Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Cozumel

For one person, living is cheaper in Cozumel: $1,163 a month against $1,647 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Cozumel
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Cozumel Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Cozumel

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,163

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Cozumel

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,647 in Monterrey versus $1,163 in Cozumel.

Monterrey $1,647
Cozumel $1,163

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,591 in Monterrey versus $1,813 in Cozumel.

Monterrey $2,591
Cozumel $1,813

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,536 in Monterrey versus $2,464 in Cozumel.

Monterrey $3,536
Cozumel $2,464

Living in Monterrey is roughly 42% more expensive than in Cozumel, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 21% above, Cozumel is 15% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.45 MX$253

$8.67 MX$163

55.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.43 MX$910

$43.79 MX$823

10.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$205

$8.00 MX$150

36.25%

Cappuccino

$3.82 MX$71.8

$2.76 MX$51.8

38.41%

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

$1.67 MX$31.31

$1.06 MX$19.87

57.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.47

$0.94 MX$17.70

4.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.35 MX$44.17

$1.58 MX$29.63

48.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 MX$82.9

$3.07 MX$57.7

43.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 MX$33.86

$1.46 MX$27.51

23.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$52.5

$1.64 MX$30.86

70.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.30

$1.76 MX$33.00

3.41%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$47.22

$1.85 MX$34.74

35.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.09 MX$227

$10.02 MX$188

20.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.41 MX$177

$7.79 MX$146

20.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.71 MX$239

$12.30 MX$231

3.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 MX$60.3

$2.36 MX$44.32

36.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.15

$1.37 MX$25.81

9.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$40.30

$2.14 MX$40.27

Tomato (1kg)

$2.32 MX$43.63

$1.53 MX$28.80

51.63%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 MX$41.38

$2.20 MX$41.27

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 MX$48.83

$1.81 MX$34.02

43.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$27.07

$1.45 MX$27.34

-0.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 MX$22.05

$1.10 MX$20.62

6.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.79 MX$90.0

$4.42 MX$83.1

8.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 MX$249

$10.59 MX$199

24.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 MX$36.51

$1.49 MX$28.04

30.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 MX$54.2

$2.50 MX$46.98

15.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 MX$16.39

$0.59 MX$11.04

47.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.14 MX$585

$29.76 MX$559

4.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MX$31.13

$2.61 MX$49.05

-36.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 MX$20.55

$2.89 MX$54.3

-62.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.67 MX$201

$8.76 MX$165

21.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.69

$1.32 MX$24.83

11.36%

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

$24.2K MX$455.6K

$19.5K MX$366.0K

24.49%

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

$23.6K MX$442.7K

$23.1K MX$434.2K

1.95%

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

$118 MX$2,215

$57.8 MX$1,086

103.96%

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

$25.55 MX$480

$20.69 MX$389

23.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.43 MX$497

$21.21 MX$399

24.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.77 MX$578

$37.82 MX$711

-18.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 MX$396

$19.69 MX$370

7.01%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$95.7

$5.97 MX$112

-14.74%

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

$694 MX$13.0K

$259 MX$4,866

168.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K MX$212.7K

$3,514 MX$66.0K

222.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 MX$1,362

$55.1 MX$1,035

31.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.51 MX$780

$52.5 MX$986

-20.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,062

$99.4 MX$1,869

10.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 MX$2,160

$83.6 MX$1,572

37.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,056 MX$19.8K

$599 MX$11.3K

76.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$721 MX$13.6K

$435 MX$8,171

65.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,999 MX$37.6K

$1,573 MX$29.6K

27.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,435 MX$27.0K

$741 MX$13.9K

93.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,219 MX$79.3K

$1,899 MX$35.7K

122.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,731 MX$51.3K

$1,140 MX$21.4K

139.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,149 MX$21.6K

$651 MX$12.2K

76.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

11.64

1.29%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cozumel: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$721 43.8%

Cozumel

$435 37.4% 39.7% $287

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$303 18.4%

Cozumel

$250 21.5% 17.5% $53

Eating Out

Monterrey

$217 13.2%

Cozumel

$148 12.8% 31.7% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$170 10.3%

Cozumel

$100 8.6% 41.3% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$152 9.3%

Cozumel

$131 11.2% 14.2% $22

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.5%

Cozumel

$49 4.2% 17.7% $7.4

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Cozumel

$50 4.3% 21.5% $8.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,056 in Monterrey and $599 in Cozumel. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 76% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $44 in Cozumel for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $303 vs $250 per month, with Cozumel cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Cozumel

🕒 Local time

20:01 8:01 PM

21:01 9:01 PM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

77,236

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey Cozumel 1,490 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Cozumel

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 Cozumel: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,647 in Monterrey and $1,163 in Cozumel, so Cozumel is about 29% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 76% higher in Monterrey, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,056 in Monterrey versus $599 in Cozumel. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Monterrey. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cozumel – a meal for two runs $44 versus $48 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Cozumel 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.

Expats usually find Cozumel gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.