Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and San Juan de Pasto

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan de Pasto: $1,371 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 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
63

Cost of Living Index in San Juan de Pasto
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San Juan de Pasto Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

San Juan de Pasto

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in San Juan de Pasto

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 Juan de Pasto actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Monterrey versus $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto.

Monterrey $1,608
San Juan de Pasto $1,371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,521 in Monterrey versus $2,031 in San Juan de Pasto.

Monterrey $2,521
San Juan de Pasto $2,031

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,433 in Monterrey versus $2,691 in San Juan de Pasto.

Monterrey $3,433
San Juan de Pasto $2,691

Living in Monterrey is roughly 17% more expensive than in San Juan de Pasto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monterrey 19% above, San Juan de Pasto 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.85 MX$256

$6.63 COP 21.0K

108.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.70 MX$918

$45.64 COP 144.7K

8.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.05 MX$204

$9.96 COP 31.6K

10.94%

Cappuccino

$4.09 MX$75.6

$2.57 COP 8,146

59.14%

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

$1.68 MX$30.97

$1.56 COP 4,948

7.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$18.98

$0.86 COP 2,715

19.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 MX$44.28

$3.07 COP 9,733

-21.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.3

$4.05 COP 12.9K

7.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.55

$1.43 COP 4,538

34.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$54.2

$2.41 COP 7,629

21.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.66

$1.83 COP 5,795

2.73%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$47.06

$3.33 COP 10.6K

-23.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 MX$219

$7.27 COP 23.1K

62.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.36 MX$173

$11.06 COP 35.1K

-15.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 MX$242

$13.41 COP 42.5K

-2.31%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$3.58 COP 11.3K

-5.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.40 COP 4,426

8.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.51

$2.01 COP 6,359

8.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.63

$1.78 COP 5,640

32.58%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.76

$1.41 COP 4,481

60.28%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 MX$50.5

$1.27 COP 4,041

114.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.17

$1.12 COP 3,566

35.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.90

$1.12 COP 3,555

10.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$3.65 COP 11.6K

30.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.66 MX$252

$13.43 COP 42.6K

1.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 MX$34.95

$1.46 COP 4,635

29.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 MX$55.2

$2.73 COP 8,670

9.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 MX$15.78

$1.07 COP 3,390

-20.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 MX$30.98

$1.61 COP 5,102

4.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.87

$2.39 COP 7,590

-52.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.15 MX$206

$9.04 COP 28.7K

23.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.91

$1.19 COP 3,770

31.09%

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

$21.4K MX$395.8K

$22.6K COP 71.7M

-5.26%

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

$25.1K MX$463.2K

$32.0K COP 101.4M

-21.61%

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

$119 MX$2,206

$124 COP 392.5K

-3.55%

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

$26.21 MX$484

$13.01 COP 41.2K

101.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.78 MX$495

$29.19 COP 92.5K

-8.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

$42.67 COP 135.3K

-27.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MX$97.7

$6.19 COP 19.6K

-14.54%

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

$691 MX$12.8K

$682 COP 2.2M

1.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K MX$212.1K

$6,774 COP 21.5M

69.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.3 MX$1,335

$91.0 COP 288.5K

-20.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.72 MX$789

$61.1 COP 193.8K

-30.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,024

$153 COP 486.6K

-28.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,158

$102 COP 323.0K

14.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 MX$17.9K

$706 COP 2.2M

37.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$664 MX$12.3K

$518 COP 1.6M

28.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,857 MX$34.3K

$1,082 COP 3.4M

71.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 MX$23.8K

$789 COP 2.5M

63.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 MX$76.9K

$2,028 COP 6.4M

105.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,349 MX$43.4K

$1,580 COP 5.0M

48.74%

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 San Juan de Pasto: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

San Juan de Pasto

$518 37.8% 21.9% $145

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$310 19.3%

San Juan de Pasto

$284 20.7% 8.5% $27

Eating Out

Monterrey

$225 14%

San Juan de Pasto

$147 10.7% 34.6% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$172 10.7%

San Juan de Pasto

$166 12.1% 3.7% $6.4

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$154 9.6%

San Juan de Pasto

$183 13.4% 19.4% $30

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

San Juan de Pasto

$18 * 1.3% 57.2% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

San Juan de Pasto

$55 4% 32.3% $13

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 $706 in San Juan de Pasto. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50.0 in Monterrey vs $46.00 in San Juan de Pasto for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $284 per month, with San Juan de Pasto cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇨🇴 San Juan de Pasto

🕒 Local time

23:40 11:40 PM

00:40 12:40 AM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

392,930

💱 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 San Juan de Pasto 3,670 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
San Juan de Pasto

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 Juan de Pasto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and San Juan de Pasto differ by about 17% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $1,371 including rent). San Juan de Pasto 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 $2,057 in San Juan de Pasto 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 $706 in San Juan de Pasto. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $691 in Monterrey versus $682 in San Juan de Pasto. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Juan de Pasto – a meal for two runs $46.00 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in San Juan de Pasto but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes San Juan de Pasto 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.

Safety-wise, Monterrey and San Juan de Pasto are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find San Juan de Pasto gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.