Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and San Fernando

For one person, living is cheaper in San Fernando: $1,130 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 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 San Fernando
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San Fernando Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

San Fernando

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,130

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in San Fernando

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,599 in Monterrey versus $1,130 in San Fernando.

Monterrey $1,599
San Fernando $1,130

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

Monterrey $2,493
San Fernando $1,832

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Monterrey versus $2,534 in San Fernando.

Monterrey $3,387
San Fernando $2,534

Living in Monterrey is roughly 41% more expensive than in San Fernando, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 18% above, San Fernando is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 MX$255

$10.75 MX$199

28.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.99 MX$887

$43.30 MX$800

10.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 MX$197

$8.42 MX$156

26.48%

Cappuccino

$3.99 MX$73.7

$3.63 MX$67.0

9.92%

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

$1.66 MX$30.76

$1.42 MX$26.21

16.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 MX$18.21

$1.06 MX$19.52

-6.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 MX$43.64

$2.42 MX$44.65

-2.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 MX$81.8

$4.15 MX$76.7

6.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MX$33.58

$1.60 MX$29.59

13.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.83 MX$52.4

$2.68 MX$49.57

5.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.44

$1.71 MX$31.53

12.28%

Eggs

$2.48 MX$45.78

$2.53 MX$46.78

-1.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.74 MX$217

$8.19 MX$151

43.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.10 MX$168

$8.27 MX$153

10.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.53 MX$232

$11.60 MX$214

8.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.34 MX$61.6

$2.67 MX$49.25

25.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.10

$1.60 MX$29.50

-1.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 MX$39.86

$1.97 MX$36.32

9.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 MX$45.65

$1.84 MX$33.96

34.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.64

$1.97 MX$36.36

17.26%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 MX$49.47

$1.82 MX$33.57

47.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 MX$26.90

$1.43 MX$26.41

2.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 MX$22.07

$1.14 MX$21.00

4.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$4.32 MX$79.9

9.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.58 MX$251

$10.48 MX$194

29.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 MX$35.52

$1.79 MX$33.11

7.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 MX$53.2

$3.20 MX$59.2

-10.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MX$14.66

$0.64 MX$11.85

23.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.59 MX$29.44

$2.56 MX$47.39

-37.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.58

$2.01 MX$37.15

-47.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.80 MX$200

$10.82 MX$200

-0.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.59

$1.49 MX$27.45

4.03%

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

$24.2K MX$446.4K

$21.0K MX$387.5K

15.18%

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

$24.3K MX$449.4K

$23.7K MX$438.6K

2.46%

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

$117 MX$2,159

$57.0 MX$1,054

104.86%

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

$26.38 MX$488

$22.91 MX$423

15.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.04 MX$481

$29.54 MX$546

-11.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.26 MX$559

$33.60 MX$621

-9.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.25 MX$393

$20.12 MX$372

5.62%

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 MX$96.6

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

$673 MX$12.4K

$220 MX$4,060

206.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K MX$205.2K

$4,534 MX$83.8K

144.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 MX$1,332

$54.3 MX$1,003

32.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.38 MX$783

$40.69 MX$752

4.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MX$2,066

$98.8 MX$1,825

13.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,200

$90.3 MX$1,669

31.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$949 MX$17.5K

$612 MX$11.3K

55.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$666 MX$12.3K

$383 MX$7,076

74.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,821 MX$33.7K

$1,030 MX$19.0K

76.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 MX$23.5K

$779 MX$14.4K

63.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$74.8K

$1,910 MX$35.3K

112.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,348 MX$43.4K

$1,160 MX$21.4K

102.40%

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 San Fernando: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$666 41.7%

San Fernando

$383 33.9% 42.5% $283

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$304 19%

San Fernando

$266 23.5% 12.7% $39

Eating Out

Monterrey

$221 13.9%

San Fernando

$185 16.4% 16.4% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$169 10.6%

San Fernando

$109 9.7% 35.3% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$155 9.7%

San Fernando

$128 11.3% 17.7% $28

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

San Fernando

$15 * 1.3% 63.4% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

San Fernando

$44 3.9% 8.2% $3.3

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 $612 in San Fernando. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

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

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 San Fernando

🕒 Local time

02:47 2:47 AM

Same time as Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

11,867

💱 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 San Fernando 1,220 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
San Fernando

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 San Fernando: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and San Fernando differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($1,599 vs $1,130 including rent). San Fernando 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 $1,695 in San Fernando 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 $612 in San Fernando. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $673 in Monterrey versus $220 in San Fernando. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Fernando – 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 $1,130 in San Fernando versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Fernando but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes San Fernando 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 San Fernando gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.