Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Old Harbour

For one person, living is cheaper in Old Harbour: $998 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Monterrey outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Old Harbour
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Old Harbour Living Index

Jump to prices

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Old Harbour

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$998

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Old Harbour

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Monterrey versus $998 in Old Harbour.

Monterrey $1,608
Old Harbour $998

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,521 in Monterrey versus $1,652 in Old Harbour.

Monterrey $2,521
Old Harbour $1,652

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,433 in Monterrey versus $2,305 in Old Harbour.

Monterrey $3,433
Old Harbour $2,305

Living in Monterrey is roughly 61% more expensive than in Old Harbour, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 19% above, Old Harbour is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.85 MX$256

$13.53 JMD 2,138

2.37%

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

$7.93 JMD 1,253

39.34%

Cappuccino

$4.09 MX$75.6

$5.24 JMD 828

-21.95%

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

$1.68 MX$30.97

$1.20 JMD 190

40.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$18.98

$0.73 JMD 115

41.10%

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

$3.17 JMD 500

37.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.55

$4.03 JMD 636

-52.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$54.2

$3.77 JMD 595

-22.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.66

$1.59 JMD 251

18.24%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$47.06

$3.47 JMD 548

-26.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 MX$219

$11.28 JMD 1,783

4.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.36 MX$173

$6.38 JMD 1,008

46.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 MX$242

$10.30 JMD 1,628

27.18%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$6.09 JMD 963

-44.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$3.80 JMD 601

-60.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.51

$7.45 JMD 1,177

-70.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.63

$3.06 JMD 484

-22.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.76

$3.28 JMD 519

-31.10%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.70 JMD 427

1.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.17

$3.03 JMD 479

-49.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.90

$1.45 JMD 229

-14.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$9.24 JMD 1,459

-48.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.66 MX$252

$11.41 JMD 1,803

19.72%

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

$4.00 JMD 633

-25.25%

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

$1.16 JMD 184

44.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.87

$3.07 JMD 486

-63.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.15 MX$206

$6.13 JMD 968

81.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.91

$1.47 JMD 232

6.12%

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

$21.4K MX$395.8K

$44.8K JMD 7.1M

-52.17%

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

$25.1K MX$463.2K

$32.8K JMD 5.2M

-23.63%

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

$119 MX$2,206

$164 JMD 26.0K

-27.33%

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

$26.21 MX$484

$29.43 JMD 4,650

-10.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.78 MX$495

$53.0 JMD 8,374

-49.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MX$97.7

$13.05 JMD 2,062

-59.46%

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

$691 MX$12.8K

$361 JMD 57.0K

91.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K MX$212.1K

$8,389 JMD 1.3M

36.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.3 MX$1,335

$23.49 JMD 3,710

207.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.72 MX$789

$31.98 JMD 5,053

33.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,024

$76.2 JMD 12.0K

43.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,158

$104 JMD 16.4K

12.36%

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

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 Old Harbour: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

Old Harbour

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$310 19.3%

Old Harbour

$383 38.4% 23.3% $72

Eating Out

Monterrey

$225 14%

Old Harbour

$220 22% 2.1% $4.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$172 10.7%

Old Harbour

$247 24.7% 43.1% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$154 9.6%

Old Harbour

$106 10.6% 31% $48

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Old Harbour

$17 * 1.7% 60.3% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Old Harbour

$26 * 2.6% 37.3% $16

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 $74.0 in Old Harbour for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $383 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇯🇲 Old Harbour

🕒 Local time

17:20 5:20 PM

18:20 6:20 PM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

26,024

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 Old Harbour 2,540 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Old Harbour

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 Old Harbour: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Old Harbour differ by about 61% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $998 including rent). Old Harbour 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 $1,497 in Old Harbour 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 $361 in Old Harbour. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Old Harbour – a meal for two runs $74.0 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $998 in Old Harbour versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Old Harbour but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Old Harbour 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 Old Harbour gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.