Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between McAllen, TX and Montevideo

For one person, living costs are similar in McAllen, TX and in Montevideo: $1,788 and $1,771 a month, rent and utilities included.

87

Cost of Living Index in McAllen, TX
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McAllen, TX Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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McAllen, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$1,788

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in McAllen, TX and in Montevideo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in McAllen, TX and in Montevideo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,788 in McAllen, TX versus $1,771 in Montevideo.

McAllen, TX $1,788
Montevideo $1,771

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,731 in McAllen, TX versus $2,740 in Montevideo.

McAllen, TX $2,731
Montevideo $2,740

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,674 in McAllen, TX versus $3,708 in Montevideo.

McAllen, TX $3,674
Montevideo $3,708

Living in McAllen, TX is roughly 1% more expensive than in Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: McAllen, TX 32% above, Montevideo 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.21 $18.21

$15.16 UYU 609

20.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$76.3 $76.3

$69.2 UYU 2,776

10.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.93 $7.93

$14.65 UYU 588

-45.87%

Cappuccino

$4.53 $4.53

$4.46 UYU 179

1.57%

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

$2.44 $2.44

$2.67 UYU 107

-8.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 $1.93

$2.00 UYU 80.4

-3.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.97 $4.97

$4.83 UYU 194

2.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.40 $5.40

$3.80 UYU 152

42.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 $0.97

$1.36 UYU 54.8

-28.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 $2.94

$2.87 UYU 115

2.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.36 $4.36

$1.75 UYU 70.2

149.14%

Eggs

$3.37 $3.37

$4.68 UYU 188

-27.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.87 $9.87

$13.88 UYU 557

-28.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.58 $12.58

$11.98 UYU 481

5.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.09 $15.09

$11.97 UYU 480

26.07%

Apples (1kg)

$5.14 $5.14

$2.78 UYU 111

84.89%

Banana (1kg)

$2.39 $2.39

$2.74 UYU 110

-12.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.28 $3.28

$1.77 UYU 71.2

85.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 $2.06

$3.24 UYU 130

-36.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.96 $2.96

$1.97 UYU 79.2

50.25%

Onion (1kg)

$2.62 $2.62

$2.07 UYU 83.1

26.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.74 $1.74

$1.37 UYU 55.1

27.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 $2.09

$1.88 UYU 75.3

11.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.68 $8.68

$5.59 UYU 224

55.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.75 $15.75

$8.78 UYU 352

79.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 $2.09

$2.26 UYU 90.9

-7.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 $2.22

$2.75 UYU 110

-19.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 UYU 61.5

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,980

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.29 $4.29

$1.91 UYU 76.7

124.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 $0.78

$0.40 UYU 16.18

95.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.33 UYU 415

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.89 $0.89

$2.13 UYU 85.6

-58.22%

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

$27.0K $27.0K

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

-0.40%

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

$23.5K $23.5K

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

-35.33%

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

$164 $164

$188 UYU 7,557

-12.71%

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

$37.59 $37.59

$20.54 UYU 824

83.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$66.3 $66.3

$44.81 UYU 1,798

48.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.90 $44.90

$54.0 UYU 2,166

-16.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

Cinema Ticket

$12.23 $12.23

$11.95 UYU 480

2.34%

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

$908 $908

$634 UYU 25.5K

43.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.5 $78.5

$102 UYU 4,099

-23.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.89 $44.89

$57.5 UYU 2,309

-21.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 $74.2

$127 UYU 5,079

-41.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 $96.6

$128 UYU 5,131

-24.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$816 $816

$719 UYU 28.8K

13.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 $669

$568 UYU 22.8K

17.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,342 $1,342

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

17.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,144 $1,144

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

11.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,676 $1,676

$3,392 UYU 136.1K

-50.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,700 $1,700

$1,949 UYU 78.2K

-12.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,646 $3,646

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

192.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.48

5.74

12.89%

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

Last update for McAllen, TX: October 12, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

McAllen, TX

$669 37.4%

Montevideo

$568 32.1% 15.1% $101

Groceries & Markets

McAllen, TX

$364 20.4%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 8.9% $32

Eating Out

McAllen, TX

$277 15.5%

Montevideo

$269 15.2% 2.8% $7.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

McAllen, TX

$268 15%

Montevideo

$254 14.3% 5.5% $15

Clothing & Footwear

McAllen, TX

$132 7.4%

Montevideo

$186 10.5% 40.7% $54

Sport & Entertainment

McAllen, TX

$69 3.9%

Montevideo

$78 4.4% 12.3% $8.5

Getting Around

McAllen, TX

$8.2 * 0.5%

Montevideo

$84 4.8% 928% $76

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $816 in McAllen, TX and $719 in Montevideo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

McAllen, TX pays 193% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $76.0 in McAllen, TX vs $69.0 in Montevideo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $364 vs $332 per month, with Montevideo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 McAllen, TX

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

20:55 8:55 PM

22:55 10:55 PM

2 h ahead of McAllen, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

142,210

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇺🇾 Uruguayan Peso ($U)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

UYU to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

McAllen, TX Montevideo 8,110 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

McAllen, TX
Montevideo

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

McAllen, TX vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

McAllen, TX and Montevideo differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($1,788 vs $1,771 including rent). Montevideo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 193% higher in McAllen, TX, 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: $816 in McAllen, TX versus $719 in Montevideo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $908 in McAllen, TX versus $634 in Montevideo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Montevideo – a meal for two runs $69.0 versus $76.0 in McAllen, TX. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,771 in Montevideo versus $1,788 in McAllen, TX, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Montevideo but tight or insufficient in McAllen, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Montevideo 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.

Safety-wise, McAllen, TX and Montevideo 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 Montevideo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in McAllen, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.