Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Popayan

For one person, living is cheaper in Popayan: $1,340 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Popayan
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Popayan Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Popayan

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Popayan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Monterrey versus $1,340 in Popayan.

Monterrey $1,608
Popayan $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,521 in Monterrey versus $2,023 in Popayan.

Monterrey $2,521
Popayan $2,023

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,433 in Monterrey versus $2,706 in Popayan.

Monterrey $3,433
Popayan $2,706

Living in Monterrey is roughly 20% more expensive than in Popayan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 19% above, Popayan is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.85 MX$256

$6.55 COP 20.8K

111.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.70 MX$918

$45.13 COP 143.1K

10.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.05 MX$204

$8.71 COP 27.6K

26.87%

Cappuccino

$4.09 MX$75.6

$2.80 COP 8,877

46.07%

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

$1.68 MX$30.97

$1.20 COP 3,793

40.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$18.98

$1.02 COP 3,234

0.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 MX$44.28

$3.45 COP 10.9K

-30.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.3

$4.02 COP 12.8K

8.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.55

$1.65 COP 5,224

16.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$54.2

$2.49 COP 7,898

18.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.66

$1.68 COP 5,338

11.90%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$47.06

$3.13 COP 9,927

-18.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 MX$219

$6.94 COP 22.0K

70.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.36 MX$173

$11.05 COP 35.0K

-15.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 MX$242

$10.39 COP 32.9K

26.08%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$3.49 COP 11.1K

-3.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.64 COP 5,209

-7.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.51

$1.83 COP 5,805

19.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.63

$1.59 COP 5,031

48.43%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.76

$1.33 COP 4,232

69.92%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 MX$50.5

$1.49 COP 4,714

83.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.17

$1.13 COP 3,572

34.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.90

$1.00 COP 3,183

24.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$3.81 COP 12.1K

24.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.66 MX$252

$11.86 COP 37.6K

15.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 MX$34.95

$1.41 COP 4,485

34.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 MX$55.2

$2.62 COP 8,304

14.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 MX$15.78

$1.05 COP 3,332

-19.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 MX$30.98

$1.71 COP 5,413

-1.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.87

$2.27 COP 7,194

-50.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.15 MX$206

$9.26 COP 29.4K

20.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.91

$1.29 COP 4,091

20.93%

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

$21.4K MX$395.8K

$25.7K COP 81.4M

-16.61%

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

$25.1K MX$463.2K

$35.5K COP 112.5M

-29.39%

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

$119 MX$2,206

$136 COP 431.3K

-12.24%

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

$26.21 MX$484

$11.34 COP 35.9K

131.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.78 MX$495

$26.78 COP 84.9K

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

$34.41 COP 109.1K

-9.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MX$97.7

$5.91 COP 18.8K

-10.49%

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

$691 MX$12.8K

$539 COP 1.7M

28.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K MX$212.1K

$7,384 COP 23.4M

55.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.3 MX$1,335

$78.9 COP 250.1K

-8.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.72 MX$789

$59.9 COP 189.8K

-28.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,024

$131 COP 414.9K

-16.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,158

$115 COP 363.3K

1.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 MX$17.9K

$554 COP 1.8M

75.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$664 MX$12.3K

$513 COP 1.6M

29.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,857 MX$34.3K

$903 COP 2.9M

105.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 MX$23.8K

$874 COP 2.8M

47.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 MX$76.9K

$2,101 COP 6.7M

98.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,349 MX$43.4K

$1,896 COP 6.0M

23.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

11.58

1.81%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Last update for Popayan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

Popayan

$513 38.3% 22.7% $151

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$310 19.3%

Popayan

$270 20.2% 13% $41

Eating Out

Monterrey

$225 14%

Popayan

$146 10.9% 34.9% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$172 10.7%

Popayan

$174 13% 1% $1.8

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$154 9.6%

Popayan

$173 12.9% 12.6% $19

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Popayan

$17 * 1.3% 58.6% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Popayan

$46 3.5% 11.1% $4.6

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 $554 in Popayan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50.0 in Monterrey vs $45.00 in Popayan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $270 per month, with Popayan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇨🇴 Popayan

🕒 Local time

23:20 11:20 PM

00:20 12:20 AM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

318,059

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Popayan 3,620 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Popayan

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 Popayan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Popayan differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $1,340 including rent). Popayan 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 $2,009 in Popayan 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 $554 in Popayan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $691 in Monterrey versus $539 in Popayan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Popayan – a meal for two runs $45.00 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,340 in Popayan versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Popayan but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Popayan 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 Popayan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.