Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Green Island

For one person, living is cheaper in Green Island: $1,003 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Monterrey outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Green Island
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Green Island Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Green Island

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,003

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Green Island

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,599 in Monterrey versus $1,003 in Green Island.

Monterrey $1,599
Green Island $1,003

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,493 in Monterrey versus $1,656 in Green Island.

Monterrey $2,493
Green Island $1,656

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Monterrey versus $2,308 in Green Island.

Monterrey $3,387
Green Island $2,308

Living in Monterrey is roughly 59% more expensive than in Green Island, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 18% above, Green Island is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 MX$255

$13.40 JMD 2,117

2.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.99 MX$887

$73.9 JMD 11.7K

-35.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 MX$197

$8.05 JMD 1,271

32.30%

Cappuccino

$3.99 MX$73.7

$5.34 JMD 843

-25.28%

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

$1.66 MX$30.76

$1.14 JMD 180

45.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 MX$18.21

$0.68 JMD 108

45.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 MX$43.64

$2.19 JMD 346

7.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 MX$81.8

$3.20 JMD 505

38.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MX$33.58

$4.10 JMD 647

-55.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.83 MX$52.4

$3.81 JMD 603

-25.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.44

$1.61 JMD 255

19.25%

Eggs

$2.48 MX$45.78

$3.50 JMD 554

-29.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.74 MX$217

$11.48 JMD 1,814

2.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.10 MX$168

$6.12 JMD 967

48.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.53 MX$232

$10.14 JMD 1,603

23.57%

Apples (1kg)

$3.34 MX$61.6

$5.96 JMD 942

-43.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.10

$3.83 JMD 604

-59.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 MX$39.86

$7.34 JMD 1,160

-70.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 MX$45.65

$2.95 JMD 466

-16.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.64

$3.26 JMD 515

-29.14%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 MX$49.47

$2.66 JMD 421

0.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 MX$26.90

$2.98 JMD 472

-51.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 MX$22.07

$1.46 JMD 230

-18.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$9.17 JMD 1,449

-48.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.58 MX$251

$11.48 JMD 1,813

18.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 MX$35.52

$2.92 JMD 462

-34.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 MX$53.2

$3.88 JMD 613

-25.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MX$14.66

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.59 MX$29.44

$1.23 JMD 194

29.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.58

$3.08 JMD 486

-65.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.80 MX$200

$6.24 JMD 985

73.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.59

$1.39 JMD 220

11.51%

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

$24.2K MX$446.4K

$44.6K JMD 7.1M

-45.90%

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

$24.3K MX$449.4K

$32.5K JMD 5.1M

-25.15%

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

$117 MX$2,159

$170 JMD 26.9K

-31.39%

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

$26.38 MX$488

$29.69 JMD 4,690

-11.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.04 MX$481

$52.2 JMD 8,251

-50.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.26 MX$559

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.25 MX$393

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 MX$96.6

$13.42 JMD 2,121

-61.03%

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

$673 MX$12.4K

$360 JMD 56.8K

87.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K MX$205.2K

$8,332 JMD 1.3M

33.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 MX$1,332

$23.80 JMD 3,761

202.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.38 MX$783

$31.64 JMD 5,000

33.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MX$2,066

$77.9 JMD 12.3K

43.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,200

$102 JMD 16.1K

16.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$949 MX$17.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$666 MX$12.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,821 MX$33.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 MX$23.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$74.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,348 MX$43.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 MX$21.3K

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 18, 2026

Last update for Green Island: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$666 41.7%

Green Island

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$304 19%

Green Island

$382 38% 25.4% $77

Eating Out

Monterrey

$221 13.9%

Green Island

$220 21.9% 0.7% $1.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$169 10.6%

Green Island

$252 25.1% 49% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$155 9.7%

Green Island

$106 10.6% 31.8% $49

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Green Island

$17 * 1.7% 59.9% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Green Island

$27 * 2.7% 34.1% $14

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $48.00 in Monterrey vs $74.0 in Green Island for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $304 vs $382 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇯🇲 Green Island

🕒 Local time

15:52 3:52 PM

16:52 4:52 PM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

2,546

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Green Island 2,410 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Green Island

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 Green Island: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Green Island differ by about 59% in total monthly costs ($1,599 vs $1,003 including rent). Green Island is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,399 in Monterrey and $1,505 in Green Island 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 25% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,599 per month in Monterrey versus $1,003 in Green Island – a 59% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,003 in Green Island versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Green Island but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Green Island the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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 Green Island gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.