Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and La Merced

For one person, living is cheaper in La Merced: $565 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 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
28

Cost of Living Index in La Merced
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La Merced Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

La Merced

🇵🇪 Peru

$565

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in La Merced

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

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Monterrey vs $565 in La Merced, rent included.

Monterrey $1,608
La Merced $565

A couple spends around $2,521 per month in Monterrey vs $917 in La Merced, rent included.

Monterrey $2,521
La Merced $917

A family of three spends $3,433 per month in Monterrey vs $1,269 in La Merced, rent included.

Monterrey $3,433
La Merced $1,269

Monterrey costs about 184% more than La Merced, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Monterrey sits 19% above the global median, while La Merced is 58% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.85 MX$256

$4.38 PEN 15.04

216.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.70 MX$918

$34.69 PEN 119

43.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.05 MX$204

$6.77 PEN 23.26

63.22%

Cappuccino

$4.09 MX$75.6

$3.16 PEN 10.84

29.43%

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

$1.68 MX$30.97

$1.07 PEN 3.67

57.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$18.98

$0.64 PEN 2.20

60.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 MX$44.28

$2.60 PEN 8.93

-7.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.3

$4.33 PEN 14.87

0.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.55

$1.63 PEN 5.60

17.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$54.2

$1.98 PEN 6.79

48.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.66

$1.28 PEN 4.40

46.87%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$47.06

$2.34 PEN 8.04

8.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 MX$219

$7.09 PEN 24.34

67.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.36 MX$173

$5.88 PEN 20.21

59.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 MX$242

$8.65 PEN 29.69

51.45%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$1.01 PEN 3.45

234.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$0.46 PEN 1.58

230.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.51

$0.28 PEN 0.95

682.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.63

$0.75 PEN 2.57

214.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.76

$0.30 PEN 1.05

653.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 MX$50.5

$0.42 PEN 1.45

550.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.17

$0.61 PEN 2.08

149.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.90

$0.91 PEN 3.14

36.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$5.61 PEN 19.25

-15.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.66 MX$252

$7.36 PEN 25.26

85.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 MX$34.95

$1.87 PEN 6.43

1.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 MX$55.2

$3.23 PEN 11.10

-7.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 MX$15.78

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 MX$30.98

$3.82 PEN 13.12

-56.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.87

$2.08 PEN 7.14

-45.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.15 MX$206

$7.40 PEN 25.41

50.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.91

$1.74 PEN 5.97

-10.34%

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

$21.4K MX$395.8K

$22.1K PEN 76.0K

-3.19%

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

$25.1K MX$463.2K

$25.5K PEN 87.5K

-1.65%

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

$119 MX$2,206

$72.8 PEN 250

63.91%

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

$26.21 MX$484

$16.49 PEN 56.6

58.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.78 MX$495

$27.80 PEN 95.5

-3.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MX$97.7

$7.34 PEN 25.22

-27.93%

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

$691 MX$12.8K

$181 PEN 622

281.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K MX$212.1K

$13.2K PEN 45.3K

-13.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.3 MX$1,335

$52.6 PEN 181

37.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.72 MX$789

$35.20 PEN 121

21.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,024

$82.0 PEN 282

33.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,158

$79.1 PEN 272

47.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 MX$17.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$664 MX$12.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,857 MX$34.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 MX$23.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 MX$76.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,349 MX$43.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

8.94

31.88%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Last update for La Merced: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

La Merced

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$310 19.3%

La Merced

$186 32.8% 40.2% $125

Eating Out

Monterrey

$225 14%

La Merced

$122 21.5% 45.8% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$172 10.7%

La Merced

$117 20.7% 32.1% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$154 9.6%

La Merced

$112 19.8% 27.1% $42

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

La Merced

$14 * 2.5% 65.9% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

La Merced

$15 * 2.6% 64.7% $27

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $50.0 in Monterrey versus $35.00 in La Merced. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $310 vs $186 – making La Merced the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇵🇪 La Merced

🕒 Local time

16:26 4:26 PM

17:26 5:26 PM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

8,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Monterrey La Merced 4,640 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
La Merced

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 La Merced: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey costs about 184% more than La Merced, 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 $2,412 per month in Monterrey and $848 in La Merced. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,608 in Monterrey and $565 in La Merced. That's a gap of about 184%.

Kindergarten costs $691 per month in Monterrey and $181 in La Merced. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in La Merced, where all-in costs run around $565, than in Monterrey at $1,608. In La Merced it covers expenses comfortably, while in Monterrey it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. La Merced costs $565 versus $1,608 in Monterrey. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with La Merced. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Monterrey makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.