Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Huancayo and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Huancayo: $487 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Huancayo
Learn more

Huancayo Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
Learn more

Monterrey Living Index

Jump to prices

Huancayo

🇵🇪 Peru

$487

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $487 per month in Huancayo vs $1,608 in Monterrey, rent included.

Huancayo $487
Monterrey $1,608

A couple spends around $823 per month in Huancayo vs $2,521 in Monterrey, rent included.

Huancayo $823
Monterrey $2,521

A family of three spends $1,159 per month in Huancayo vs $3,433 in Monterrey, rent included.

Huancayo $1,159
Monterrey $3,433

Huancayo is about 70% cheaper than Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Huancayo sits 64% below the global median, while Monterrey is 19% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.36 PEN 8.09

$13.85 MX$256

-82.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.22 PEN 118

$49.70 MX$918

-31.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.15 PEN 24.54

$11.05 MX$204

-35.29%

Cappuccino

$3.19 PEN 10.97

$4.09 MX$75.6

-22.00%

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

$1.06 PEN 3.64

$1.68 MX$30.97

-36.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.12

$1.03 MX$18.98

-39.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.64 PEN 9.08

$2.40 MX$44.28

10.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 PEN 15.25

$4.35 MX$80.3

2.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 PEN 3.95

$1.92 MX$35.55

-40.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 PEN 3.46

$2.94 MX$54.2

-65.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.68

$1.88 MX$34.66

-27.66%

Eggs

$2.42 PEN 8.32

$2.55 MX$47.06

-5.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.35 PEN 18.38

$11.84 MX$219

-54.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.96 PEN 20.47

$9.36 MX$173

-36.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.17 PEN 17.75

$13.10 MX$242

-60.53%

Apples (1kg)

$1.41 PEN 4.83

$3.38 MX$62.5

-58.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.03 PEN 3.55

$1.52 MX$28.13

-32.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.56 PEN 1.91

$2.19 MX$40.51

-74.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 PEN 4.10

$2.36 MX$43.63

-49.58%

Potato (1kg)

$0.84 PEN 2.87

$2.26 MX$41.76

-62.83%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 PEN 3.14

$2.73 MX$50.5

-66.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 PEN 2.08

$1.52 MX$28.17

-60.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 PEN 2.85

$1.24 MX$22.90

-33.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.73 PEN 19.67

$4.75 MX$87.8

20.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.11 PEN 17.54

$13.66 MX$252

-62.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 PEN 6.35

$1.89 MX$34.95

-2.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 PEN 10.69

$2.99 MX$55.2

4.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 PEN 2.05

$0.85 MX$15.78

-29.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.32 PEN 59.5

$30.95 MX$572

-44.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.85 PEN 6.35

$1.68 MX$30.98

10.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 PEN 7.05

$1.13 MX$20.87

81.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.08 PEN 24.33

$11.15 MX$206

-36.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 PEN 5.05

$1.56 MX$28.91

-5.77%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.2K

$21.4K MX$395.8K

3.56%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$25.1K MX$463.2K

1.72%

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

$34.54 PEN 119

$119 MX$2,206

-71.07%

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

$11.79 PEN 40.49

$26.21 MX$484

-55.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.69 PEN 40.14

$26.78 MX$495

-56.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$7.44 PEN 25.55

$5.29 MX$97.7

40.64%

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

$181 PEN 621

$691 MX$12.8K

-73.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

$11.5K MX$212.1K

15.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.9 PEN 182

$72.3 MX$1,335

-26.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.47 PEN 122

$42.72 MX$789

-16.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.6 PEN 290

$110 MX$2,024

-22.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.7 PEN 270

$117 MX$2,158

-32.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$321 PEN 1,103

$970 MX$17.9K

-66.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$664 MX$12.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,857 MX$34.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 MX$23.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 MX$76.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,349 MX$43.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

11.79

-24.17%

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

Last update for Huancayo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Huancayo

$162 33.2%

Monterrey

$310 19.3% 91.7% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Huancayo

$113 23.2%

Monterrey

$154 9.6% 35.6% $40

Eating Out

Huancayo

$107 22.1%

Monterrey

$225 14% 109% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Huancayo

$58 11.9%

Monterrey

$172 10.7% 197% $114

Getting Around

Huancayo

$32 6.5%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 31% $9.9

Sport & Entertainment

Huancayo

$15 * 3.1%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 180% $27

Accommodation & Living

Huancayo

- * 0%

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $321 in Huancayo versus $970 in Monterrey. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $34.00 in Huancayo versus $50.0 in Monterrey. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $162 vs $310 – making Huancayo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Huancayo

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

12:23 12:23 PM

11:23 11:23 AM

1 h behind Huancayo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

27,552

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Huancayo Monterrey 5,000 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Huancayo
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

Huancayo vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey costs about 230% more than Huancayo, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $731 per month in Huancayo and $2,412 in Monterrey. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Huancayo, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $487 in Huancayo and $1,608 in Monterrey. That's a gap of about 230%.

Public transport costs about 79% less in Huancayo. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Huancayo, where all-in costs run around $487, than in Monterrey at $1,608. In Huancayo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Monterrey it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Huancayo costs $487 versus $1,608 in Monterrey. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Huancayo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Monterrey makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.