Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Manzanillo

For one person, living is cheaper in Manzanillo: $1,200 a month against $1,641 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Manzanillo
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Manzanillo Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Manzanillo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,200

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Manzanillo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,641 in Monterrey versus $1,200 in Manzanillo.

Monterrey $1,641
Manzanillo $1,200

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,573 in Monterrey versus $2,100 in Manzanillo.

Monterrey $2,573
Manzanillo $2,100

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,504 in Monterrey versus $3,000 in Manzanillo.

Monterrey $3,504
Manzanillo $3,000

Living in Monterrey is roughly 37% more expensive than in Manzanillo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 21% above, Manzanillo is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.37 MX$249

$10.88 MX$202

22.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.95 MX$892

$32.44 MX$604

47.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.79 MX$201

$10.92 MX$203

-1.19%

Cappuccino

$3.77 MX$70.1

$3.71 MX$69.1

1.62%

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

$1.51 MX$28.11

$1.14 MX$21.14

32.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.15

$1.12 MX$20.81

-8.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 MX$46.18

$2.11 MX$39.23

17.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 MX$81.1

$4.31 MX$80.2

1.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 MX$35.25

$1.51 MX$28.04

25.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 MX$53.0

$2.53 MX$47.10

12.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.54

$1.16 MX$21.54

60.34%

Eggs

$2.47 MX$45.89

$2.07 MX$38.50

19.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.81 MX$220

$8.01 MX$149

47.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 MX$167

$5.42 MX$101

65.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$234

$9.44 MX$176

33.16%

Apples (1kg)

$3.20 MX$59.5

$2.87 MX$53.4

11.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$27.98

$1.38 MX$25.67

8.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.54

$1.73 MX$32.21

22.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.33 MX$43.42

$1.46 MX$27.23

59.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.37

$2.31 MX$42.95

-3.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 MX$48.10

$1.65 MX$30.77

56.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$26.90

$1.83 MX$34.15

-20.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.73

$1.16 MX$21.53

5.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.80 MX$89.3

$5.31 MX$98.9

-9.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 MX$248

$6.36 MX$118

109.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 MX$35.96

$1.80 MX$33.46

7.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 MX$53.2

$2.44 MX$45.32

17.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.86

$0.75 MX$13.94

6.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.94 MX$576

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.83 MX$34.10

$2.39 MX$44.54

-23.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.68

$2.48 MX$46.14

-57.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.82 MX$201

$8.20 MX$153

31.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.41 MX$26.16

4.26%

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

$24.1K MX$448.2K

$23.9K MX$445.2K

0.67%

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

$23.5K MX$438.0K

$23.3K MX$434.3K

0.84%

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

$115 MX$2,133

$64.1 MX$1,193

78.80%

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

$26.37 MX$491

$19.79 MX$368

33.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.70 MX$478

$28.60 MX$532

-10.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.53 MX$568

$65.8 MX$1,224

-53.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.27 MX$396

$31.67 MX$589

-32.84%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 MX$92.3

$4.34 MX$80.8

14.29%

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

$679 MX$12.6K

$162 MX$3,022

317.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.2K MX$264.0K

$8,458 MX$157.4K

67.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 MX$1,344

$42.68 MX$794

69.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.94 MX$780

$24.94 MX$464

68.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 MX$2,000

$73.9 MX$1,376

45.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,208

$114 MX$2,112

4.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,018 MX$18.9K

$660 MX$12.3K

54.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 MX$13.4K

$460 MX$8,560

56.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,966 MX$36.6K

$1,531 MX$28.5K

28.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,416 MX$26.3K

$1,322 MX$24.6K

7.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,203 MX$78.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,782 MX$51.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,096 MX$20.4K

$402 MX$7,485

172.42%

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: November 2, 2026

Last update for Manzanillo: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$722 44%

Manzanillo

$460 38.3% 36.3% $262

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$302 18.4%

Manzanillo

$228 19% 24.7% $75

Eating Out

Monterrey

$216 13.2%

Manzanillo

$193 16.1% 10.8% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$167 10.2%

Manzanillo

$112 9.4% 32.5% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$153 9.3%

Manzanillo

$115 9.6% 25% $38

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Manzanillo

$18 * 1.5% 56.9% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$40 2.5%

Manzanillo

$74 6.2% 84.1% $34

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 $1,018 in Monterrey and $660 in Manzanillo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $32 in Manzanillo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $302 vs $228 per month, with Manzanillo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Manzanillo

🕒 Local time

14:30 2:30 PM

Same time as Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

159,853

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey Manzanillo 840 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Manzanillo

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 Manzanillo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,641 in Monterrey and $1,200 in Manzanillo, so Manzanillo is about 27% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Monterrey is about 2.7 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: $1,018 in Monterrey versus $660 in Manzanillo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 33% higher in Monterrey. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,641 per month in Monterrey versus $1,200 in Manzanillo – Manzanillo is about 27% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Manzanillo 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.

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