Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Cave Valley

For one person, living is cheaper in Cave Valley: $1,003 a month against $1,647 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 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
48

Cost of Living Index in Cave Valley
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Cave Valley Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Cave Valley

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,003

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Cave Valley

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,647 in Monterrey versus $1,003 in Cave Valley.

Monterrey $1,647
Cave Valley $1,003

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,591 in Monterrey versus $1,661 in Cave Valley.

Monterrey $2,591
Cave Valley $1,661

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,536 in Monterrey versus $2,318 in Cave Valley.

Monterrey $3,536
Cave Valley $2,318

Living in Monterrey is roughly 64% more expensive than in Cave Valley, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 21% above, Cave Valley is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.45 MX$251

$13.51 JMD 2,130

-0.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.43 MX$903

$74.2 JMD 11.7K

-34.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$203

$8.42 JMD 1,328

29.45%

Cappuccino

$3.82 MX$71.2

$5.34 JMD 843

-28.46%

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

$1.67 MX$31.06

$1.15 JMD 182

45.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.32

$0.74 JMD 117

32.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.35 MX$43.81

$2.17 JMD 341

8.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 MX$82.2

$3.06 JMD 482

44.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 MX$33.58

$4.16 JMD 656

-56.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$52.1

$3.68 JMD 580

-24.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.02

$1.59 JMD 250

14.47%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$46.84

$3.63 JMD 572

-30.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.09 MX$225

$11.55 JMD 1,821

4.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.41 MX$175

$6.21 JMD 979

51.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.71 MX$237

$10.36 JMD 1,634

22.68%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 MX$59.8

$6.15 JMD 969

-47.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$27.92

$3.93 JMD 620

-61.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.97

$7.51 JMD 1,185

-71.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.32 MX$43.28

$2.98 JMD 470

-22.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 MX$41.04

$3.30 JMD 520

-33.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 MX$48.43

$2.73 JMD 430

-4.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.85

$3.01 JMD 475

-52.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 MX$21.88

$1.50 JMD 237

-22.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.79 MX$89.3

$9.25 JMD 1,458

-48.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 MX$247

$11.53 JMD 1,818

14.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 MX$36.21

$2.78 JMD 438

-30.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 MX$53.8

$3.96 JMD 625

-27.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 MX$16.26

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.14 MX$581

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MX$30.88

$1.28 JMD 201

29.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 MX$20.39

$3.20 JMD 504

-65.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.67 MX$199

$6.41 JMD 1,011

66.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.47

$1.40 JMD 221

5.00%

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

$24.2K MX$451.9K

$43.3K JMD 6.8M

-44.03%

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

$23.6K MX$439.1K

$32.3K JMD 5.1M

-27.10%

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

$118 MX$2,197

$166 JMD 26.1K

-28.79%

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

$25.55 MX$476

$29.39 JMD 4,635

-13.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.43 MX$493

$52.0 JMD 8,201

-49.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.77 MX$574

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 MX$393

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$94.9

$13.12 JMD 2,070

-61.20%

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

$694 MX$12.9K

$368 JMD 58.0K

88.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K MX$211.0K

$8,266 JMD 1.3M

36.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 MX$1,351

$23.60 JMD 3,722

207.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.51 MX$774

$31.02 JMD 4,891

33.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,046

$76.3 JMD 12.0K

43.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 MX$2,143

$103 JMD 16.3K

11.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,056 MX$19.7K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$721 MX$13.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,999 MX$37.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,435 MX$26.7K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,219 MX$78.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,731 MX$50.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,149 MX$21.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

9.45

24.76%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cave Valley: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$721 43.8%

Cave Valley

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$303 18.4%

Cave Valley

$386 38.4% 27.1% $82

Eating Out

Monterrey

$217 13.2%

Cave Valley

$222 22.1% 2.1% $4.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$170 10.3%

Cave Valley

$247 24.6% 45.4% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$152 9.3%

Cave Valley

$105 10.5% 30.9% $47

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.5%

Cave Valley

$17 * 1.7% 58.6% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Cave Valley

$26 * 2.6% 35.9% $15

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $74 in Cave Valley for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $303 vs $386 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇯🇲 Cave Valley

🕒 Local time

13:18 1:18 PM

14:18 2:18 PM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Cave Valley 2,410 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Cave Valley

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 Cave Valley: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Cave Valley differ by about 64% in total monthly costs ($1,647 vs $1,003 including rent). Cave Valley is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,470 in Monterrey and $1,505 in Cave Valley 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.

Shoppers in Monterrey pay roughly 21% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,647 per month in Monterrey versus $1,003 in Cave Valley – a 64% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Cave Valley gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.