Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Burlington

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,641 a month against $2,701 in Burlington, rent and utilities included – about $12,700 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
130

Cost of Living Index in Burlington
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Burlington Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Burlington

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,701

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Burlington

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

A single person spends $1,641 per month in Monterrey vs $2,701 in Burlington, rent included.

Monterrey $1,641
Burlington $2,701

A couple spends around $2,573 per month in Monterrey vs $3,861 in Burlington, rent included.

Monterrey $2,573
Burlington $3,861

A family of three spends $3,504 per month in Monterrey vs $5,021 in Burlington, rent included.

Monterrey $3,504
Burlington $5,021

Monterrey is about 39% cheaper than Burlington, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Monterrey and Burlington sit above the global median – Monterrey by 21%, Burlington by 100%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.37 MX$251

$21.06 CA$29.52

-36.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.95 MX$900

$72.5 CA$102

-33.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.79 MX$203

$10.86 CA$15.23

-0.64%

Cappuccino

$3.77 MX$70.7

$3.28 CA$4.60

14.94%

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

$1.51 MX$28.37

$1.99 CA$2.80

-24.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.33

$1.54 CA$2.16

-33.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 MX$46.60

$5.84 CA$8.18

-57.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 MX$81.8

$6.42 CA$9.00

-32.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 MX$35.58

$2.69 CA$3.77

-29.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 MX$53.5

$2.91 CA$4.08

-2.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.86

$3.80 CA$5.33

-51.05%

Eggs

$2.47 MX$46.31

$3.63 CA$5.09

-31.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.81 MX$222

$9.99 CA$14.01

18.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 MX$168

$9.37 CA$13.14

-4.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$236

$14.73 CA$20.65

-14.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.20 MX$60.0

$3.64 CA$5.11

-12.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.23

$1.54 CA$2.16

-2.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$2.63 CA$3.69

-19.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.33 MX$43.82

$3.66 CA$5.13

-36.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.75

$1.89 CA$2.65

17.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 MX$48.54

$1.95 CA$2.73

32.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$27.15

$2.08 CA$2.91

-30.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.94

$1.49 CA$2.09

-18.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.80 MX$90.1

$12.83 CA$17.98

-62.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 MX$250

$10.66 CA$14.94

24.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 MX$36.28

$2.77 CA$3.89

-30.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 MX$53.6

$2.92 CA$4.09

-2.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$15.00

$2.65 CA$3.71

-69.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.94 MX$581

$98.8 CA$138

-68.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.83 MX$34.42

$4.95 CA$6.93

-63.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.86

$2.13 CA$2.99

-50.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.82 MX$203

$39.26 CA$55.0

-72.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.65

$1.20 CA$1.68

22.50%

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

$24.1K MX$452.3K

$27.9K CA$39.2K

-13.83%

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

$23.5K MX$442.0K

$22.0K CA$30.9K

6.92%

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

$115 MX$2,152

$152 CA$214

-24.76%

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

$26.37 MX$495

$44.84 CA$62.9

-41.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.70 MX$483

$68.3 CA$95.7

-62.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.53 MX$573

$44.18 CA$61.9

-30.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.27 MX$400

$29.82 CA$41.79

-28.67%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 MX$93.1

$16.43 CA$23.03

-69.81%

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

$679 MX$12.7K

$885 CA$1,241

-23.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.2K MX$266.4K

$20.2K CA$28.3K

-29.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 MX$1,356

$70.0 CA$98.2

3.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.94 MX$788

$65.6 CA$91.9

-36.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 MX$2,019

$97.8 CA$137

9.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,228

$97.7 CA$137

21.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,018 MX$19.1K

$1,719 CA$2,409

-40.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 MX$13.6K

$1,448 CA$2,030

-50.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,966 MX$36.9K

$2,623 CA$3,677

-25.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,416 MX$26.6K

$2,194 CA$3,076

-35.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,203 MX$78.9K

$5,216 CA$7,311

-19.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,782 MX$52.2K

$4,125 CA$5,782

-32.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,096 MX$20.6K

$3,291 CA$4,613

-66.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

4.52

160.84%

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

Last update for Monterrey: November 2, 2026

Last update for Burlington: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$722 44%

Burlington

$1.4K 53.6% 101% $726

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$302 18.4%

Burlington

$340 12.6% 12.5% $38

Eating Out

Monterrey

$216 13.2%

Burlington

$297 11% 37.5% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$167 10.2%

Burlington

$265 9.8% 59.3% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$153 9.3%

Burlington

$149 5.5% 2.7% $4.2

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Burlington

$125 4.6% 203% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$40 2.5%

Burlington

$77 2.9% 90.5% $37

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,018 in Monterrey versus $1,719 in Burlington. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Burlington are about 3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Monterrey versus $72 in Burlington. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $302 vs $340 – making Monterrey the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇨🇦 Burlington

🕒 Local time

08:47 8:47 AM

09:47 9:47 AM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

183,314

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.635 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.635 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Burlington 2,700 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Burlington

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 Burlington: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Burlington is pricier by about 65%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,461 per month in Monterrey and $4,051 in Burlington. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Monterrey, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,018 there versus $1,719 in Burlington.

Kindergarten costs $679 per month in Monterrey and $885 in Burlington. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 12% more in Burlington, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$3,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,641 in Monterrey and $2,701 in Burlington, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Monterrey – 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 Monterrey. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Burlington makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.