Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ensenada and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Ensenada: $1,067 a month against $1,647 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Ensenada
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Ensenada Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Ensenada

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,067

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,067 in Ensenada versus $1,647 in Monterrey.

Ensenada $1,067
Monterrey $1,647

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,704 in Ensenada versus $2,591 in Monterrey.

Ensenada $1,704
Monterrey $2,591

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,340 in Ensenada versus $3,536 in Monterrey.

Ensenada $2,340
Monterrey $3,536

Living in Ensenada costs roughly 35% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ensenada is 22% below, Monterrey is 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 MX$225

$13.45 MX$252

-10.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.29 MX$624

$48.43 MX$908

-31.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.07 MX$133

$10.90 MX$204

-35.14%

Cappuccino

$2.99 MX$56.0

$3.82 MX$71.5

-21.73%

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

$1.19 MX$22.36

$1.67 MX$31.22

-28.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 MX$13.16

$0.98 MX$18.42

-28.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.72 MX$50.9

$2.35 MX$44.04

15.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.08 MX$76.5

$4.41 MX$82.7

-7.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 MX$33.64

$1.80 MX$33.76

-0.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.64 MX$49.45

$2.79 MX$52.3

-5.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 MX$30.68

$1.82 MX$34.20

-9.89%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$47.45

$2.51 MX$47.09

0.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.12 MX$152

$12.09 MX$227

-32.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.72 MX$126

$9.41 MX$176

-28.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.16 MX$190

$12.71 MX$238

-20.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 MX$40.71

$3.21 MX$60.1

-32.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 MX$29.12

$1.50 MX$28.07

3.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.78 MX$33.30

$2.14 MX$40.19

-16.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.59 MX$29.83

$2.32 MX$43.50

-31.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.31 MX$24.61

$2.20 MX$41.26

-40.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 MX$33.44

$2.60 MX$48.69

-31.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.44 MX$26.99

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 MX$19.72

$1.17 MX$21.99

-10.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.93 MX$73.7

$4.79 MX$89.7

-17.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.15 MX$246

$13.22 MX$248

-0.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 MX$32.86

$1.94 MX$36.40

-9.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 MX$49.49

$2.89 MX$54.1

-8.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.84 MX$15.83

$0.87 MX$16.34

-3.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.37 MX$794

$31.14 MX$584

36.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.78 MX$52.1

$1.66 MX$31.04

67.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.91 MX$35.81

$1.09 MX$20.49

75.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.18 MX$359

$10.67 MX$200

79.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 MX$26.04

$1.47 MX$27.61

-5.44%

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

$24.6K MX$460.6K

$24.2K MX$454.3K

1.38%

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

$23.3K MX$436.9K

$23.6K MX$441.4K

-1.02%

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

$46.42 MX$870

$118 MX$2,209

-60.62%

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

$31.55 MX$591

$25.55 MX$479

23.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.24 MX$473

$26.43 MX$495

-4.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.30 MX$512

$30.77 MX$577

-11.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.72 MX$201

$21.07 MX$395

-49.12%

Cinema Ticket

$4.49 MX$84.2

$5.09 MX$95.4

-11.79%

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

$190 MX$3,569

$694 MX$13.0K

-72.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,838 MX$90.7K

$11.3K MX$212.1K

-57.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.2 MX$996

$72.5 MX$1,358

-26.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.89 MX$785

$41.51 MX$778

0.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 MX$1,919

$110 MX$2,056

-6.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.5 MX$1,078

$115 MX$2,154

-49.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$518 MX$9,706

$1,056 MX$19.8K

-50.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$322 MX$6,026

$721 MX$13.5K

-55.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$977 MX$18.3K

$1,999 MX$37.5K

-51.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$641 MX$12.0K

$1,435 MX$26.9K

-55.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,346 MX$25.2K

$4,219 MX$79.1K

-68.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$666 MX$12.5K

$2,731 MX$51.2K

-75.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$650 MX$12.2K

$1,149 MX$21.5K

-43.40%

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 Ensenada: 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

Ensenada

$322 30.1%

Monterrey

$721 43.8% 124% $400

Groceries & Markets

Ensenada

$251 23.5%

Monterrey

$303 18.4% 21% $53

Eating Out

Ensenada

$182 17.1%

Monterrey

$217 13.2% 19.1% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Ensenada

$115 10.8%

Monterrey

$152 9.3% 32.8% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ensenada

$103 9.7%

Monterrey

$170 10.3% 64.6% $67

Getting Around

Ensenada

$58 5.4%

Monterrey

$42 2.5% 28.1% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Ensenada

$36 3.4%

Monterrey

$41 2.5% 12.9% $4.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $518 in Ensenada and $1,056 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 77% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $33 in Ensenada vs $48 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $251 vs $303 per month, with Ensenada cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Ensenada

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

05:09 5:09 AM

07:09 7:09 AM

2 h ahead of Ensenada

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

330,652

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ensenada Monterrey 1,730 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ensenada
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

Ensenada vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,067 in Ensenada and $1,647 in Monterrey, so Ensenada is about 35% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 43% lower in Ensenada. 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: $518 in Ensenada versus $1,056 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,067 per month in Ensenada versus $1,647 in Monterrey – Ensenada is about 35% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Monterrey runs roughly 27% less than in Ensenada. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Ensenada 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.

It comes down to priorities – Ensenada wins on affordability, Monterrey on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.