Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Acapulco

For one person, living is cheaper in Acapulco: $848 a month against $1,641 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Acapulco
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Acapulco Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Acapulco

🇲🇽 Mexico

$848

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Acapulco

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

A single person spends $1,641 per month in Monterrey vs $848 in Acapulco, rent included.

Monterrey $1,641
Acapulco $848

A couple spends around $2,573 per month in Monterrey vs $1,418 in Acapulco, rent included.

Monterrey $2,573
Acapulco $1,418

A family of three spends $3,504 per month in Monterrey vs $1,989 in Acapulco, rent included.

Monterrey $3,504
Acapulco $1,989

Monterrey costs about 94% more than Acapulco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Monterrey sits 21% above the global median, while Acapulco is 37% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.37 MX$249

$9.20 MX$171

45.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.95 MX$892

$37.33 MX$695

28.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.79 MX$201

$11.65 MX$217

-7.38%

Cappuccino

$3.77 MX$70.1

$3.74 MX$69.6

0.80%

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

$1.51 MX$28.11

$1.53 MX$28.53

-1.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.15

$1.65 MX$30.65

-37.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 MX$46.18

$2.91 MX$54.2

-14.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 MX$81.1

$4.94 MX$92.0

-11.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 MX$35.25

$1.56 MX$29.07

21.15%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 MX$53.0

$2.86 MX$53.3

-0.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.54

$1.64 MX$30.50

13.41%

Eggs

$2.47 MX$45.89

$1.83 MX$34.03

34.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.81 MX$220

$6.60 MX$123

78.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 MX$167

$8.26 MX$154

8.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$234

$10.93 MX$203

15.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.20 MX$59.5

$4.55 MX$84.7

-29.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$27.98

$1.64 MX$30.58

-8.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.54

$3.18 MX$59.2

-33.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.33 MX$43.42

$3.04 MX$56.5

-23.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.37

$3.34 MX$62.2

-33.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 MX$48.10

$2.93 MX$54.4

-11.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$26.90

$1.23 MX$22.94

17.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.73

$0.82 MX$15.33

48.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.80 MX$89.3

$8.31 MX$155

-42.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 MX$248

$6.39 MX$119

108.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 MX$35.96

$1.10 MX$20.44

75.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 MX$53.2

$2.77 MX$51.5

3.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.86

$0.85 MX$15.83

-5.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.94 MX$576

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.83 MX$34.10

$4.96 MX$92.4

-63.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.68

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.82 MX$201

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.45 MX$27.03

1.38%

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

$24.1K MX$448.2K

$21.2K MX$394.6K

13.58%

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

$23.5K MX$438.0K

$23.9K MX$445.2K

-1.63%

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

$115 MX$2,133

$39.02 MX$726

193.72%

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

$26.37 MX$491

$14.93 MX$278

76.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.70 MX$478

$21.05 MX$392

22.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.53 MX$568

$18.69 MX$348

63.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.27 MX$396

$13.62 MX$254

56.17%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 MX$92.3

$3.82 MX$71.0

29.84%

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

$679 MX$12.6K

$163 MX$3,042

315.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.2K MX$264.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 MX$1,344

$65.6 MX$1,222

9.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.94 MX$780

$43.81 MX$815

-4.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 MX$2,000

$107 MX$1,994

0.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,208

$81.2 MX$1,510

46.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,018 MX$18.9K

$512 MX$9,526

98.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 MX$13.4K

$146 MX$2,724

393.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,966 MX$36.6K

$944 MX$17.6K

108.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,416 MX$26.3K

$325 MX$6,040

336.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,203 MX$78.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,782 MX$51.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,096 MX$20.4K

$447 MX$8,325

144.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

11.6

1.64%

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

Last update for Monterrey: November 2, 2026

Last update for Acapulco: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$722 44%

Acapulco

$146 17.3% 79.7% $575

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$302 18.4%

Acapulco

$267 31.5% 11.6% $35

Eating Out

Monterrey

$216 13.2%

Acapulco

$191 22.5% 11.7% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$167 10.2%

Acapulco

$75 8.9% 55% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$153 9.3%

Acapulco

$134 15.8% 12.5% $19

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Acapulco

$8.4 * 1% 79.7% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$40 2.5%

Acapulco

$26 3.1% 34.9% $14

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,018 in Monterrey versus $512 in Acapulco. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Monterrey are about 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Monterrey versus $37 in Acapulco. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $302 vs $267 – making Acapulco the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Acapulco

🕒 Local time

15:41 3:41 PM

Same time as Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

658,609

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey Acapulco 980 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Acapulco

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

Monterrey vs Acapulco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey costs about 94% more than Acapulco, 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 $2,461 per month in Monterrey and $1,272 in Acapulco. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Acapulco, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $512 there versus $1,018 in Monterrey.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,641 in Monterrey and $848 in Acapulco. That makes Acapulco about 48% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $679 per month in Monterrey and $163 in Acapulco. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,641 in Monterrey and $848 in Acapulco. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Acapulco – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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