Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Oaxaca de Juarez

For one person, living is cheaper in Oaxaca de Juarez: $1,154 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Oaxaca de Juarez
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Oaxaca de Juarez Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Oaxaca de Juarez

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,154

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Oaxaca de Juarez

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 Oaxaca de Juarez actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Monterrey versus $1,154 in Oaxaca de Juarez.

Monterrey $1,608
Oaxaca de Juarez $1,154

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,521 in Monterrey versus $1,781 in Oaxaca de Juarez.

Monterrey $2,521
Oaxaca de Juarez $1,781

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,433 in Monterrey versus $2,408 in Oaxaca de Juarez.

Monterrey $3,433
Oaxaca de Juarez $2,408

Living in Monterrey is roughly 39% more expensive than in Oaxaca de Juarez, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 19% above, Oaxaca de Juarez is 15% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.85 MX$256

$6.48 MX$120

113.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.70 MX$918

$32.81 MX$606

51.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.05 MX$204

$8.33 MX$154

32.65%

Cappuccino

$4.09 MX$75.6

$2.82 MX$52.1

45.04%

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

$1.68 MX$30.97

$1.51 MX$27.83

11.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$18.98

$0.79 MX$14.59

30.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 MX$44.28

$2.48 MX$45.90

-3.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.3

$3.79 MX$70.0

14.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.55

$1.33 MX$24.59

44.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$54.2

$3.13 MX$57.8

-6.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.66

$1.12 MX$20.62

67.86%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$47.06

$1.74 MX$32.21

46.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 MX$219

$6.44 MX$119

83.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.36 MX$173

$5.49 MX$101

70.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 MX$242

$11.27 MX$208

16.24%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$2.14 MX$39.46

57.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.23 MX$22.80

23.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.51

$1.90 MX$35.14

15.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.63

$0.53 MX$9.81

345.28%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.76

$2.01 MX$37.18

12.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.00 MX$36.93

36.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.17

$1.11 MX$20.58

36.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.90

$0.94 MX$17.46

31.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$4.24 MX$78.3

12.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.66 MX$252

$9.40 MX$174

45.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 MX$34.95

$1.47 MX$27.11

28.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 MX$55.2

$2.63 MX$48.64

13.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 MX$15.78

$0.53 MX$9.81

60.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 MX$30.98

$3.89 MX$71.9

-56.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.87

$1.95 MX$36.12

-42.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.15 MX$206

$10.89 MX$201

2.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.91

$1.36 MX$25.17

14.71%

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

$21.4K MX$395.8K

$21.4K MX$396.0K

-0.04%

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

$25.1K MX$463.2K

$24.4K MX$450.4K

2.83%

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

$119 MX$2,206

$62.5 MX$1,155

90.96%

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

$26.21 MX$484

$11.03 MX$204

137.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.78 MX$495

$24.19 MX$447

10.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

$44.34 MX$819

-30.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MX$97.7

$5.58 MX$103

-5.20%

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

$691 MX$12.8K

$422 MX$7,795

63.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K MX$212.1K

$20.0K MX$369.3K

-42.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.3 MX$1,335

$53.5 MX$988

35.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.72 MX$789

$61.6 MX$1,138

-30.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,024

$102 MX$1,887

7.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,158

$98.3 MX$1,816

18.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 MX$17.9K

$696 MX$12.9K

39.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$664 MX$12.3K

$481 MX$8,885

38.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,857 MX$34.3K

$1,208 MX$22.3K

53.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 MX$23.8K

$892 MX$16.5K

44.32%

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

10.96

7.57%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Last update for Oaxaca de Juarez: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$481 41.7% 27.6% $183

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$310 19.3%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$222 19.3% 28.4% $88

Eating Out

Monterrey

$225 14%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$140 12.1% 37.7% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$172 10.7%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$98 8.5% 43.3% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$154 9.6%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$142 12.3% 7.6% $12

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$16 * 1.4% 62.1% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$56 4.8% 33.4% $14

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 $696 in Oaxaca de Juarez. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50.0 in Monterrey vs $33.00 in Oaxaca de Juarez for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $222 per month, with Oaxaca de Juarez cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Oaxaca de Juarez

🕒 Local time

06:39 6:39 AM

Same time as Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

258,913

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Monterrey Oaxaca de Juarez 1,030 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
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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 Oaxaca de Juarez: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Oaxaca de Juarez differ by about 39% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $1,154 including rent). Oaxaca de Juarez 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 $1,731 in Oaxaca de Juarez 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 $696 in Oaxaca de Juarez. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $691 in Monterrey versus $422 in Oaxaca de Juarez. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Oaxaca de Juarez – a meal for two runs $33.00 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,154 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Oaxaca de Juarez but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Oaxaca de Juarez 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 Oaxaca de Juarez 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 Oaxaca de Juarez gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.