Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Barranquilla

For one person, living is cheaper in Barranquilla: $1,439 a month against $1,607 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Monterrey outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Barranquilla
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Barranquilla Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,607

/mo nomad

Barranquilla

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,439

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Barranquilla

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 Barranquilla actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,607 per month in Monterrey vs $1,439 in Barranquilla, rent included.

Monterrey $1,607
Barranquilla $1,439

A couple spends around $2,512 per month in Monterrey vs $2,247 in Barranquilla, rent included.

Monterrey $2,512
Barranquilla $2,247

A family of three spends $3,417 per month in Monterrey vs $3,056 in Barranquilla, rent included.

Monterrey $3,417
Barranquilla $3,056

Monterrey costs about 12% more than Barranquilla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Monterrey and Barranquilla sit above the global median – Monterrey by 20%, Barranquilla by 7%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.75 MX$252

$8.66 COP 27.6K

58.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.2 MX$921

$62.1 COP 198.0K

-19.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.13 MX$204

$13.40 COP 42.7K

-16.94%

Cappuccino

$4.04 MX$74.2

$2.62 COP 8,356

54.20%

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

$1.70 MX$31.29

$1.35 COP 4,298

25.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 MX$18.17

$1.23 COP 3,929

-19.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.41 MX$44.21

$3.04 COP 9,679

-20.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 MX$82.3

$7.70 COP 24.5K

-41.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.31

$0.90 COP 2,875

113.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.89 MX$53.1

$1.24 COP 3,966

133.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.67

$1.52 COP 4,834

27.63%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$45.90

$2.04 COP 6,509

22.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.30 MX$226

$4.77 COP 15.2K

157.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$171

$17.28 COP 55.1K

-46.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.07 MX$240

$6.84 COP 21.8K

91.08%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.1

$2.19 COP 6,985

54.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 MX$29.02

$0.95 COP 3,031

66.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.20 MX$40.45

$0.58 COP 1,862

279.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.45 MX$44.89

$1.87 COP 5,948

31.02%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.47

$1.20 COP 3,831

88.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.74 MX$50.4

$0.95 COP 3,019

188.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 MX$28.09

$1.25 COP 3,971

22.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.16

$0.95 COP 3,017

32.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.84 MX$88.9

$5.02 COP 16.0K

-3.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.59 MX$249

$12.31 COP 39.2K

10.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 MX$35.01

$1.50 COP 4,783

27.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 MX$56.3

$4.52 COP 14.4K

-32.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.60

$1.13 COP 3,615

-29.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.77 MX$583

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 MX$29.78

$3.31 COP 10.6K

-51.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.10 MX$20.17

$3.01 COP 9,582

-63.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.97 MX$201

$15.51 COP 49.4K

-29.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$27.93

$1.29 COP 4,122

17.83%

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

$21.4K MX$392.4K

$21.3K COP 68.0M

0.19%

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

$25.5K MX$467.6K

$27.9K COP 88.9M

-8.72%

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

$120 MX$2,198

$148 COP 471.7K

-19.12%

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

$27.08 MX$497

$14.29 COP 45.5K

89.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.70 MX$490

$32.19 COP 102.6K

-17.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.15 MX$572

$33.20 COP 105.8K

-6.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.95 MX$403

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$94.4

$4.47 COP 14.2K

14.99%

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

$688 MX$12.6K

$301 COP 959.1K

128.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$209.8K

$4,623 COP 14.7M

147.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.9 MX$1,321

$109 COP 346.3K

-33.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.30 MX$795

$46.51 COP 148.2K

-6.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MX$2,059

$181 COP 577.5K

-38.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 MX$2,236

$245 COP 781.3K

-50.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$957 MX$17.6K

$760 COP 2.4M

25.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$670 MX$12.3K

$489 COP 1.6M

37.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,887 MX$34.7K

$796 COP 2.5M

137.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,305 MX$24.0K

$883 COP 2.8M

47.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,159 MX$76.4K

$1,793 COP 5.7M

131.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,437 MX$44.7K

$616 COP 2.0M

295.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,133 MX$20.8K

$502 COP 1.6M

125.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

17.90%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 4, 2026

Last update for Barranquilla: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$670 41.4%

Barranquilla

$489 33.9% 27.1% $181

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$312 19.3%

Barranquilla

$248 17.2% 20.5% $64

Eating Out

Monterrey

$224 13.8%

Barranquilla

$182 12.6% 18.7% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$174 10.7%

Barranquilla

$195 13.5% 12.1% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$157 9.7%

Barranquilla

$262 18.2% 66.6% $105

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Barranquilla

$23 * 1.6% 45.6% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Barranquilla

$42 2.9% 1.7% $0.7

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $957 in Monterrey versus $760 in Barranquilla. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 126% higher in Monterrey, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $50.0 in Monterrey versus $62.0 in Barranquilla. Groceries tell a different story – $312 in Monterrey vs $248 in Barranquilla – so Barranquilla wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇨🇴 Barranquilla

🕒 Local time

04:20 4:20 AM

05:20 5:20 AM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

1,327,209

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,187 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,571 COP (10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Barranquilla 3,140 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Barranquilla

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 Barranquilla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey costs about 12% more than Barranquilla, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,411 per month in Monterrey and $2,158 in Barranquilla. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Barranquilla, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,607 in Monterrey and $1,439 in Barranquilla. That's a gap of about 12%.

Kindergarten costs $688 per month in Monterrey and $301 in Barranquilla. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Barranquilla, where all-in costs run around $1,439, than in Monterrey at $1,607. In Barranquilla it covers expenses comfortably, while in Monterrey it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Barranquilla costs $1,439 versus $1,607 in Monterrey. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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