Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Cuautla

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuautla: $1,253 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Cuautla
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Cuautla Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Cuautla

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,253

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Cuautla

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Monterrey versus $1,253 in Cuautla.

Monterrey $1,608
Cuautla $1,253

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,521 in Monterrey versus $1,999 in Cuautla.

Monterrey $2,521
Cuautla $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,433 in Monterrey versus $2,745 in Cuautla.

Monterrey $3,433
Cuautla $2,745

Living in Monterrey is roughly 28% more expensive than in Cuautla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 19% above, Cuautla is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.85 MX$256

$11.03 MX$204

25.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.70 MX$918

$64.2 MX$1,186

-22.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.05 MX$204

$9.42 MX$174

17.30%

Cappuccino

$4.09 MX$75.6

$3.71 MX$68.5

10.24%

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

$1.68 MX$30.97

$1.63 MX$30.20

3.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$18.98

$1.04 MX$19.22

-0.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 MX$44.28

$3.27 MX$60.5

-26.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.3

$5.54 MX$102

-21.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.55

$1.92 MX$35.52

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$54.2

$2.79 MX$51.6

5.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.66

$1.94 MX$35.82

-3.09%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$47.06

$2.75 MX$50.8

-7.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 MX$219

$8.75 MX$162

35.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.36 MX$173

$9.17 MX$169

2.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 MX$242

$13.77 MX$255

-4.87%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$3.39 MX$62.7

-0.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.60 MX$29.55

-5.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.51

$2.14 MX$39.45

2.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.63

$1.94 MX$35.78

21.65%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.76

$1.86 MX$34.37

21.51%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 MX$50.5

$1.76 MX$32.51

55.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.17

$1.51 MX$27.96

0.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.90

$1.19 MX$22.07

4.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$4.50 MX$83.2

5.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.66 MX$252

$17.50 MX$323

-21.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 MX$34.95

$2.24 MX$41.32

-15.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 MX$55.2

$3.95 MX$73.0

-24.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 MX$15.78

$0.63 MX$11.60

34.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 MX$30.98

$3.23 MX$59.6

-47.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.87

$2.54 MX$47.02

-55.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.15 MX$206

$11.09 MX$205

0.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.91

$1.31 MX$24.22

19.08%

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

$21.4K MX$395.8K

$20.8K MX$384.9K

2.83%

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

$25.1K MX$463.2K

$24.0K MX$444.0K

4.31%

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

$119 MX$2,206

$58.8 MX$1,087

102.98%

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

$26.21 MX$484

$26.84 MX$496

-2.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.78 MX$495

$24.52 MX$453

9.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

$36.29 MX$671

-14.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

$20.97 MX$387

2.19%

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MX$97.7

$7.36 MX$136

-28.13%

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

$691 MX$12.8K

$263 MX$4,865

162.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K MX$212.1K

$5,033 MX$93.0K

128.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.3 MX$1,335

$51.9 MX$959

39.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.72 MX$789

$45.28 MX$837

-5.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,024

$99.8 MX$1,844

9.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,158

$98.4 MX$1,817

18.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 MX$17.9K

$645 MX$11.9K

50.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$664 MX$12.3K

$434 MX$8,019

52.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,857 MX$34.3K

$1,182 MX$21.8K

57.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 MX$23.8K

$736 MX$13.6K

75.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 MX$76.9K

$1,712 MX$31.6K

143.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,349 MX$43.4K

$1,075 MX$19.9K

118.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

11.99

-1.67%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cuautla: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

Cuautla

$434 34.6% 34.6% $230

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$310 19.3%

Cuautla

$308 24.6% 0.9% $2.9

Eating Out

Monterrey

$225 14%

Cuautla

$199 15.9% 11.3% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$172 10.7%

Cuautla

$110 8.8% 36.1% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$154 9.6%

Cuautla

$133 10.6% 13.5% $21

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Cuautla

$18 * 1.5% 55.7% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Cuautla

$51 4.1% 22.6% $9.4

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $970 in Monterrey and $645 in Cuautla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50.0 in Monterrey vs $64.0 in Cuautla. Groceries flip the comparison at $310 vs $308, with Cuautla cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Cuautla

🕒 Local time

06:35 6:35 AM

Same time as Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

157,336

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey Cuautla 770 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Cuautla

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 Cuautla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cuautla is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 28% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,412 in Monterrey and $1,880 in Cuautla 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $970 in Monterrey versus $645 in Cuautla. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $691 in Monterrey versus $263 in Cuautla. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cuautla – a meal for two runs $64.0 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,253 in Cuautla versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cuautla but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Cuautla the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cuautla is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Monterrey, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Cuautla gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.