Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Rosarito

For one person, living is cheaper in Rosarito: $1,177 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Rosarito
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Rosarito Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Rosarito

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,177

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Rosarito

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,599 in Monterrey versus $1,177 in Rosarito.

Monterrey $1,599
Rosarito $1,177

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,493 in Monterrey versus $1,869 in Rosarito.

Monterrey $2,493
Rosarito $1,869

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Monterrey versus $2,561 in Rosarito.

Monterrey $3,387
Rosarito $2,561

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 18% above, Rosarito is 13% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 MX$255

$12.45 MX$230

10.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.99 MX$887

$33.84 MX$625

41.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 MX$197

$9.66 MX$178

10.25%

Cappuccino

$3.99 MX$73.7

$4.32 MX$79.9

-7.64%

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

$1.66 MX$30.76

$1.43 MX$26.48

16.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 MX$18.21

$1.24 MX$22.96

-20.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 MX$43.64

$3.25 MX$60.0

-27.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 MX$81.8

$6.69 MX$124

-33.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MX$33.58

$1.83 MX$33.73

-0.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.83 MX$52.4

$2.94 MX$54.3

-3.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.44

$1.72 MX$31.87

11.63%

Eggs

$2.48 MX$45.78

$3.15 MX$58.3

-21.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.74 MX$217

$8.58 MX$159

36.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.10 MX$168

$7.28 MX$135

25.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.53 MX$232

$11.74 MX$217

6.73%

Apples (1kg)

$3.34 MX$61.6

$2.80 MX$51.7

19.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.10

$1.60 MX$29.59

-1.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 MX$39.86

$1.88 MX$34.67

14.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 MX$45.65

$1.65 MX$30.43

49.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.64

$1.57 MX$28.92

47.13%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 MX$49.47

$1.83 MX$33.86

46.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 MX$26.90

$1.53 MX$28.25

-4.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 MX$22.07

$1.08 MX$19.89

10.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$4.36 MX$80.6

8.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.58 MX$251

$8.26 MX$153

64.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 MX$35.52

$2.25 MX$41.65

-14.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 MX$53.2

$4.01 MX$74.2

-28.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MX$14.66

$0.65 MX$11.96

21.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.59 MX$29.44

$2.83 MX$52.3

-43.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.58

$2.22 MX$41.04

-52.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.80 MX$200

$10.87 MX$201

-0.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.59

$1.30 MX$23.94

19.23%

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

$24.2K MX$446.4K

$21.2K MX$392.4K

13.76%

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

$24.3K MX$449.4K

$24.0K MX$443.6K

1.31%

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

$117 MX$2,159

$46.78 MX$864

149.70%

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

$26.38 MX$488

$34.02 MX$629

-22.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.04 MX$481

$30.01 MX$555

-13.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.26 MX$559

$34.20 MX$632

-11.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.25 MX$393

$20.14 MX$372

5.51%

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 MX$96.6

$6.61 MX$122

-20.88%

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

$673 MX$12.4K

$202 MX$3,739

232.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K MX$205.2K

$4,641 MX$85.8K

139.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 MX$1,332

$54.2 MX$1,002

32.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.38 MX$783

$45.29 MX$837

-6.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MX$2,066

$102 MX$1,884

9.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,200

$69.9 MX$1,292

70.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$949 MX$17.5K

$618 MX$11.4K

53.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$666 MX$12.3K

$393 MX$7,256

69.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,821 MX$33.7K

$1,051 MX$19.4K

73.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 MX$23.5K

$767 MX$14.2K

65.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$74.8K

$1,921 MX$35.5K

110.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,348 MX$43.4K

$1,150 MX$21.2K

104.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 MX$21.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

12.07

-2.32%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Last update for Rosarito: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$666 41.7%

Rosarito

$393 33.4% 41.1% $274

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$304 19%

Rosarito

$267 22.7% 12.3% $37

Eating Out

Monterrey

$221 13.9%

Rosarito

$221 18.8% 0.3% $0.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$169 10.6%

Rosarito

$111 9.4% 34.5% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$155 9.7%

Rosarito

$122 10.4% 21.4% $33

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Rosarito

$17 * 1.4% 60.1% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Rosarito

$47 4% 16.5% $6.7

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 $618 in Rosarito. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48.00 in Monterrey vs $34.00 in Rosarito for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $304 vs $267 per month, with Rosarito cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Rosarito

🕒 Local time

13:33 1:33 PM

12:33 12:33 PM

1 h behind Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

100,660

💱 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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Between locations

Monterrey Rosarito 1,790 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Rosarito

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 Rosarito: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Rosarito differ by about 36% in total monthly costs ($1,599 vs $1,177 including rent). Rosarito 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 $1,766 in Rosarito 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 $618 in Rosarito. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $673 in Monterrey versus $202 in Rosarito. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Rosarito – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $48.00 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,177 in Rosarito versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Rosarito but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Rosarito 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 Rosarito 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.