Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Hearst

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,641 a month against $2,266 in Hearst, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 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
108

Cost of Living Index in Hearst
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Hearst Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Hearst

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,266

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Hearst

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,641 in Monterrey versus $2,266 in Hearst.

Monterrey $1,641
Hearst $2,266

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,573 in Monterrey versus $3,257 in Hearst.

Monterrey $2,573
Hearst $3,257

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,504 in Monterrey versus $4,248 in Hearst.

Monterrey $3,504
Hearst $4,248

Living in Monterrey costs roughly 28% less than in Hearst, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monterrey 21% above, Hearst 68% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.37 MX$251

$18.11 CA$25.38

-26.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.95 MX$900

$63.8 CA$89.5

-24.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.79 MX$203

$10.50 CA$14.72

2.76%

Cappuccino

$3.77 MX$70.7

$3.69 CA$5.17

2.17%

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

$1.51 MX$28.37

$2.07 CA$2.90

-27.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.33

$1.63 CA$2.29

-36.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 MX$46.60

$5.11 CA$7.16

-51.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 MX$81.8

$5.69 CA$7.97

-23.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 MX$35.58

$2.05 CA$2.87

-7.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 MX$53.5

$2.62 CA$3.67

8.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.86

$3.50 CA$4.91

-46.86%

Eggs

$2.47 MX$46.31

$3.53 CA$4.95

-30.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.81 MX$222

$10.31 CA$14.45

14.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 MX$168

$11.37 CA$15.94

-21.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$236

$14.66 CA$20.55

-14.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.20 MX$60.0

$3.93 CA$5.51

-18.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.23

$1.30 CA$1.83

15.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$3.71 CA$5.20

-42.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.33 MX$43.82

$3.78 CA$5.30

-38.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.75

$2.34 CA$3.29

-5.13%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 MX$48.54

$2.18 CA$3.06

18.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$27.15

$2.44 CA$3.42

-40.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.94

$1.60 CA$2.24

-23.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.80 MX$90.1

$14.54 CA$20.38

-66.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 MX$250

$12.72 CA$17.83

4.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 MX$36.28

$2.68 CA$3.75

-27.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 MX$53.6

$3.05 CA$4.28

-6.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$15.00

$2.35 CA$3.29

-65.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.94 MX$581

$63.0 CA$88.3

-50.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.83 MX$34.42

$2.94 CA$4.12

-37.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.86

$1.47 CA$2.06

-27.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.82 MX$203

$23.99 CA$33.62

-54.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.65

$1.21 CA$1.70

21.49%

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

$24.1K MX$452.3K

$27.4K CA$38.4K

-12.10%

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

$23.5K MX$442.0K

$21.7K CA$30.4K

8.37%

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

$115 MX$2,152

$139 CA$194

-17.32%

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

$26.37 MX$495

$39.53 CA$55.4

-33.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.70 MX$483

$54.8 CA$76.8

-53.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.53 MX$573

$38.30 CA$53.7

-20.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.27 MX$400

$18.53 CA$25.97

14.79%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 MX$93.1

$10.78 CA$15.11

-53.99%

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

$679 MX$12.7K

$639 CA$895

6.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.2K MX$266.4K

$13.4K CA$18.8K

5.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 MX$1,356

$54.3 CA$76.1

32.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.94 MX$788

$38.41 CA$53.8

9.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 MX$2,019

$86.7 CA$122

23.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,228

$103 CA$144

15.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,018 MX$19.1K

$1,267 CA$1,776

-19.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 MX$13.6K

$1,138 CA$1,595

-36.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,966 MX$36.9K

$1,968 CA$2,759

-0.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,416 MX$26.6K

$1,706 CA$2,392

-17.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,203 MX$78.9K

$4,305 CA$6,034

-2.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,782 MX$52.2K

$3,533 CA$4,953

-21.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,096 MX$20.6K

$3,177 CA$4,453

-65.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

4.68

151.92%

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

Last update for Monterrey: November 2, 2026

Last update for Hearst: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$722 44%

Hearst

$1.1K 50.2% 57.7% $416

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$302 18.4%

Hearst

$353 15.6% 16.9% $51

Eating Out

Monterrey

$216 13.2%

Hearst

$272 12% 26.2% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$167 10.2%

Hearst

$233 10.3% 39.8% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$153 9.3%

Hearst

$127 5.6% 17.1% $26

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Hearst

$83 3.7% 100% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$40 2.5%

Hearst

$60 2.6% 48% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,018 in Monterrey and $1,267 in Hearst. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hearst pays about 2.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $64 in Hearst for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $302 vs $353 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇨🇦 Hearst

🕒 Local time

12:26 12:26 PM

13:26 1:26 PM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

5,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.635 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 = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.635 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey Hearst 3,030 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Hearst

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 Hearst: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,641 in Monterrey and $2,266 in Hearst, so Monterrey is about 28% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 66% lower in Monterrey. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,018 in Monterrey versus $1,267 in Hearst. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $679 in Monterrey versus $639 in Hearst. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Hearst. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Monterrey 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 Monterrey gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Hearst. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.