Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Quebec City

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,641 a month against $1,951 in Quebec City, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
94

Cost of Living Index in Quebec City
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Quebec City Living Index

Jump to prices

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Quebec City

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,951

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Quebec City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,641 in Monterrey versus $1,951 in Quebec City.

Monterrey $1,641
Quebec City $1,951

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,573 in Monterrey versus $2,942 in Quebec City.

Monterrey $2,573
Quebec City $2,942

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,504 in Monterrey versus $3,933 in Quebec City.

Monterrey $3,504
Quebec City $3,933

Living in Monterrey costs roughly 16% less than in Quebec City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monterrey 21% above, Quebec City 44% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.37 MX$250

$21.23 CA$29.86

-37.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.95 MX$897

$67.1 CA$94.4

-28.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.79 MX$202

$11.24 CA$15.81

-4.00%

Cappuccino

$3.77 MX$70.4

$3.86 CA$5.43

-2.33%

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

$1.51 MX$28.26

$2.16 CA$3.04

-30.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.25

$1.47 CA$2.07

-29.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 MX$46.41

$5.87 CA$8.26

-57.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 MX$81.5

$5.88 CA$8.27

-25.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 MX$35.43

$2.08 CA$2.93

-9.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 MX$53.3

$2.78 CA$3.90

2.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.71

$4.18 CA$5.88

-55.50%

Eggs

$2.47 MX$46.12

$3.05 CA$4.30

-19.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.81 MX$221

$8.73 CA$12.27

35.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 MX$168

$10.73 CA$15.08

-16.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$235

$10.53 CA$14.81

19.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.20 MX$59.8

$4.10 CA$5.77

-21.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.12

$1.58 CA$2.22

-5.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.74

$3.77 CA$5.30

-43.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.33 MX$43.64

$4.11 CA$5.79

-43.31%

Potato (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.58

$2.85 CA$4.00

-22.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 MX$48.34

$2.82 CA$3.96

-8.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$27.04

$2.80 CA$3.93

-48.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.85

$1.46 CA$2.06

-16.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.80 MX$89.7

$15.10 CA$21.23

-68.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 MX$249

$11.40 CA$16.03

16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 MX$36.14

$3.17 CA$4.45

-39.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 MX$53.4

$3.39 CA$4.77

-15.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.94

$2.79 CA$3.93

-71.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.94 MX$579

$70.9 CA$99.7

-56.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.83 MX$34.28

$3.00 CA$4.21

-39.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.78

$1.44 CA$2.03

-26.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.82 MX$202

$34.67 CA$48.76

-68.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.54

$1.35 CA$1.90

8.89%

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

$24.1K MX$450.4K

$28.5K CA$40.1K

-15.44%

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

$23.5K MX$440.2K

$22.7K CA$32.0K

3.53%

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

$115 MX$2,144

$100 CA$141

14.14%

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

$26.37 MX$493

$31.38 CA$44.13

-15.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.70 MX$481

$45.42 CA$63.9

-43.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.53 MX$571

$34.73 CA$48.84

-12.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.27 MX$398

$15.31 CA$21.53

38.93%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 MX$92.8

$10.86 CA$15.28

-54.33%

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

$679 MX$12.7K

$701 CA$986

-3.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.2K MX$265.3K

$5,407 CA$7,604

162.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 MX$1,350

$58.9 CA$82.8

22.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.94 MX$784

$52.3 CA$73.5

-19.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 MX$2,011

$92.4 CA$130

16.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,219

$109 CA$153

8.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,018 MX$19.0K

$1,050 CA$1,477

-3.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 MX$13.5K

$836 CA$1,175

-13.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,966 MX$36.8K

$1,699 CA$2,389

15.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,416 MX$26.5K

$1,358 CA$1,909

4.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,203 MX$78.6K

$4,809 CA$6,764

-12.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,782 MX$52.0K

$2,811 CA$3,953

-1.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,096 MX$20.5K

$2,975 CA$4,183

-63.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

4.45

164.94%

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

Last update for Monterrey: November 2, 2026

Last update for Quebec City: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$722 44%

Quebec City

$836 42.9% 15.8% $114

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$302 18.4%

Quebec City

$343 17.6% 13.5% $41

Eating Out

Monterrey

$216 13.2%

Quebec City

$306 15.7% 41.6% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$167 10.2%

Quebec City

$177 9.1% 6.3% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$153 9.3%

Quebec City

$141 7.2% 8.1% $12

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Quebec City

$92 4.7% 124% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$40 2.5%

Quebec City

$56 2.9% 39.6% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,018 in Monterrey and $1,050 in Quebec City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Quebec City pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $67 in Quebec City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $302 vs $343 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇨🇦 Quebec City

🕒 Local time

12:03 12:03 PM

13:03 1:03 PM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

530,168

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

1 CAD = 0.711 USD

1 CAD = 0.633 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 21.01 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.711 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 CAD (1 CAD = 0.633 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey Quebec City 3,480 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Quebec City

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 Quebec City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,641 in Monterrey and $1,951 in Quebec City, so Monterrey is about 16% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 63% lower in Monterrey. 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: $1,018 in Monterrey versus $1,050 in Quebec City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Monterrey – a meal for two runs $48 versus $67 in Quebec City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,641 per month in Monterrey versus $1,951 in Quebec City – Monterrey is about 16% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Monterrey gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 16% less than in Quebec City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.