Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Reynosa

For one person, living is cheaper in Reynosa: $1,183 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Reynosa
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Reynosa Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Reynosa

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,183

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Reynosa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Monterrey versus $1,183 in Reynosa.

Monterrey $1,608
Reynosa $1,183

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,521 in Monterrey versus $1,784 in Reynosa.

Monterrey $2,521
Reynosa $1,784

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,433 in Monterrey versus $2,386 in Reynosa.

Monterrey $3,433
Reynosa $2,386

Living in Monterrey is roughly 36% more expensive than in Reynosa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 19% above, Reynosa is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.85 MX$256

$10.82 MX$200

28.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.70 MX$918

$33.95 MX$627

46.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.05 MX$204

$5.72 MX$106

93.18%

Cappuccino

$4.09 MX$75.6

$3.50 MX$64.6

16.86%

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

$1.68 MX$30.97

$0.96 MX$17.75

75.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$18.98

$0.57 MX$10.52

80.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 MX$44.28

$1.37 MX$25.31

75.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.3

$1.96 MX$36.20

121.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.55

$1.53 MX$28.23

25.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$54.2

$2.24 MX$41.37

31.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.66

$1.18 MX$21.85

59.32%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$47.06

$1.84 MX$34.00

38.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 MX$219

$8.89 MX$164

33.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.36 MX$173

$6.28 MX$116

49.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 MX$242

$9.90 MX$183

32.32%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$2.25 MX$41.50

50.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.14 MX$21.13

33.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.51

$2.67 MX$49.40

-17.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.63

$1.34 MX$24.84

76.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.76

$1.73 MX$31.97

30.64%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.54 MX$46.86

7.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.17

$1.43 MX$26.49

6.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.90

$1.01 MX$18.67

22.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$3.95 MX$73.1

20.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.66 MX$252

$10.38 MX$192

31.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 MX$34.95

$1.74 MX$32.17

8.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 MX$55.2

$1.61 MX$29.71

85.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 MX$15.78

$0.69 MX$12.73

23.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 MX$30.98

$2.55 MX$47.19

-34.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.87

$1.94 MX$35.87

-41.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.15 MX$206

$10.76 MX$199

3.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.91

$1.26 MX$23.28

23.81%

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

$21.4K MX$395.8K

$19.0K MX$352.0K

12.45%

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

$25.1K MX$463.2K

$23.4K MX$431.7K

7.30%

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

$119 MX$2,206

$48.27 MX$892

147.34%

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

$26.21 MX$484

$11.00 MX$203

138.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.78 MX$495

$29.64 MX$548

-9.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

$33.79 MX$624

-8.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

$21.47 MX$397

-0.19%

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MX$97.7

$4.95 MX$91.5

6.87%

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

$691 MX$12.8K

$163 MX$3,012

324.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K MX$212.1K

$2,612 MX$48.3K

339.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.3 MX$1,335

$56.0 MX$1,034

29.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.72 MX$789

$57.6 MX$1,064

-25.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,024

$84.5 MX$1,562

29.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,158

$126 MX$2,330

-7.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 MX$17.9K

$608 MX$11.2K

59.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$664 MX$12.3K

$493 MX$9,109

34.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,857 MX$34.3K

$1,030 MX$19.0K

80.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 MX$23.8K

$781 MX$14.4K

64.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 MX$76.9K

$1,885 MX$34.8K

120.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,349 MX$43.4K

$1,033 MX$19.1K

127.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

$607 MX$11.2K

88.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

10.53

11.97%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Last update for Reynosa: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

Reynosa

$493 41.7% 25.7% $171

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$310 19.3%

Reynosa

$234 19.8% 24.7% $77

Eating Out

Monterrey

$225 14%

Reynosa

$163 13.7% 27.6% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$172 10.7%

Reynosa

$89 7.5% 48.4% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$154 9.6%

Reynosa

$146 12.3% 5% $7.7

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Reynosa

$15 * 1.3% 64% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Reynosa

$44 3.7% 5% $2.1

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 $608 in Reynosa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 89% 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: $50.0 in Monterrey vs $34.00 in Reynosa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $234 per month, with Reynosa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Reynosa

🕒 Local time

10:37 10:37 AM

11:37 11:37 AM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

691,557

💱 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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Monterrey Reynosa 210 km

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Monterrey
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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 Reynosa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Reynosa differ by about 36% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $1,183 including rent). Reynosa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 89% 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: $970 in Monterrey versus $608 in Reynosa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $691 in Monterrey versus $163 in Reynosa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Reynosa – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,183 in Reynosa versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Reynosa but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Reynosa 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 Reynosa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.