Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Los Cabos

For one person, living is cheaper in Los Cabos: $1,359 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 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
66

Cost of Living Index in Los Cabos
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Los Cabos Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Los Cabos

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,359

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Los Cabos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,599 in Monterrey versus $1,359 in Los Cabos.

Monterrey $1,599
Los Cabos $1,359

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,493 in Monterrey versus $2,193 in Los Cabos.

Monterrey $2,493
Los Cabos $2,193

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Monterrey versus $3,028 in Los Cabos.

Monterrey $3,387
Los Cabos $3,028

Living in Monterrey is roughly 18% more expensive than in Los Cabos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monterrey 18% above, Los Cabos 0% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 MX$255

$22.01 MX$407

-37.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.99 MX$887

$44.08 MX$815

8.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 MX$197

$13.69 MX$253

-22.21%

Cappuccino

$3.99 MX$73.7

$5.31 MX$98.1

-24.86%

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

$1.66 MX$30.76

$2.37 MX$43.85

-29.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 MX$18.21

$2.04 MX$37.62

-51.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 MX$43.64

$5.12 MX$94.6

-53.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 MX$81.8

$8.16 MX$151

-45.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MX$33.58

$1.65 MX$30.44

10.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.83 MX$52.4

$2.96 MX$54.7

-4.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.44

$2.29 MX$42.31

-16.16%

Eggs

$2.48 MX$45.78

$2.32 MX$42.79

6.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.74 MX$217

$9.25 MX$171

26.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.10 MX$168

$9.75 MX$180

-6.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.53 MX$232

$17.50 MX$323

-28.40%

Apples (1kg)

$3.34 MX$61.6

$4.18 MX$77.2

-20.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.10

$1.69 MX$31.15

-7.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 MX$39.86

$2.93 MX$54.2

-26.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 MX$45.65

$2.47 MX$45.68

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.64

$2.25 MX$41.59

2.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 MX$49.47

$2.56 MX$47.38

4.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 MX$26.90

$1.25 MX$23.16

16.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 MX$22.07

$0.87 MX$16.14

36.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$4.48 MX$82.8

6.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.58 MX$251

$10.44 MX$193

30.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 MX$35.52

$1.59 MX$29.41

20.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 MX$53.2

$3.07 MX$56.7

-6.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MX$14.66

$0.66 MX$12.28

19.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.59 MX$29.44

$2.65 MX$48.98

-40.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.58

$2.03 MX$37.43

-47.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.80 MX$200

$10.77 MX$199

0.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.59

$1.41 MX$26.11

9.93%

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

$24.2K MX$446.4K

$21.3K MX$394.1K

13.26%

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

$24.3K MX$449.4K

$24.1K MX$445.9K

0.78%

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

$117 MX$2,159

$58.1 MX$1,074

100.95%

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

$26.38 MX$488

$22.72 MX$420

16.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.04 MX$481

$24.62 MX$455

5.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.26 MX$559

$33.72 MX$623

-10.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.25 MX$393

$19.81 MX$366

7.27%

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 MX$96.6

$4.43 MX$81.8

18.06%

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

$673 MX$12.4K

$222 MX$4,109

202.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K MX$205.2K

$4,664 MX$86.2K

138.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 MX$1,332

$94.1 MX$1,740

-23.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.38 MX$783

$41.39 MX$765

2.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MX$2,066

$121 MX$2,234

-7.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,200

$88.4 MX$1,634

34.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$949 MX$17.5K

$615 MX$11.4K

54.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$666 MX$12.3K

$389 MX$7,192

71.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,821 MX$33.7K

$1,021 MX$18.9K

78.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 MX$23.5K

$778 MX$14.4K

63.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$74.8K

$1,884 MX$34.8K

115.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,348 MX$43.4K

$1,137 MX$21.0K

106.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 MX$21.3K

$814 MX$15.0K

41.85%

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 Los Cabos: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$666 41.7%

Los Cabos

$389 28.6% 41.6% $277

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$304 19%

Los Cabos

$311 22.9% 2.1% $6.5

Eating Out

Monterrey

$221 13.9%

Los Cabos

$340 25% 53.7% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$169 10.6%

Los Cabos

$105 7.8% 37.7% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$155 9.7%

Los Cabos

$155 11.4% 0.1% $0.2

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Los Cabos

$15 * 1.1% 62.7% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Los Cabos

$43 3.1% 4.6% $1.9

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 $615 in Los Cabos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 42% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $48.00 in Monterrey vs $44.00 in Los Cabos. Groceries flip the comparison at $304 vs $311, with Monterrey cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Los Cabos

🕒 Local time

13:16 1:16 PM

12:16 12:16 PM

1 h behind Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

202,694

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Monterrey Los Cabos 1,020 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Los Cabos

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 Los Cabos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Los Cabos is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, utilities, and transport. The 18% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 42% higher in Monterrey, 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 $615 in Los Cabos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Monterrey pay roughly 2% 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 $1,359 in Los Cabos – a 18% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,359 in Los Cabos versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Los Cabos but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Los Cabos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Los Cabos is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Monterrey, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Los Cabos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.