Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Parral

For one person, living is cheaper in Parral: $1,140 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Parral
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Parral Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Parral

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,140

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Parral

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,599 in Monterrey versus $1,140 in Parral.

Monterrey $1,599
Parral $1,140

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,493 in Monterrey versus $1,832 in Parral.

Monterrey $2,493
Parral $1,832

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Monterrey versus $2,525 in Parral.

Monterrey $3,387
Parral $2,525

Living in Monterrey is roughly 40% more expensive than in Parral, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 18% above, Parral is 16% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 MX$255

$11.13 MX$206

23.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.99 MX$887

$43.18 MX$798

11.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 MX$197

$8.28 MX$153

28.62%

Cappuccino

$3.99 MX$73.7

$3.48 MX$64.3

14.66%

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

$1.66 MX$30.76

$1.40 MX$25.92

18.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 MX$18.21

$1.02 MX$18.89

-2.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 MX$43.64

$2.53 MX$46.67

-6.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 MX$81.8

$4.09 MX$75.7

8.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MX$33.58

$1.60 MX$29.50

13.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.83 MX$52.4

$2.65 MX$48.90

6.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.44

$1.66 MX$30.76

15.66%

Eggs

$2.48 MX$45.78

$2.51 MX$46.38

-1.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.74 MX$217

$8.25 MX$152

42.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.10 MX$168

$8.56 MX$158

6.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.53 MX$232

$11.60 MX$214

8.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.34 MX$61.6

$2.67 MX$49.32

25.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.10

$1.56 MX$28.88

0.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 MX$39.86

$1.93 MX$35.69

11.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 MX$45.65

$1.84 MX$34.03

34.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.64

$2.04 MX$37.66

13.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 MX$49.47

$1.90 MX$35.07

41.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 MX$26.90

$1.48 MX$27.28

-1.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 MX$22.07

$1.08 MX$20.02

10.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$4.45 MX$82.3

6.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.58 MX$251

$10.53 MX$195

28.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 MX$35.52

$1.82 MX$33.59

5.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 MX$53.2

$3.12 MX$57.6

-7.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MX$14.66

$0.64 MX$11.80

23.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.59 MX$29.44

$2.63 MX$48.62

-39.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.58

$2.01 MX$37.14

-47.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.80 MX$200

$11.15 MX$206

-3.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.59

$1.45 MX$26.76

6.90%

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

$24.2K MX$446.4K

$21.2K MX$391.3K

14.07%

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

$24.3K MX$449.4K

$24.4K MX$451.7K

-0.51%

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

$117 MX$2,159

$58.3 MX$1,077

100.36%

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

$26.38 MX$488

$22.41 MX$414

17.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.04 MX$481

$29.01 MX$536

-10.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.26 MX$559

$34.90 MX$645

-13.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.25 MX$393

$20.29 MX$375

4.73%

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 MX$96.6

$5.35 MX$98.8

-2.24%

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

$673 MX$12.4K

$216 MX$3,992

211.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K MX$205.2K

$4,612 MX$85.2K

140.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 MX$1,332

$55.6 MX$1,028

29.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.38 MX$783

$40.23 MX$743

5.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MX$2,066

$101 MX$1,868

10.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,200

$88.2 MX$1,630

34.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$949 MX$17.5K

$613 MX$11.3K

54.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$666 MX$12.3K

$388 MX$7,174

71.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,821 MX$33.7K

$1,039 MX$19.2K

75.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 MX$23.5K

$761 MX$14.1K

67.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$74.8K

$1,891 MX$34.9K

114.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,348 MX$43.4K

$1,145 MX$21.1K

105.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 MX$21.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

11.3

4.34%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Last update for Parral: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$666 41.7%

Parral

$388 34.1% 41.7% $278

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$304 19%

Parral

$266 23.4% 12.5% $38

Eating Out

Monterrey

$221 13.9%

Parral

$186 16.3% 16% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$169 10.6%

Parral

$110 9.6% 35.2% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$155 9.7%

Parral

$128 11.3% 17.4% $27

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Parral

$15 * 1.3% 63.2% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Parral

$46 4% 12% $4.9

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 $613 in Parral. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48.00 in Monterrey vs $43.00 in Parral for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $304 vs $266 per month, with Parral cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Parral

🕒 Local time

22:51 10:51 PM

Same time as Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

113,843

💱 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

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Parral 550 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Parral

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 Parral: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Parral differ by about 40% in total monthly costs ($1,599 vs $1,140 including rent). Parral is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,399 in Monterrey and $1,709 in Parral 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: $949 in Monterrey versus $613 in Parral. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $673 in Monterrey versus $216 in Parral. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Parral – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $48.00 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,140 in Parral versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Parral but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Parral 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 Parral gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.