Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Gatineau

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,641 a month against $2,150 in Gatineau, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 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
103

Cost of Living Index in Gatineau
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Gatineau Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Gatineau

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,150

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Gatineau

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

A single person spends $1,641 per month in Monterrey vs $2,150 in Gatineau, rent included.

Monterrey $1,641
Gatineau $2,150

A couple spends around $2,573 per month in Monterrey vs $3,182 in Gatineau, rent included.

Monterrey $2,573
Gatineau $3,182

A family of three spends $3,504 per month in Monterrey vs $4,214 in Gatineau, rent included.

Monterrey $3,504
Gatineau $4,214

Monterrey is about 24% cheaper than Gatineau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Monterrey and Gatineau sit above the global median – Monterrey by 21%, Gatineau by 59%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.37 MX$250

$12.99 CA$18.27

2.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.95 MX$897

$84.4 CA$119

-43.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.79 MX$202

$10.74 CA$15.11

0.47%

Cappuccino

$3.77 MX$70.4

$3.22 CA$4.53

17.08%

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

$1.51 MX$28.26

$1.38 CA$1.94

9.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.25

$1.59 CA$2.24

-35.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 MX$46.41

$4.16 CA$5.86

-40.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 MX$81.5

$6.32 CA$8.89

-31.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 MX$35.43

$1.91 CA$2.69

-1.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 MX$53.3

$2.94 CA$4.13

-3.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.71

$5.17 CA$7.28

-64.02%

Eggs

$2.47 MX$46.12

$3.21 CA$4.52

-23.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.81 MX$221

$12.05 CA$16.95

-1.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 MX$168

$9.91 CA$13.93

-9.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$235

$10.75 CA$15.12

16.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.20 MX$59.8

$4.12 CA$5.79

-22.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.12

$1.97 CA$2.76

-23.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.74

$4.93 CA$6.93

-57.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.33 MX$43.64

$4.72 CA$6.64

-50.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.58

$2.10 CA$2.95

5.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 MX$48.34

$2.44 CA$3.42

5.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$27.04

$2.14 CA$3.01

-32.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.85

$2.78 CA$3.91

-56.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.80 MX$89.7

$12.29 CA$17.28

-60.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 MX$249

$12.53 CA$17.61

6.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 MX$36.14

$2.87 CA$4.04

-32.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 MX$53.4

$3.37 CA$4.74

-15.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.94

$3.24 CA$4.56

-75.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.94 MX$579

$82.0 CA$115

-62.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.83 MX$34.28

$3.34 CA$4.70

-45.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.78

$1.95 CA$2.75

-45.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.82 MX$202

$33.40 CA$46.97

-67.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.54

$1.30 CA$1.82

13.08%

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

$24.1K MX$450.4K

$28.3K CA$39.8K

-14.81%

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

$23.5K MX$440.2K

$20.9K CA$29.5K

12.37%

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

$115 MX$2,144

$113 CA$159

1.06%

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

$26.37 MX$493

$36.09 CA$50.8

-26.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.70 MX$481

$49.11 CA$69.1

-47.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.53 MX$571

$48.26 CA$67.9

-36.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.27 MX$398

$30.03 CA$42.24

-29.17%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 MX$92.8

$10.85 CA$15.27

-54.29%

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

$679 MX$12.7K

$744 CA$1,046

-8.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.2K MX$265.3K

$51.7K CA$72.6K

-72.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 MX$1,350

$70.8 CA$99.6

1.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.94 MX$784

$48.29 CA$67.9

-13.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 MX$2,011

$86.5 CA$122

24.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,219

$118 CA$166

0.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,018 MX$19.0K

$1,275 CA$1,793

-20.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 MX$13.5K

$1,033 CA$1,453

-30.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,966 MX$36.8K

$1,971 CA$2,772

-0.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,416 MX$26.5K

$1,556 CA$2,188

-9.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,203 MX$78.6K

$5,180 CA$7,285

-18.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,782 MX$52.0K

$6,088 CA$8,561

-54.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,096 MX$20.5K

$2,679 CA$3,768

-59.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

4.64

154.09%

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

Last update for Monterrey: November 2, 2026

Last update for Gatineau: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$722 44%

Gatineau

$1K 48% 43.2% $311

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$302 18.4%

Gatineau

$375 17.4% 24.1% $73

Eating Out

Monterrey

$216 13.2%

Gatineau

$220 10.2% 2% $4.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$167 10.2%

Gatineau

$199 9.2% 19.2% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$153 9.3%

Gatineau

$146 6.8% 4.9% $7.4

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Gatineau

$108 5% 162% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$40 2.5%

Gatineau

$70 3.3% 73% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,018 in Monterrey versus $1,275 in Gatineau. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Gatineau are about 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Monterrey versus $84 in Gatineau. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $302 vs $375 – making Monterrey the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇨🇦 Gatineau

🕒 Local time

14:57 2:57 PM

15:57 3:57 PM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

291,041

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 CAD = 0.711 USD

1 CAD = 0.636 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 = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.9 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.711 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.636 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Gatineau 3,100 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Gatineau

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 Gatineau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gatineau costs about 31% more than Monterrey, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,461 per month in Monterrey and $3,226 in Gatineau. 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 $1,275 in Gatineau.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,641 in Monterrey and $2,150 in Gatineau. That makes Monterrey about 24% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 62% less in Monterrey. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$3,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,641 in Monterrey and $2,150 in Gatineau, 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, Gatineau makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.