Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Montego Bay

For one person, living is cheaper in Montego Bay: $1,169 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Montego Bay
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Montego Bay Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Montego Bay

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,169

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Montego Bay

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

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Monterrey vs $1,169 in Montego Bay, rent included.

Monterrey $1,608
Montego Bay $1,169

A couple spends around $2,521 per month in Monterrey vs $2,141 in Montego Bay, rent included.

Monterrey $2,521
Montego Bay $2,141

A family of three spends $3,433 per month in Monterrey vs $3,113 in Montego Bay, rent included.

Monterrey $3,433
Montego Bay $3,113

Monterrey costs about 38% more than Montego Bay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Monterrey sits 19% above the global median, while Montego Bay is 13% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.85 MX$256

$11.14 JMD 1,760

24.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.70 MX$918

$74.1 JMD 11.7K

-32.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.05 MX$204

$8.35 JMD 1,319

32.34%

Cappuccino

$4.09 MX$75.6

$5.22 JMD 825

-21.65%

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

$1.68 MX$30.97

$0.94 JMD 149

78.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$18.98

$0.70 JMD 110

47.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 MX$44.28

$2.17 JMD 343

10.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.3

$3.06 JMD 484

42.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.55

$3.30 JMD 522

-41.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$54.2

$2.61 JMD 413

12.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.66

$1.38 JMD 217

36.23%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$47.06

$3.48 JMD 550

-26.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 MX$219

$11.24 JMD 1,775

5.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.36 MX$173

$6.13 JMD 968

52.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 MX$242

$9.05 JMD 1,430

44.75%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$4.03 JMD 637

-16.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$2.53 JMD 400

-39.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.51

$7.28 JMD 1,151

-69.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.63

$2.45 JMD 388

-3.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.76

$2.44 JMD 386

-7.38%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.66 JMD 420

2.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.17

$2.55 JMD 403

-40.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.90

$0.77 JMD 121

61.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$9.16 JMD 1,447

-48.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.66 MX$252

$11.14 JMD 1,760

22.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 MX$34.95

$2.80 JMD 442

-32.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 MX$55.2

$4.05 JMD 640

-26.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 MX$15.78

$0.96 JMD 152

-11.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 MX$30.98

$0.93 JMD 147

80.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.87

$3.17 JMD 501

-64.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.15 MX$206

$6.25 JMD 988

78.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.91

$1.35 JMD 214

15.56%

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

$21.4K MX$395.8K

$44.2K JMD 7.0M

-51.50%

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

$25.1K MX$463.2K

$32.6K JMD 5.2M

-23.20%

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

$119 MX$2,206

$170 JMD 26.8K

-29.56%

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

$26.21 MX$484

$22.58 JMD 3,567

16.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.78 MX$495

$47.32 JMD 7,477

-43.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

$44.55 JMD 7,038

-30.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MX$97.7

$8.65 JMD 1,367

-38.84%

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

$691 MX$12.8K

$355 JMD 56.0K

94.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K MX$212.1K

$8,218 JMD 1.3M

39.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.3 MX$1,335

$23.50 JMD 3,713

207.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.72 MX$789

$30.80 JMD 4,866

38.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,024

$67.9 JMD 10.7K

61.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,158

$102 JMD 16.1K

14.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 MX$17.9K

$318 JMD 50.2K

205.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$664 MX$12.3K

$222 JMD 35.1K

198.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,857 MX$34.3K

$934 JMD 147.6K

98.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 MX$23.8K

$934 JMD 147.6K

37.78%

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

$595 JMD 94.0K

92.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

9.45

24.76%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Last update for Montego Bay: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

Montego Bay

$222 19% 66.5% $441

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$310 19.3%

Montego Bay

$323 27.7% 4.1% $13

Eating Out

Monterrey

$225 14%

Montego Bay

$200 17.1% 10.8% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$172 10.7%

Montego Bay

$239 20.5% 38.9% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$154 9.6%

Montego Bay

$101 8.6% 34.3% $53

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Montego Bay

$21 * 1.8% 50.5% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Montego Bay

$62 5.3% 48.6% $20

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $970 in Monterrey versus $318 in Montego Bay. 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 93% higher in Monterrey, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $50.0 in Monterrey versus $74.0 in Montego Bay. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $310 vs $323 – making Monterrey the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇯🇲 Montego Bay

🕒 Local time

01:54 1:54 AM

02:54 2:54 AM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

110,115

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Montego Bay 2,440 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Montego Bay

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 Montego Bay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey costs about 38% more than Montego Bay, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. 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 $1,753 in Montego Bay. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Montego Bay, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $50.0 in Monterrey and $74.0 in Montego Bay. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 4% cheaper in Monterrey – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Montego Bay, where all-in costs run around $1,169, than in Monterrey at $1,608. In Montego Bay it covers expenses comfortably, while in Monterrey it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Montego Bay costs $1,169 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 Montego Bay. 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.