Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterey Park, CA and Toronto

For one person, living is cheaper in Toronto: $2,561 a month against $2,866 in Monterey Park, CA, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Monterey Park, CA
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Monterey Park, CA Living Index
125

Cost of Living Index in Toronto
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Toronto Living Index

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Monterey Park, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,866

/mo nomad

Toronto

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,561

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterey Park, CA and in Toronto

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,866 in Monterey Park, CA versus $2,561 in Toronto.

Monterey Park, CA $2,866
Toronto $2,561

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,218 in Monterey Park, CA versus $3,694 in Toronto.

Monterey Park, CA $4,218
Toronto $3,694

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,570 in Monterey Park, CA versus $4,826 in Toronto.

Monterey Park, CA $5,570
Toronto $4,826

Living in Monterey Park, CA is roughly 12% more expensive than in Toronto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monterey Park, CA 112% above, Toronto 90% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.69 $26.69

$17.18 CA$24.29

55.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.4 $80.4

$76.0 CA$107

5.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.07 $15.07

$10.54 CA$14.89

42.98%

Cappuccino

$5.89 $5.89

$4.02 CA$5.68

46.52%

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

$3.14 $3.14

$2.12 CA$3.00

48.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 $2.76

$1.75 CA$2.48

57.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.17 $8.17

$6.24 CA$8.83

30.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.19 $10.19

$7.09 CA$10.02

43.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 $1.33

$2.44 CA$3.45

-45.49%

White Bread (500g)

$4.94 $4.94

$2.68 CA$3.78

84.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.60 $4.60

$2.24 CA$3.17

105.36%

Eggs

$5.74 $5.74

$3.56 CA$5.03

61.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.29 $11.29

$9.09 CA$12.85

24.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.63 $8.63

$11.33 CA$16.01

-23.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.40 $19.40

$14.53 CA$20.55

33.52%

Apples (1kg)

$4.65 $4.65

$3.62 CA$5.12

28.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.32 $2.32

$1.21 CA$1.72

91.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.12 $4.12

$3.60 CA$5.09

14.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.60 $5.60

$4.21 CA$5.96

33.02%

Potato (1kg)

$3.41 $3.41

$1.79 CA$2.53

90.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.93 $2.93

$1.59 CA$2.25

84.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.95 $1.95

$2.27 CA$3.21

-14.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 $2.44

$1.25 CA$1.77

95.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.56 $11.56

$13.82 CA$19.53

-16.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.98 $14.98

$14.27 CA$20.18

4.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.51 $2.51

$2.20 CA$3.10

14.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 $2.71

$2.43 CA$3.44

11.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.99 $1.99

$2.39 CA$3.38

-16.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$111 CA$157

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 $3.08

$2.91 CA$4.12

5.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.81 $1.81

$1.20 CA$1.69

50.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.31 $32.31

$21.38 CA$30.23

51.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 $1.57

$1.21 CA$1.71

29.75%

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

$37.4K $37.4K

$28.2K CA$39.8K

32.87%

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

$25.5K $25.5K

$20.3K CA$28.6K

25.95%

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

$272 $272

$120 CA$170

125.89%

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

$85.8 $85.8

$32.26 CA$45.60

165.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$81.4 $81.4

$47.93 CA$67.8

69.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.47 $47.47

$38.48 CA$54.4

23.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.96 CA$32.46

Cinema Ticket

$19.40 $19.40

$12.38 CA$17.50

56.70%

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

$1,175 $1,175

$830 CA$1,173

41.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$31.7K $31.7K

$23.1K CA$32.6K

37.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.8 $63.8

$50.7 CA$71.7

25.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.6 $55.6

$40.02 CA$56.6

38.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 $117

$98.0 CA$139

19.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$211 $211

$121 CA$171

74.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,565 $1,565

$1,592 CA$2,251

-1.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,283 $1,283

$1,410 CA$1,994

-9.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,549 $2,549

$2,670 CA$3,775

-4.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,171 $2,171

$2,152 CA$3,042

0.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,733 $2,733

$7,945 CA$11.2K

-65.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,066 $2,066

$6,542 CA$9,249

-68.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 $1,575

$3,727 CA$5,269

-57.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.31

4.47

41.16%

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

Last update for Monterey Park, CA: October 12, 2026

Last update for Toronto: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterey Park, CA

$1.3K 44.8%

Toronto

$1.4K 55.1% 9.9% $127

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterey Park, CA

$439 15.3%

Toronto

$201 7.8% 54.3% $239

Groceries & Markets

Monterey Park, CA

$422 14.7%

Toronto

$340 13.3% 19.5% $82

Eating Out

Monterey Park, CA

$414 14.5%

Toronto

$278 10.9% 32.9% $136

Clothing & Footwear

Monterey Park, CA

$201 7%

Toronto

$139 5.4% 30.9% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Monterey Park, CA

$86 3%

Toronto

$63 2.5% 26.7% $23

Getting Around

Monterey Park, CA

$20 * 0.7%

Toronto

$129 5.1% 545% $109

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 $1,565 in Monterey Park, CA and $1,592 in Toronto. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Toronto pays 137% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $80.0 in Monterey Park, CA vs $76.0 in Toronto for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $422 vs $340 per month, with Toronto cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Monterey Park, CA

🇨🇦 Toronto

🕒 Local time

10:36 10:36 AM

13:36 1:36 PM

3 h ahead of Monterey Park, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

60,269

2,731,571

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

CAD to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Monterey Park, CA Toronto 3,490 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterey Park, CA
Toronto

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

Monterey Park, CA vs Toronto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Toronto wins on cost – living expenses run 12% lower than in Monterey Park, CA. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Toronto the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 137% lower in Toronto. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,565 in Monterey Park, CA versus $1,592 in Toronto. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Monterey Park, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,866 per month in Monterey Park, CA versus $2,561 in Toronto – a 12% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,500. Toronto is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Monterey Park, CA and Toronto 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 Toronto gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Monterey Park, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.