Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hamilton, Canada and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,641 a month against $2,378 in Hamilton, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Hamilton
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Hamilton Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Hamilton

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,378

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,378 in Hamilton versus $1,641 in Monterrey.

Hamilton $2,378
Monterrey $1,641

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,390 in Hamilton versus $2,573 in Monterrey.

Hamilton $3,390
Monterrey $2,573

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,402 in Hamilton versus $3,504 in Monterrey.

Hamilton $4,402
Monterrey $3,504

Living in Hamilton is roughly 45% more expensive than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Hamilton 76% above, Monterrey 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.01 CA$25.24

$13.37 MX$251

34.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 CA$94.6

$47.95 MX$900

40.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.27 CA$17.19

$10.79 MX$203

13.72%

Cappuccino

$3.45 CA$4.83

$3.77 MX$70.7

-8.49%

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

$2.15 CA$3.02

$1.51 MX$28.37

42.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 CA$2.32

$1.03 MX$19.33

61.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.10 CA$7.15

$2.48 MX$46.60

105.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.30 CA$8.83

$4.36 MX$81.8

44.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 CA$2.83

$1.89 MX$35.58

6.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 CA$2.92

$2.85 MX$53.5

-26.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.27 CA$4.59

$1.86 MX$34.86

75.81%

Eggs

$3.28 CA$4.59

$2.47 MX$46.31

32.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.15 CA$11.43

$11.81 MX$222

-30.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.60 CA$16.27

$8.97 MX$168

29.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.74 CA$20.66

$12.57 MX$236

17.26%

Apples (1kg)

$4.06 CA$5.69

$3.20 MX$60.0

26.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.34 CA$1.88

$1.50 MX$28.23

-10.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.00 CA$5.60

$2.12 MX$39.90

88.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.94 CA$5.52

$2.33 MX$43.82

69.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.74 CA$3.84

$2.22 MX$41.75

23.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 CA$2.79

$2.58 MX$48.54

-22.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.08 CA$2.92

$1.45 MX$27.15

43.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 CA$1.98

$1.22 MX$22.94

15.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.37 CA$17.34

$4.80 MX$90.1

157.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.49 CA$20.31

$13.30 MX$250

8.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 CA$3.69

$1.93 MX$36.28

36.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.90 CA$5.47

$2.86 MX$53.6

36.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.71 CA$3.80

$0.80 MX$15.00

238.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$90.6 CA$127

$30.94 MX$581

192.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.53 CA$4.95

$1.83 MX$34.42

92.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 CA$1.82

$1.06 MX$19.86

22.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.78 CA$33.33

$10.82 MX$203

119.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 CA$1.70

$1.47 MX$27.65

-17.69%

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

$26.5K CA$37.1K

$24.1K MX$452.3K

9.87%

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

$21.8K CA$30.6K

$23.5K MX$442.0K

-7.20%

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

$155 CA$217

$115 MX$2,152

34.82%

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

$42.03 CA$58.9

$26.37 MX$495

59.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.1 CA$71.7

$25.70 MX$483

98.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.22 CA$47.96

$30.53 MX$573

12.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.63 CA$24.71

$21.27 MX$400

-17.11%

Cinema Ticket

$10.46 CA$14.66

$4.96 MX$93.1

110.89%

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

$394 CA$553

$679 MX$12.7K

-41.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.6K CA$31.7K

$14.2K MX$266.4K

59.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.03 CA$68.7

$72.2 MX$1,356

-32.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.10 CA$43.60

$41.94 MX$788

-25.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.3 CA$124

$107 MX$2,019

-17.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 CA$162

$119 MX$2,228

-2.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,291 CA$1,809

$1,018 MX$19.1K

26.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,215 CA$1,704

$722 MX$13.6K

68.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,003 CA$2,808

$1,966 MX$36.9K

1.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,790 CA$2,509

$1,416 MX$26.6K

26.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,132 CA$4,390

$4,203 MX$78.9K

-25.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,635 CA$3,693

$2,782 MX$52.2K

-5.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,027 CA$4,243

$1,096 MX$20.6K

176.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.6

11.79

-60.98%

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

Last update for Hamilton: November 2, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hamilton

$1.2K 51.1%

Monterrey

$722 44% 40.6% $494

Groceries & Markets

Hamilton

$345 14.5%

Monterrey

$302 18.4% 12.5% $43

Eating Out

Hamilton

$276 11.6%

Monterrey

$216 13.2% 21.7% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hamilton

$248 10.4%

Monterrey

$167 10.2% 32.7% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Hamilton

$128 5.4%

Monterrey

$153 9.3% 19.8% $25

Getting Around

Hamilton

$111 4.7%

Monterrey

$41 2.5% 63% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Hamilton

$55 2.3%

Monterrey

$40 2.5% 26.6% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,291 in Hamilton and $1,018 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hamilton pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Hamilton vs $48 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $345 vs $302 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Hamilton

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

02:57 2:57 AM

01:57 1:57 AM

1 h behind Hamilton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

519,949

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.635 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.635 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Hamilton Monterrey 2,690 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Hamilton
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

Hamilton vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey is about 31% cheaper overall, especially in transport, eating out, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Hamilton is about 2.8 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,291 in Hamilton versus $1,018 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $394 in Hamilton versus $679 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Hamilton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Monterrey gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both work as nomad bases, but Monterrey delivers better value at $1,641 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Monterrey hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Monterrey gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Hamilton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.