Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and North Little Rock, AR

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,608 a month against $2,560 in North Little Rock, AR, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 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
125

Cost of Living Index in North Little Rock, AR
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North Little Rock, AR Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

North Little Rock, AR

🇺🇸 United States

$2,560

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in North Little Rock, AR

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 North Little Rock, AR actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Monterrey versus $2,560 in North Little Rock, AR.

Monterrey $1,608
North Little Rock, AR $2,560

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,521 in Monterrey versus $3,762 in North Little Rock, AR.

Monterrey $2,521
North Little Rock, AR $3,762

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,433 in Monterrey versus $4,964 in North Little Rock, AR.

Monterrey $3,433
North Little Rock, AR $4,964

Living in Monterrey costs roughly 37% less than in North Little Rock, AR, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monterrey 19% above, North Little Rock, AR 90% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.85 MX$253

$19.13 $19.13

-27.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.70 MX$909

$74.8 $74.8

-33.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.05 MX$202

$11.17 $11.17

-1.07%

Cappuccino

$4.09 MX$74.8

$5.10 $5.10

-19.80%

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

$1.68 MX$30.66

$2.59 $2.59

-35.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$18.79

$2.05 $2.05

-49.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 MX$43.83

$6.15 $6.15

-60.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$79.5

$7.02 $7.02

-38.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.19

$1.01 $1.01

90.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$53.7

$3.42 $3.42

-14.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.31

$4.41 $4.41

-57.37%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$46.58

$4.09 $4.09

-37.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 MX$217

$12.50 $12.50

-5.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.36 MX$171

$11.62 $11.62

-19.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 MX$240

$15.58 $15.58

-15.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$61.9

$4.81 $4.81

-29.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$27.85

$1.59 $1.59

-4.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.10

$4.32 $4.32

-49.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.19

$4.62 $4.62

-48.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.34

$2.91 $2.91

-22.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 MX$50.0

$2.81 $2.81

-2.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$27.88

$2.11 $2.11

-27.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.67

$2.19 $2.19

-43.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.0

$9.69 $9.69

-50.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.66 MX$250

$14.22 $14.22

-3.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 MX$34.60

$1.80 $1.80

5.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 MX$54.6

$3.30 $3.30

-9.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 MX$15.62

$2.05 $2.05

-58.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$566

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 MX$30.66

$3.47 $3.47

-51.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.66

$1.66 $1.66

-31.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.15 MX$204

$29.36 $29.36

-62.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.62

$0.89 $0.89

75.28%

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

$21.4K MX$391.8K

$29.1K $29.1K

-26.34%

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

$25.1K MX$458.5K

$25.6K $25.6K

-1.91%

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

$119 MX$2,184

$188 $188

-36.34%

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

$26.21 MX$479

$52.3 $52.3

-49.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.78 MX$490

$68.0 $68.0

-60.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$568

$43.86 $43.86

-29.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$392

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MX$96.8

$13.29 $13.29

-60.20%

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

$691 MX$12.6K

$1,315 $1,315

-47.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K MX$209.9K

$23.2K $23.2K

-50.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.3 MX$1,322

$50.3 $50.3

43.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.72 MX$781

$40.56 $40.56

5.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,004

$87.0 $87.0

25.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,136

$113 $113

2.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 MX$17.7K

$1,618 $1,618

-40.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$664 MX$12.1K

$1,332 $1,332

-50.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,857 MX$34.0K

$2,603 $2,603

-28.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 MX$23.5K

$2,238 $2,238

-42.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 MX$76.1K

$2,791 $2,791

49.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,349 MX$43.0K

$2,474 $2,474

-5.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

6.51

81.11%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Last update for North Little Rock, AR: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

North Little Rock, AR

$1.3K 52% 101% $668

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$310 19.3%

North Little Rock, AR

$388 15.2% 24.9% $77

Eating Out

Monterrey

$225 14%

North Little Rock, AR

$311 12.2% 38.6% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$172 10.7%

North Little Rock, AR

$308 12% 78.6% $135

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$154 9.6%

North Little Rock, AR

$131 5.1% 14.7% $23

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

North Little Rock, AR

$20 * 0.8% 52.1% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

North Little Rock, AR

$70 2.8% 69.3% $29

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 $970 in Monterrey and $1,618 in North Little Rock, AR. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50.0 in Monterrey vs $75.0 in North Little Rock, AR for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $388 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇺🇸 North Little Rock, AR

🕒 Local time

07:55 7:55 AM

08:55 8:55 AM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

64,591

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.47 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 EUR

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 18.29 MXN (100 MXN = 5.47 USD). 1 EUR = 20.42 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey North Little Rock, AR 1,270 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
North Little Rock, AR

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 North Little Rock, AR: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and North Little Rock, AR differ by about 59% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $2,560 including rent). Monterrey 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 $3,840 in North Little Rock, AR 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $970 in Monterrey versus $1,618 in North Little Rock, AR. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $691 in Monterrey versus $1,315 in North Little Rock, AR. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Monterrey – a meal for two runs $50.0 versus $75.0 in North Little Rock, AR. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,608 in Monterrey versus $2,560 in North Little Rock, AR, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Monterrey but tight or insufficient in North Little Rock, AR. The gap between the two cities makes Monterrey 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.

Expats usually find Monterrey gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in North Little Rock, AR. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.