Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Green Island and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Green Island: $1,003 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Monterrey outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

48

Cost of Living Index in Green Island
Learn more

Green Island Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
Learn more

Monterrey Living Index

Jump to prices

Green Island

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,003

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,003 in Green Island versus $1,599 in Monterrey.

Green Island $1,003
Monterrey $1,599

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,656 in Green Island versus $2,493 in Monterrey.

Green Island $1,656
Monterrey $2,493

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,308 in Green Island versus $3,387 in Monterrey.

Green Island $2,308
Monterrey $3,387

Living in Green Island costs roughly 37% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Green Island is 26% below, Monterrey is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.40 JMD 2,117

$13.80 MX$255

-2.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.9 JMD 11.7K

$47.99 MX$887

53.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.05 JMD 1,271

$10.65 MX$197

-24.41%

Cappuccino

$5.34 JMD 843

$3.99 MX$73.7

33.83%

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

$1.14 JMD 180

$1.66 MX$30.76

-31.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 JMD 108

$0.99 MX$18.21

-31.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.19 JMD 346

$2.36 MX$43.64

-7.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 JMD 505

$4.43 MX$81.8

-27.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.10 JMD 647

$1.82 MX$33.58

125.27%

White Bread (500g)

$3.81 JMD 603

$2.83 MX$52.4

34.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 JMD 255

$1.92 MX$35.44

-16.15%

Eggs

$3.50 JMD 554

$2.48 MX$45.78

41.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.48 JMD 1,814

$11.74 MX$217

-2.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.12 JMD 967

$9.10 MX$168

-32.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.14 JMD 1,603

$12.53 MX$232

-19.07%

Apples (1kg)

$5.96 JMD 942

$3.34 MX$61.6

78.44%

Banana (1kg)

$3.83 JMD 604

$1.57 MX$29.10

143.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.34 JMD 1,160

$2.16 MX$39.86

239.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.95 JMD 466

$2.47 MX$45.65

19.43%

Potato (1kg)

$3.26 JMD 515

$2.31 MX$42.64

41.13%

Onion (1kg)

$2.66 JMD 421

$2.68 MX$49.47

-0.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.98 JMD 472

$1.46 MX$26.90

104.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 JMD 230

$1.19 MX$22.07

22.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.17 JMD 1,449

$4.75 MX$87.8

93.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.48 JMD 1,813

$13.58 MX$251

-15.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.92 JMD 462

$1.92 MX$35.52

52.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.88 JMD 613

$2.88 MX$53.2

34.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MX$14.66

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.23 JMD 194

$1.59 MX$29.44

-22.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.08 JMD 486

$1.06 MX$19.58

190.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.24 JMD 985

$10.80 MX$200

-42.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 JMD 220

$1.55 MX$28.59

-10.32%

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

$44.6K JMD 7.1M

$24.2K MX$446.4K

84.84%

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

$32.5K JMD 5.1M

$24.3K MX$449.4K

33.59%

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

$170 JMD 26.9K

$117 MX$2,159

45.76%

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

$29.69 JMD 4,690

$26.38 MX$488

12.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.2 JMD 8,251

$26.04 MX$481

100.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.26 MX$559

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.25 MX$393

Cinema Ticket

$13.42 JMD 2,121

$5.23 MX$96.6

156.60%

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

$360 JMD 56.8K

$673 MX$12.4K

-46.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,332 JMD 1.3M

$11.1K MX$205.2K

-24.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.80 JMD 3,761

$72.1 MX$1,332

-66.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.64 JMD 5,000

$42.38 MX$783

-25.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 JMD 12.3K

$112 MX$2,066

-30.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 JMD 16.1K

$119 MX$2,200

-14.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$949 MX$17.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$666 MX$12.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,821 MX$33.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 MX$23.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$74.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,348 MX$43.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 MX$21.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

11.79

-19.85%

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

Last update for Green Island: October 19, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Green Island

$382 38%

Monterrey

$304 19% 20.2% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Green Island

$252 25.1%

Monterrey

$169 10.6% 32.9% $83

Eating Out

Green Island

$220 21.9%

Monterrey

$221 13.9% 0.7% $1.5

Clothing & Footwear

Green Island

$106 10.6%

Monterrey

$155 9.7% 46.6% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Green Island

$27 * 2.7%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 51.7% $14

Getting Around

Green Island

$17 * 1.7%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 149% $25

Accommodation & Living

Green Island

- * 0%

Monterrey

$666 41.7%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $74.0 in Green Island vs $48.00 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $382 vs $304 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Green Island

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

15:26 3:26 PM

14:26 2:26 PM

1 h behind Green Island

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,546

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Green Island Monterrey 2,410 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Green Island
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

Green Island vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Green Island and Monterrey differ by about 59% in total monthly costs ($1,003 vs $1,599 including rent). Green Island is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,505 in Green Island and $2,399 in Monterrey to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Shoppers in Monterrey pay roughly 25% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,003 per month in Green Island versus $1,599 in Monterrey – a 59% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,003 in Green Island versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Green Island but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Green Island 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.

Expats usually find Green Island gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.