Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Lazaro Cardenas

For one person, living is cheaper in Lazaro Cardenas: $1,141 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Lazaro Cardenas
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Lazaro Cardenas Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Lazaro Cardenas

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,141

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Lazaro Cardenas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,599 in Monterrey versus $1,141 in Lazaro Cardenas.

Monterrey $1,599
Lazaro Cardenas $1,141

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,493 in Monterrey versus $1,839 in Lazaro Cardenas.

Monterrey $2,493
Lazaro Cardenas $1,839

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Monterrey versus $2,537 in Lazaro Cardenas.

Monterrey $3,387
Lazaro Cardenas $2,537

Living in Monterrey is roughly 40% more expensive than in Lazaro Cardenas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 18% above, Lazaro Cardenas is 16% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 MX$258

$10.83 MX$203

27.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.99 MX$898

$43.66 MX$817

9.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 MX$199

$8.70 MX$163

22.41%

Cappuccino

$3.99 MX$74.6

$3.61 MX$67.6

10.53%

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

$1.66 MX$31.16

$1.42 MX$26.59

16.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 MX$18.45

$1.03 MX$19.24

-3.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 MX$44.21

$2.51 MX$46.92

-5.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 MX$82.9

$3.99 MX$74.7

11.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MX$34.01

$1.66 MX$31.06

9.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.83 MX$53.0

$2.53 MX$47.41

11.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.90

$1.67 MX$31.19

14.97%

Eggs

$2.48 MX$46.37

$2.43 MX$45.51

2.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.74 MX$220

$8.19 MX$153

43.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.10 MX$170

$8.49 MX$159

7.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.53 MX$235

$11.33 MX$212

10.59%

Apples (1kg)

$3.34 MX$62.4

$2.67 MX$49.98

25.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.47

$1.59 MX$29.74

-1.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 MX$40.37

$1.90 MX$35.65

13.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 MX$46.24

$1.83 MX$34.27

34.97%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.19

$1.93 MX$36.05

19.69%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 MX$50.1

$1.80 MX$33.61

48.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 MX$27.24

$1.48 MX$27.75

-1.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 MX$22.35

$1.08 MX$20.23

10.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$88.9

$4.32 MX$80.8

9.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.58 MX$254

$10.32 MX$193

31.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 MX$35.98

$1.76 MX$32.88

9.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 MX$53.9

$3.20 MX$59.8

-10.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MX$14.85

$0.69 MX$12.92

14.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$587

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.59 MX$29.82

$2.53 MX$47.26

-37.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.83

$1.92 MX$35.92

-44.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.80 MX$202

$11.01 MX$206

-1.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.95

$1.48 MX$27.62

4.73%

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

$24.2K MX$452.1K

$21.1K MX$395.7K

14.26%

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

$24.3K MX$455.2K

$23.8K MX$445.7K

2.13%

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

$117 MX$2,186

$58.7 MX$1,099

98.93%

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

$26.38 MX$494

$22.31 MX$417

18.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.04 MX$487

$29.94 MX$560

-13.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.26 MX$566

$34.30 MX$642

-11.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.25 MX$398

$20.49 MX$384

3.71%

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 MX$97.8

$5.11 MX$95.7

2.35%

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

$673 MX$12.6K

$221 MX$4,141

204.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K MX$207.8K

$4,553 MX$85.2K

143.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 MX$1,349

$55.3 MX$1,035

30.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.38 MX$793

$39.96 MX$748

6.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MX$2,092

$99.7 MX$1,867

12.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,228

$90.1 MX$1,687

32.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$949 MX$17.8K

$602 MX$11.3K

57.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$666 MX$12.5K

$393 MX$7,352

69.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,821 MX$34.1K

$1,055 MX$19.8K

72.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 MX$23.8K

$780 MX$14.6K

62.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$75.8K

$1,921 MX$36.0K

110.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,348 MX$43.9K

$1,169 MX$21.9K

100.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 MX$21.6K

$552 MX$10.3K

109.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

11.3

4.34%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Last update for Lazaro Cardenas: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$666 41.7%

Lazaro Cardenas

$393 34.4% 41% $274

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$304 19%

Lazaro Cardenas

$263 23.1% 13.6% $41

Eating Out

Monterrey

$221 13.9%

Lazaro Cardenas

$186 16.3% 15.9% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$169 10.6%

Lazaro Cardenas

$111 9.7% 34.4% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$155 9.7%

Lazaro Cardenas

$128 11.3% 17.4% $27

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Lazaro Cardenas

$15 * 1.3% 64.1% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Lazaro Cardenas

$45 3.9% 9.4% $3.8

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 $949 in Monterrey and $602 in Lazaro Cardenas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $44 in Lazaro Cardenas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $304 vs $263 per month, with Lazaro Cardenas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Lazaro Cardenas

🕒 Local time

03:16 3:16 AM

Same time as Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

83,637

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey Lazaro Cardenas 880 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Lazaro Cardenas

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 Lazaro Cardenas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lazaro Cardenas wins on cost – living expenses run 29% lower than in Monterrey. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Lazaro Cardenas the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Monterrey is about 2.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $949 in Monterrey versus $602 in Lazaro Cardenas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $673 in Monterrey versus $221 in Lazaro Cardenas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Lazaro Cardenas – a meal for two runs $44 versus $48 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Lazaro Cardenas is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Lazaro Cardenas wins on affordability, Monterrey on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.