Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Scarborough, Canada

Name: Scarborough
Address: Scarborough, CA

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,641 a month against $2,553 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
121

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
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Scarborough Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Scarborough

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,553

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Scarborough

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,641 in Monterrey versus $2,553 in Scarborough.

Monterrey $1,641
Scarborough $2,553

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,573 in Monterrey versus $3,473 in Scarborough.

Monterrey $2,573
Scarborough $3,473

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,504 in Monterrey versus $4,393 in Scarborough.

Monterrey $3,504
Scarborough $4,393

Living in Monterrey costs roughly 36% less than in Scarborough, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monterrey 21% above, Scarborough 89% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.37 MX$250

$16.90 CA$23.77

-20.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.95 MX$897

$71.4 CA$100

-32.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.79 MX$202

$10.76 CA$15.13

0.28%

Cappuccino

$3.77 MX$70.4

$4.26 CA$5.99

-11.50%

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

$1.51 MX$28.26

$2.04 CA$2.88

-25.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.25

$1.49 CA$2.10

-30.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 MX$46.41

$6.60 CA$9.28

-62.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 MX$81.5

$7.24 CA$10.18

-39.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 MX$35.43

$2.49 CA$3.50

-24.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 MX$53.3

$2.62 CA$3.69

8.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.71

$2.35 CA$3.31

-20.85%

Eggs

$2.47 MX$46.12

$3.60 CA$5.06

-31.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.81 MX$221

$9.16 CA$12.88

28.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 MX$168

$10.96 CA$15.41

-18.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$235

$12.78 CA$17.98

-1.64%

Apples (1kg)

$3.20 MX$59.8

$3.47 CA$4.88

-7.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.12

$1.23 CA$1.73

21.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.74

$3.37 CA$4.73

-37.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.33 MX$43.64

$4.23 CA$5.95

-44.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.58

$1.61 CA$2.27

37.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 MX$48.34

$1.70 CA$2.39

51.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$27.04

$2.26 CA$3.17

-35.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.85

$1.23 CA$1.73

-0.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.80 MX$89.7

$14.17 CA$19.93

-66.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 MX$249

$12.92 CA$18.16

2.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 MX$36.14

$2.22 CA$3.13

-13.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 MX$53.4

$2.47 CA$3.47

15.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.94

$2.30 CA$3.24

-65.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.94 MX$579

$105 CA$148

-70.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.83 MX$34.28

$3.10 CA$4.37

-40.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.78

$1.26 CA$1.78

-15.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.82 MX$202

$22.21 CA$31.23

-51.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.54

$1.27 CA$1.78

15.75%

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

$24.1K MX$450.4K

$26.0K CA$36.6K

-7.48%

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

$23.5K MX$440.2K

$22.0K CA$30.9K

6.96%

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

$115 MX$2,144

$139 CA$196

-17.82%

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

$26.37 MX$493

$34.16 CA$48.04

-22.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.70 MX$481

$49.83 CA$70.1

-48.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.53 MX$571

$35.22 CA$49.53

-13.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.27 MX$398

$35.26 CA$49.59

-39.68%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 MX$92.8

$13.03 CA$18.32

-61.93%

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

$679 MX$12.7K

$756 CA$1,063

-10.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.2K MX$265.3K

$19.0K CA$26.8K

-25.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 MX$1,350

$51.4 CA$72.3

40.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.94 MX$784

$41.58 CA$58.5

0.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 MX$2,011

$85.7 CA$121

25.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,219

$104 CA$146

14.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,018 MX$19.0K

$1,728 CA$2,430

-41.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 MX$13.5K

$1,409 CA$1,981

-48.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,966 MX$36.8K

$2,177 CA$3,062

-9.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,416 MX$26.5K

$1,769 CA$2,487

-19.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,203 MX$78.6K

$7,756 CA$10.9K

-45.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,782 MX$52.0K

$6,109 CA$8,591

-54.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,096 MX$20.5K

$3,014 CA$4,239

-63.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

4.55

159.12%

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

Last update for Monterrey: November 2, 2026

Last update for Scarborough: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$722 44%

Scarborough

$1.4K 55.2% 95.3% $687

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$302 18.4%

Scarborough

$329 12.9% 8.8% $27

Eating Out

Monterrey

$216 13.2%

Scarborough

$280 11% 29.9% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$167 10.2%

Scarborough

$223 8.8% 34.1% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$153 9.3%

Scarborough

$127 5% 17.1% $26

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Scarborough

$124 4.9% 200% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$40 2.5%

Scarborough

$61 2.4% 51.5% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,018 in Monterrey and $1,728 in Scarborough. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Scarborough pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $71 in Scarborough for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $302 vs $329 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇨🇦 Scarborough

🕒 Local time

15:12 3:12 PM

16:12 4:12 PM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

29,960

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 CAD = 0.711 USD

1 CAD = 0.636 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 = 20.9 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.711 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.636 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Scarborough 2,770 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Scarborough

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 Scarborough: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,641 in Monterrey and $2,553 in Scarborough, so Monterrey is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 64% 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 $1,728 in Scarborough. 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 $71 in Scarborough. 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 $2,553 in Scarborough – Monterrey is about 36% 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 36% less than in Scarborough. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.