Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Pachuca

For one person, living is cheaper in Pachuca: $877 a month against $1,647 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Pachuca
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Pachuca Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Pachuca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$877

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Pachuca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,647 in Monterrey versus $877 in Pachuca.

Monterrey $1,647
Pachuca $877

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,591 in Monterrey versus $1,460 in Pachuca.

Monterrey $2,591
Pachuca $1,460

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,536 in Monterrey versus $2,044 in Pachuca.

Monterrey $3,536
Pachuca $2,044

Living in Monterrey is roughly 88% more expensive than in Pachuca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 21% above, Pachuca is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.45 MX$253

$4.96 MX$93.2

171.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.43 MX$910

$25.47 MX$479

90.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$205

$7.91 MX$149

37.80%

Cappuccino

$3.82 MX$71.8

$2.98 MX$56.0

28.19%

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

$1.67 MX$31.31

$1.12 MX$21.02

49.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.47

$0.80 MX$15.05

22.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.35 MX$44.17

$1.64 MX$30.86

43.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 MX$82.9

$3.15 MX$59.3

40.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 MX$33.86

$1.49 MX$28.00

20.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$52.5

$2.51 MX$47.26

11.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.30

$1.79 MX$33.71

1.68%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$47.22

$2.67 MX$50.2

-5.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.09 MX$227

$7.13 MX$134

69.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.41 MX$177

$4.54 MX$85.4

107.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.71 MX$239

$7.64 MX$144

66.36%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 MX$60.3

$2.00 MX$37.50

60.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.15

$1.31 MX$24.70

14.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$40.30

$1.46 MX$27.41

46.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.32 MX$43.63

$1.64 MX$30.79

41.46%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 MX$41.38

$1.46 MX$27.39

50.68%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 MX$48.83

$1.28 MX$23.97

103.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$27.07

$0.89 MX$16.70

61.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 MX$22.05

$0.96 MX$17.96

21.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.79 MX$90.0

$4.30 MX$80.7

11.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 MX$249

$8.25 MX$155

60.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 MX$36.51

$1.31 MX$24.63

48.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 MX$54.2

$2.45 MX$46.08

17.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 MX$16.39

$0.59 MX$11.04

47.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.14 MX$585

$26.43 MX$497

17.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MX$31.13

$2.62 MX$49.20

-36.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 MX$20.55

$2.58 MX$48.55

-57.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.67 MX$201

$10.61 MX$199

0.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.69

$1.41 MX$26.56

4.26%

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

$24.2K MX$455.6K

$21.5K MX$404.5K

12.64%

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

$23.6K MX$442.7K

$22.9K MX$430.6K

2.80%

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

$118 MX$2,215

$45.14 MX$848

161.12%

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

$25.55 MX$480

$19.13 MX$360

33.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.43 MX$497

$22.63 MX$425

16.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.77 MX$578

$23.75 MX$446

29.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 MX$396

$10.81 MX$203

94.91%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$95.7

$4.20 MX$78.9

21.19%

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

$694 MX$13.0K

$163 MX$3,059

326.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K MX$212.7K

$2,635 MX$49.5K

329.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 MX$1,362

$51.0 MX$958

42.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.51 MX$780

$41.00 MX$770

1.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,062

$93.3 MX$1,753

17.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 MX$2,160

$75.3 MX$1,415

52.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,056 MX$19.8K

$388 MX$7,286

172.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$721 MX$13.6K

$268 MX$5,035

169.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,999 MX$37.6K

$600 MX$11.3K

233.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,435 MX$27.0K

$675 MX$12.7K

112.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,219 MX$79.3K

$737 MX$13.9K

472.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,731 MX$51.3K

$645 MX$12.1K

323.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,149 MX$21.6K

$651 MX$12.2K

76.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

10.8

9.17%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 25, 2026

Last update for Pachuca: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$721 43.8%

Pachuca

$268 30.6% 62.9% $453

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$303 18.4%

Pachuca

$207 23.6% 31.9% $97

Eating Out

Monterrey

$217 13.2%

Pachuca

$121 13.8% 44.2% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$170 10.3%

Pachuca

$87 9.9% 48.8% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$152 9.3%

Pachuca

$117 13.4% 23.1% $35

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.5%

Pachuca

$44 5.1% 6.1% $2.6

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Pachuca

$32 3.7% 21.5% $8.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,056 in Monterrey and $388 in Pachuca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 77% 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 in Monterrey vs $25 in Pachuca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $303 vs $207 per month, with Pachuca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Pachuca

🕒 Local time

19:45 7:45 PM

Same time as Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

297,848

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Pachuca 640 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Pachuca

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 Pachuca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,647 in Monterrey and $877 in Pachuca, so Pachuca is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 77% higher in Monterrey, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,056 in Monterrey versus $388 in Pachuca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Pachuca – a meal for two runs $25 versus $48 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,647 per month in Monterrey versus $877 in Pachuca – Pachuca is about 47% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $877 in Pachuca versus $1,647 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Pachuca but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Pachuca 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 Pachuca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 47% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.