Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monteria and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Monteria: $1,227 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Monteria
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Monteria Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Monteria

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,227

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,227 in Monteria versus $1,608 in Monterrey.

Monteria $1,227
Monterrey $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,997 in Monteria versus $2,521 in Monterrey.

Monteria $1,997
Monterrey $2,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,767 in Monteria versus $3,433 in Monterrey.

Monteria $2,767
Monterrey $3,433

Living in Monteria costs roughly 24% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monteria is 9% below, Monterrey is 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.73 COP 18.2K

$13.85 MX$256

-58.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.91 COP 133.3K

$49.70 MX$918

-15.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.31 COP 32.8K

$11.05 MX$204

-6.70%

Cappuccino

$2.57 COP 8,178

$4.09 MX$75.5

-37.16%

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

$2.57 COP 8,188

$1.68 MX$30.94

52.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 COP 7,209

$1.03 MX$18.96

120.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.29 COP 10.5K

$2.40 MX$44.23

37.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 COP 16.4K

$4.35 MX$80.3

18.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.90 COP 6,052

$1.92 MX$35.51

-1.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 COP 8,857

$2.94 MX$54.2

-5.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 COP 4,537

$1.88 MX$34.63

-23.94%

Eggs

$4.83 COP 15.4K

$2.55 MX$47.01

89.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.98 COP 25.4K

$11.84 MX$219

-32.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.46 COP 30.1K

$9.36 MX$173

1.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.49 COP 42.9K

$13.10 MX$242

2.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 COP 10.1K

$3.38 MX$62.4

-6.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 COP 3,951

$1.52 MX$28.10

-18.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.07 COP 6,580

$2.19 MX$40.47

-5.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.81 COP 5,751

$2.36 MX$43.58

-23.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,332

$2.26 MX$41.72

-25.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.58 COP 5,020

$2.73 MX$50.5

-42.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 COP 3,887

$1.52 MX$28.14

-19.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 COP 3,698

$1.24 MX$22.88

-6.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$4.75 MX$87.8

-14.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.66 COP 46.6K

$13.66 MX$252

7.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 COP 4,630

$1.89 MX$34.92

-22.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.34 COP 7,443

$2.99 MX$55.1

-21.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.19 COP 3,777

$0.85 MX$15.76

40.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$571

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 COP 5,006

$1.68 MX$30.95

-6.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.68 COP 11.7K

$1.13 MX$20.85

225.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.57 COP 30.4K

$11.15 MX$206

-14.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,132

$1.56 MX$28.88

-16.67%

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

$23.5K COP 74.8M

$21.4K MX$395.4K

9.84%

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

$34.4K COP 109.3M

$25.1K MX$462.7K

37.14%

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

$78.0 COP 248.1K

$119 MX$2,204

-34.67%

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

$14.49 COP 46.1K

$26.21 MX$484

-44.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.19 COP 80.1K

$26.78 MX$494

-5.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.38 COP 138.0K

$31.03 MX$573

39.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$8.24 COP 26.2K

$5.29 MX$97.6

55.77%

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

$618 COP 2.0M

$691 MX$12.8K

-10.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,835 COP 18.6M

$11.5K MX$211.9K

-49.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.5 COP 240.1K

$72.3 MX$1,334

4.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 COP 176.2K

$42.72 MX$789

29.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$132 COP 420.5K

$110 MX$2,022

20.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 COP 345.9K

$117 MX$2,156

-6.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$736 COP 2.3M

$970 MX$17.9K

-24.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$411 COP 1.3M

$664 MX$12.3K

-38.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,022 COP 3.3M

$1,857 MX$34.3K

-44.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$913 COP 2.9M

$1,287 MX$23.8K

-29.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,174 COP 6.9M

$4,162 MX$76.8K

-47.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,691 COP 5.4M

$2,349 MX$43.4K

-28.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

27.23%

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

Last update for Monteria: October 12, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monteria

$411 33.5%

Monterrey

$664 41.3% 61.5% $253

Groceries & Markets

Monteria

$293 23.8%

Monterrey

$310 19.3% 6.1% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Monteria

$167 13.6%

Monterrey

$154 9.6% 8.2% $14

Eating Out

Monteria

$154 12.5%

Monterrey

$225 14% 46% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monteria

$118 9.6%

Monterrey

$172 10.7% 46.5% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Monteria

$60 4.9%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 30.5% $18

Getting Around

Monteria

$25 * 2%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 68.5% $17

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 $736 in Monteria and $970 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $42.00 in Monteria vs $50.0 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $310 per month, with Monteria cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Monteria

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

05:19 5:19 AM

04:19 4:19 AM

1 h behind Monteria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

454,032

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.42 USD

100 MXN = 4.84 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 3,181 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,562 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 18.46 MXN (100 MXN = 5.42 USD). 1 EUR = 20.67 MXN (100 MXN = 4.84 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Monteria Monterrey 3,190 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Monteria
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

Monteria vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monteria wins on cost – living expenses run 31% lower than in Monterrey. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Monteria the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,840 in Monteria and $2,412 in Monterrey to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $736 in Monteria versus $970 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $618 in Monteria versus $691 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Monteria – a meal for two runs $42.00 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,227 in Monteria versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Monteria but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Monteria the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Monteria delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,227 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Monteria hard to pass up.

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