Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Montes Claros

For one person, living is cheaper in Montes Claros: $818 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Montes Claros
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Montes Claros Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Montes Claros

🇧🇷 Brazil

$818

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Montes Claros

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $818 in Montes Claros.

Mexico City $1,674
Montes Claros $818

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,288 in Montes Claros.

Mexico City $2,606
Montes Claros $1,288

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,758 in Montes Claros.

Mexico City $3,537
Montes Claros $1,758

Living in Mexico City is roughly 105% more expensive than in Montes Claros, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Montes Claros is 39% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$3.26 R$17.79

224.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$29.27 R$160

77.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$7.33 R$40.03

46.38%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$1.81 R$9.87

109.94%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$1.19 R$6.47

35.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.69 R$3.77

75.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$1.35 R$7.35

135.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$2.83 R$15.44

92.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$0.93 R$5.05

84.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$1.59 R$8.67

86.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$1.15 R$6.29

67.83%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$2.08 R$11.35

33.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$9.47 R$51.7

23.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$3.98 R$21.71

138.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$7.86 R$42.91

95.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$2.42 R$13.23

28.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$1.22 R$6.65

60.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$1.06 R$5.78

86.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$1.51 R$8.26

54.97%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$1.23 R$6.74

64.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$1.00 R$5.46

82.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$0.73 R$3.98

110.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$0.65 R$3.58

101.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$2.20 R$12.00

143.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$7.21 R$39.39

124.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.25 R$6.82

56.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$2.08 R$11.34

109.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$0.92 R$5.02

-67.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

$40.11 R$219

-51.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$1.15 R$6.27

66.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$0.71 R$3.85

-33.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$7.12 R$38.88

-24.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$0.99 R$5.40

49.49%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$19.7K R$107.6K

8.46%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$34.4K R$187.6K

-30.86%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$79.0 R$431

-21.51%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$10.66 R$58.2

167.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$18.00 R$98.3

89.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$24.05 R$131

142.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$25.54 R$139

-4.07%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$7.42 R$40.52

-11.19%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$296 R$1,616

46.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$6,015 R$32.8K

133.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$51.2 R$279

33.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$45.32 R$247

20.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$81.1 R$443

36.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$68.1 R$372

70.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$341 R$1,862

245.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$240 R$1,313

220.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$645 R$3,524

298.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$453 R$2,473

213.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$1,777 R$9,703

101.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$1,287 R$7,028

60.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

$373 R$2,034

169.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.18%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Montes Claros: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Montes Claros

$240 29.4% 68.8% $530

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Montes Claros

$182 22.3% 43.6% $141

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Montes Claros

$90 11% 55.3% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Montes Claros

$111 13.5% 29.8% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Montes Claros

$108 13.2% 13.6% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Montes Claros

$39 4.8% 45.7% $33

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Montes Claros

$48 5.9% 93.9% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $341 in Montes Claros. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $29 in Montes Claros for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $182 per month, with Montes Claros cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇷 Montes Claros

🕒 Local time

05:05 5:05 AM

08:05 8:05 AM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

414,240

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 BRL = 0.183 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 5.46 BRL (1 BRL = 0.183 USD). 1 EUR = 6.14 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Montes Claros 7,260 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Montes Claros

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

Mexico City vs Montes Claros: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $818 in Montes Claros, so Montes Claros is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 2.7 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: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $341 in Montes Claros. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 51% less than in Montes Claros. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $296 in Montes Claros. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $818 in Montes Claros versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Montes Claros but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Montes Claros 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.

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