Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo

For one person, living is cheaper in Nuevo Laredo: $1,207 a month against $1,647 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 Nuevo Laredo
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Nuevo Laredo Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Nuevo Laredo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Nuevo Laredo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,647 in Monterrey versus $1,207 in Nuevo Laredo.

Monterrey $1,647
Nuevo Laredo $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,591 in Monterrey versus $1,893 in Nuevo Laredo.

Monterrey $2,591
Nuevo Laredo $1,893

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,536 in Monterrey versus $2,580 in Nuevo Laredo.

Monterrey $3,536
Nuevo Laredo $2,580

Living in Monterrey is roughly 36% more expensive than in Nuevo Laredo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.45 MX$252

$10.67 MX$200

26.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.43 MX$908

$48.51 MX$909

-0.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$204

$6.47 MX$121

68.47%

Cappuccino

$3.82 MX$71.5

$3.45 MX$64.6

10.72%

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

$1.67 MX$31.22

$1.27 MX$23.84

31.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.42

$1.05 MX$19.60

-6.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.35 MX$44.04

$2.09 MX$39.24

12.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 MX$82.7

$3.75 MX$70.4

17.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 MX$33.76

$1.43 MX$26.72

25.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$52.3

$2.67 MX$49.97

4.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.20

$1.63 MX$30.55

11.66%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$47.09

$2.30 MX$43.12

9.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.09 MX$227

$9.81 MX$184

23.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.41 MX$176

$5.98 MX$112

57.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.71 MX$238

$9.50 MX$178

33.79%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 MX$60.1

$2.62 MX$49.13

22.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.07

$1.07 MX$20.00

40.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$40.19

$1.59 MX$29.86

34.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.32 MX$43.50

$1.64 MX$30.75

41.46%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 MX$41.26

$1.32 MX$24.70

66.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 MX$48.69

$1.37 MX$25.64

89.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.99

$1.06 MX$19.83

35.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 MX$21.99

$0.78 MX$14.55

50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.79 MX$89.7

$4.41 MX$82.6

8.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 MX$248

$9.92 MX$186

33.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 MX$36.40

$2.25 MX$42.16

-13.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 MX$54.1

$1.43 MX$26.80

102.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 MX$16.34

$0.66 MX$12.37

31.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.14 MX$584

$33.59 MX$629

-7.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MX$31.04

$2.63 MX$49.23

-36.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 MX$20.49

$1.96 MX$36.66

-44.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.67 MX$200

$10.61 MX$199

0.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.61

$1.12 MX$20.99

31.25%

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

$24.2K MX$454.3K

$18.8K MX$353.0K

28.70%

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

$23.6K MX$441.4K

$23.3K MX$436.7K

1.06%

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

$118 MX$2,209

$47.38 MX$888

148.78%

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

$25.55 MX$479

$33.31 MX$624

-23.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.43 MX$495

$29.93 MX$561

-11.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.77 MX$577

$30.60 MX$573

0.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 MX$395

$19.38 MX$363

8.72%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$95.4

$5.59 MX$105

-8.94%

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

$694 MX$13.0K

$239 MX$4,473

190.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K MX$212.1K

$2,585 MX$48.4K

337.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 MX$1,358

$56.7 MX$1,062

27.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.51 MX$778

$55.0 MX$1,031

-24.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,056

$83.7 MX$1,568

31.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 MX$2,154

$124 MX$2,328

-7.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,056 MX$19.8K

$554 MX$10.4K

90.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$721 MX$13.5K

$456 MX$8,553

58.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,999 MX$37.5K

$998 MX$18.7K

100.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,435 MX$26.9K

$790 MX$14.8K

81.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,219 MX$79.1K

$1,657 MX$31.0K

154.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,731 MX$51.2K

$982 MX$18.4K

178.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,149 MX$21.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

10.53

11.97%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 25, 2026

Last update for Nuevo Laredo: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$721 43.8%

Nuevo Laredo

$456 37.8% 36.7% $265

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$303 18.4%

Nuevo Laredo

$233 19.3% 23.3% $71

Eating Out

Monterrey

$217 13.2%

Nuevo Laredo

$173 14.4% 20.2% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$170 10.3%

Nuevo Laredo

$111 9.2% 34.9% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$152 9.3%

Nuevo Laredo

$144 11.9% 5.6% $8.6

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.5%

Nuevo Laredo

$49 4% 16.5% $6.9

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Nuevo Laredo

$42 3.5% 2% $0.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,056 in Monterrey and $554 in Nuevo Laredo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $49 in Nuevo Laredo. Groceries flip the comparison at $303 vs $233, with Nuevo Laredo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Nuevo Laredo

🕒 Local time

17:41 5:41 PM

Same time as Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

416,055

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Monterrey Nuevo Laredo 220 km

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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 Nuevo Laredo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,647 in Monterrey and $1,207 in Nuevo Laredo, so Nuevo Laredo is about 27% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,470 in Monterrey and $1,811 in Nuevo Laredo 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: $1,056 in Monterrey versus $554 in Nuevo Laredo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $694 in Monterrey versus $239 in Nuevo Laredo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Monterrey runs roughly 7% less than in Nuevo Laredo. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Nuevo Laredo is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.