Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Moquegua

For one person, living is cheaper in Moquegua: $446 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $13,900 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
22

Cost of Living Index in Moquegua
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Moquegua Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Moquegua

🇵🇪 Peru

$446

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Moquegua

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Monterrey versus $446 in Moquegua.

Monterrey $1,608
Moquegua $446

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,521 in Monterrey versus $743 in Moquegua.

Monterrey $2,521
Moquegua $743

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,433 in Monterrey versus $1,041 in Moquegua.

Monterrey $3,433
Moquegua $1,041

Living in Monterrey is roughly 261% more expensive than in Moquegua, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 19% above, Moquegua is 67% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.85 MX$256

$3.38 PEN 11.61

309.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.70 MX$918

$27.26 PEN 93.6

82.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.05 MX$204

$5.77 PEN 19.81

91.51%

Cappuccino

$4.09 MX$75.6

$2.46 PEN 8.44

66.26%

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

$1.68 MX$30.97

$0.83 PEN 2.85

102.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$18.98

$0.36 PEN 1.22

186.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 MX$44.28

$2.16 PEN 7.40

11.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.3

$4.47 PEN 15.36

-2.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.55

$1.27 PEN 4.37

51.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$54.2

$1.34 PEN 4.60

119.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.66

$1.51 PEN 5.18

24.50%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$47.06

$2.28 PEN 7.83

11.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 MX$219

$6.39 PEN 21.96

85.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.36 MX$173

$4.47 PEN 15.36

109.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 MX$242

$7.52 PEN 25.81

74.20%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$1.77 PEN 6.06

90.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.18 PEN 4.07

28.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.51

$1.13 PEN 3.87

93.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.63

$1.00 PEN 3.43

136.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.76

$0.62 PEN 2.13

264.52%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 MX$50.5

$0.72 PEN 2.47

279.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.17

$0.51 PEN 1.74

198.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.90

$0.80 PEN 2.73

55.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$5.12 PEN 17.58

-7.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.66 MX$252

$5.00 PEN 17.18

173.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 MX$34.95

$2.72 PEN 9.34

-30.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 MX$55.2

$2.23 PEN 7.67

34.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 MX$15.78

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 MX$30.98

$2.06 PEN 7.08

-18.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.87

$1.99 PEN 6.85

-43.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.15 MX$206

$12.78 PEN 43.91

-12.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.91

$1.57 PEN 5.39

-0.64%

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

$21.4K MX$395.8K

$18.7K PEN 64.1K

14.80%

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

$25.1K MX$463.2K

$25.7K PEN 88.4K

-2.60%

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

$119 MX$2,206

$23.88 PEN 82.0

399.96%

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

$26.21 MX$484

$10.09 PEN 34.66

159.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.78 MX$495

$23.10 PEN 79.3

15.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MX$97.7

$7.46 PEN 25.64

-29.09%

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

$691 MX$12.8K

$74.3 PEN 255

830.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K MX$212.1K

$6,663 PEN 22.9K

72.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.3 MX$1,335

$49.04 PEN 168

47.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.72 MX$789

$25.96 PEN 89.1

64.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,024

$65.6 PEN 225

67.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,158

$58.2 PEN 200

100.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 MX$17.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$664 MX$12.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,857 MX$34.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 MX$23.8K

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

-21.40%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Last update for Moquegua: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

Moquegua

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$310 19.3%

Moquegua

$174 39% 44% $137

Eating Out

Monterrey

$225 14%

Moquegua

$98 22.1% 56.2% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$172 10.7%

Moquegua

$57 12.8% 66.9% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$154 9.6%

Moquegua

$89 20.1% 41.8% $64

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Moquegua

$12 * 2.7% 71.1% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Moquegua

$15 * 3.4% 64.1% $27

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $50.0 in Monterrey vs $27.00 in Moquegua for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $174 per month, with Moquegua cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇵🇪 Moquegua

🕒 Local time

13:54 1:54 PM

14:54 2:54 PM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

18,861

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey Moquegua 5,730 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Moquegua

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 Moquegua: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Moquegua differ by about 261% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $446 including rent). Moquegua is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,412 in Monterrey and $668 in Moquegua to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $691 in Monterrey versus $74.3 in Moquegua. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Moquegua – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $446 in Moquegua versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Moquegua but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Moquegua the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Monterrey and Moquegua are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Moquegua gentler on the wallet – expenses run 261% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.