Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Los Mochis

For one person, living is cheaper in Los Mochis: $1,143 a month against $1,641 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Los Mochis
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Los Mochis Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Los Mochis

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,143

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,641 per month in Monterrey vs $1,143 in Los Mochis, rent included.

Monterrey $1,641
Los Mochis $1,143

A couple spends around $2,573 per month in Monterrey vs $1,794 in Los Mochis, rent included.

Monterrey $2,573
Los Mochis $1,794

A family of three spends $3,504 per month in Monterrey vs $2,445 in Los Mochis, rent included.

Monterrey $3,504
Los Mochis $2,445

Monterrey costs about 44% more than Los Mochis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Monterrey sits 21% above the global median, while Los Mochis is 15% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.37 MX$249

$6.84 MX$127

95.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.95 MX$892

$32.90 MX$612

45.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.79 MX$201

$10.62 MX$198

1.60%

Cappuccino

$3.77 MX$70.1

$3.24 MX$60.3

16.36%

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

$1.51 MX$28.11

$1.02 MX$19.03

48.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.15

$1.05 MX$19.59

-1.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 MX$46.17

$2.61 MX$48.64

-4.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 MX$81.1

$3.31 MX$61.7

31.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 MX$35.25

$1.71 MX$31.76

10.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 MX$53.0

$2.22 MX$41.25

28.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.54

$1.40 MX$26.10

32.86%

Eggs

$2.47 MX$45.89

$2.68 MX$49.88

-7.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.81 MX$220

$8.60 MX$160

37.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 MX$167

$8.03 MX$149

11.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$234

$11.00 MX$205

14.27%

Apples (1kg)

$3.20 MX$59.5

$2.91 MX$54.2

9.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$27.97

$1.44 MX$26.79

4.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.54

$2.02 MX$37.58

4.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.33 MX$43.42

$1.98 MX$36.85

17.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.37

$2.06 MX$38.29

7.77%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 MX$48.10

$1.62 MX$30.08

59.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$26.90

$1.59 MX$29.53

-8.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.73

$0.99 MX$18.38

23.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.80 MX$89.3

$4.65 MX$86.5

3.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 MX$248

$11.41 MX$212

16.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 MX$35.95

$1.60 MX$29.76

20.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 MX$53.1

$2.63 MX$48.92

8.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.86

$0.62 MX$11.50

29.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.94 MX$576

$29.79 MX$554

3.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.83 MX$34.10

$2.51 MX$46.78

-27.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.68

$1.92 MX$35.76

-44.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.82 MX$201

$9.35 MX$174

15.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.46 MX$27.15

0.68%

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

$24.1K MX$448.2K

$23.9K MX$445.4K

0.63%

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

$23.5K MX$437.9K

$22.9K MX$426.7K

2.62%

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

$115 MX$2,133

$60.2 MX$1,120

90.48%

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

$26.37 MX$491

$22.36 MX$416

17.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.70 MX$478

$29.00 MX$540

-11.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.53 MX$568

$31.80 MX$592

-3.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.27 MX$396

$19.99 MX$372

6.40%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 MX$92.3

$5.09 MX$94.7

-2.55%

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

$679 MX$12.6K

$215 MX$3,997

215.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.2K MX$263.9K

$4,401 MX$81.9K

222.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 MX$1,344

$53.4 MX$993

35.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.94 MX$780

$40.35 MX$751

3.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 MX$2,000

$100 MX$1,862

7.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,208

$89.0 MX$1,656

33.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,018 MX$18.9K

$593 MX$11.0K

71.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 MX$13.4K

$405 MX$7,533

78.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,966 MX$36.6K

$1,007 MX$18.7K

95.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,416 MX$26.3K

$774 MX$14.4K

82.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,203 MX$78.2K

$2,141 MX$39.8K

96.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,782 MX$51.8K

$1,198 MX$22.3K

132.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,096 MX$20.4K

$651 MX$12.1K

68.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

11.31

4.24%

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

Last update for Monterrey: November 2, 2026

Last update for Los Mochis: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$722 44%

Los Mochis

$405 35.4% 43.9% $317

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$302 18.4%

Los Mochis

$259 22.7% 14.2% $43

Eating Out

Monterrey

$216 13.2%

Los Mochis

$153 13.4% 28.9% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$167 10.2%

Los Mochis

$112 9.8% 33.1% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$153 9.3%

Los Mochis

$127 11.1% 16.9% $26

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Los Mochis

$44 3.9% 7.6% $3.1

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$40 2.5%

Los Mochis

$42 3.7% 3.8% $1.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,018 in Monterrey versus $593 in Los Mochis. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 68% higher in Monterrey. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Monterrey versus $33 in Los Mochis. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $302 vs $259 – making Los Mochis the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Los Mochis

🕒 Local time

07:07 7:07 AM

06:07 6:07 AM

1 h behind Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

298,009

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey Los Mochis 870 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Los Mochis

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 Mochis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey costs about 44% more than Los Mochis, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,461 per month in Monterrey and $1,714 in Los Mochis. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Los Mochis, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $593 there versus $1,018 in Monterrey.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,641 in Monterrey and $1,143 in Los Mochis. That makes Los Mochis about 30% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 4% less in Los Mochis. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,641 in Monterrey and $1,143 in Los Mochis. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Los Mochis – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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