Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Opelousas, LA

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,599 a month against $1,710 in Opelousas, LA, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. The total is higher in Opelousas, LA despite lower rent and utilities.

77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
83

Cost of Living Index in Opelousas, LA
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Opelousas, LA Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Opelousas, LA

🇺🇸 United States

$1,710

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Opelousas, LA

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,599 in Monterrey versus $1,710 in Opelousas, LA.

Monterrey $1,599
Opelousas, LA $1,710

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,493 in Monterrey versus $2,643 in Opelousas, LA.

Monterrey $2,493
Opelousas, LA $2,643

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Monterrey versus $3,577 in Opelousas, LA.

Monterrey $3,387
Opelousas, LA $3,577

Living in Monterrey costs roughly 6% less than in Opelousas, LA, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monterrey 18% above, Opelousas, LA 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 MX$255

$20.08 $20.08

-31.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.99 MX$887

$74.0 $74.0

-35.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 MX$197

$11.35 $11.35

-6.17%

Cappuccino

$3.99 MX$73.7

$5.27 $5.27

-24.29%

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

$1.66 MX$30.76

$2.60 $2.60

-36.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 MX$18.21

$1.98 $1.98

-50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 MX$43.64

$5.96 $5.96

-60.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 MX$81.8

$7.46 $7.46

-40.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MX$33.58

$0.84 $0.84

116.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.83 MX$52.4

$2.62 $2.62

8.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.44

$4.42 $4.42

-56.56%

Eggs

$2.48 MX$45.78

$4.26 $4.26

-41.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.74 MX$217

$12.77 $12.77

-8.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.10 MX$168

$11.75 $11.75

-22.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.53 MX$232

$17.10 $17.10

-26.73%

Apples (1kg)

$3.34 MX$61.6

$4.98 $4.98

-32.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.10

$1.59 $1.59

-1.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 MX$39.86

$4.37 $4.37

-50.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 MX$45.65

$4.80 $4.80

-48.54%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.64

$2.80 $2.80

-17.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 MX$49.47

$2.89 $2.89

-7.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 MX$26.90

$2.17 $2.17

-32.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 MX$22.07

$2.23 $2.23

-46.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$9.93 $9.93

-52.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.58 MX$251

$15.15 $15.15

-10.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 MX$35.52

$1.96 $1.96

-2.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 MX$53.2

$3.39 $3.39

-15.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MX$14.66

$1.94 $1.94

-59.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.59 MX$29.44

$2.69 $2.69

-40.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.58

$1.76 $1.76

-39.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.80 MX$200

$26.51 $26.51

-59.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.59

$0.92 $0.92

68.48%

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

$24.2K MX$446.4K

$27.6K $27.6K

-12.53%

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

$24.3K MX$449.4K

$24.1K $24.1K

0.96%

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

$117 MX$2,159

$200 $200

-41.53%

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

$26.38 MX$488

$57.6 $57.6

-54.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.04 MX$481

$69.2 $69.2

-62.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.26 MX$559

$44.72 $44.72

-32.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.25 MX$393

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 MX$96.6

$14.41 $14.41

-63.71%

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

$673 MX$12.4K

$1,388 $1,388

-51.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K MX$205.2K

$23.8K $23.8K

-53.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 MX$1,332

$54.0 $54.0

33.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.38 MX$783

$41.64 $41.64

1.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MX$2,066

$89.1 $89.1

25.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,200

$115 $115

3.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$949 MX$17.5K

$615 $615

54.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$666 MX$12.3K

$445 $445

49.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,821 MX$33.7K

$1,150 $1,150

58.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 MX$23.5K

$789 $789

61.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$74.8K

$3,036 $3,036

33.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,348 MX$43.4K

$2,696 $2,696

-12.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 MX$21.3K

$2,953 $2,953

-60.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

6.57

79.45%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Last update for Opelousas, LA: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$666 41.7%

Opelousas, LA

$445 26% 33.3% $222

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$304 19%

Opelousas, LA

$390 22.8% 28.1% $86

Eating Out

Monterrey

$221 13.9%

Opelousas, LA

$321 18.8% 44.9% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$169 10.6%

Opelousas, LA

$327 19.1% 92.9% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$155 9.7%

Opelousas, LA

$135 7.9% 13.2% $20

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Opelousas, LA

$19 * 1.1% 53.5% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Opelousas, LA

$74 4.3% 80.7% $33

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 $949 in Monterrey and $615 in Opelousas, LA. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Opelousas, LA pays 156% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $48.00 in Monterrey vs $74.0 in Opelousas, LA for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $304 vs $390 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇺🇸 Opelousas, LA

🕒 Local time

19:02 7:02 PM

20:02 8:02 PM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

23,222

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Opelousas, LA 970 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Opelousas, LA

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 Opelousas, LA: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Opelousas, LA differ by about 7% in total monthly costs ($1,599 vs $1,710 including rent). Monterrey is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 156% lower in Opelousas, LA. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $949 in Monterrey versus $615 in Opelousas, LA. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $673 in Monterrey versus $1,388 in Opelousas, LA. 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 $48.00 versus $74.0 in Opelousas, LA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,599 in Monterrey versus $1,710 in Opelousas, LA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Monterrey but tight or insufficient in Opelousas, LA. 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 7% less than in Opelousas, LA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.