34.7K

15.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,811 $1,811

$1,305 MX$24.0K

38.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,192 $2,192

$4,159 MX$76.5K

-47.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,211 $2,211

$2,437 MX$44.8K

-9.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,971 $3,971

$1,133 MX$20.8K

250.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.69

11.79

-43.26%

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

Last update for Elgin, IL: October 4, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Elgin, IL

$371 35.3%

Monterrey

$312 19.3% 15.9% $59

Eating Out

Elgin, IL

$296 28.1%

Monterrey

$224 13.8% 24.5% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Elgin, IL

$201 19.1%

Monterrey

$174 10.7% 13.8% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Elgin, IL

$141 13.3%

Monterrey

$157 9.7% 11.8% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Elgin, IL

$30 * 2.8%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 40.4% $12

Getting Around

Elgin, IL

$14 * 1.4%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 197% $28

Accommodation & Living

Elgin, IL

- * 0%

Monterrey

$670 41.4%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Elgin, IL pays 250% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $59.0 in Elgin, IL vs $50.0 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $371 vs $312 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Elgin, IL

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

19:49 7:49 PM

18:49 6:49 PM

1 h behind Elgin, IL

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

112,603

1,142,994

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

100 MXN = 5.44 USD

100 MXN = 4.85 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 11, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 11, 2026: 1 USD = 18.39 MXN (100 MXN = 5.44 USD). 1 EUR = 20.61 MXN (100 MXN = 4.85 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Elgin, IL Monterrey 2,130 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Elgin, IL
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

Elgin, IL vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Elgin, IL is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, leisure, and transport. The 55% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 250% higher in Elgin, IL, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $1,690 in Elgin, IL versus $688 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Elgin, IL – a meal for two runs $59.0 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,035 in Elgin, IL versus $1,607 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Elgin, IL but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Elgin, IL the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Elgin, IL is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Monterrey, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Elgin, IL 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 Elgin, IL gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.