Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Spanish Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Spanish Town: $994 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Monterrey outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Spanish Town
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Spanish Town Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Spanish Town

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$994

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Spanish Town

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Monterrey versus $994 in Spanish Town.

Monterrey $1,608
Spanish Town $994

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,521 in Monterrey versus $1,895 in Spanish Town.

Monterrey $2,521
Spanish Town $1,895

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,433 in Monterrey versus $2,796 in Spanish Town.

Monterrey $3,433
Spanish Town $2,796

Living in Monterrey is roughly 62% more expensive than in Spanish Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 19% above, Spanish Town is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.85 MX$256

$13.25 JMD 2,094

4.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.70 MX$918

$74.2 JMD 11.7K

-33.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.05 MX$204

$8.01 JMD 1,265

37.95%

Cappuccino

$4.09 MX$75.6

$5.31 JMD 840

-22.98%

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

$1.68 MX$30.97

$1.14 JMD 179

47.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$18.98

$0.74 JMD 117

39.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 MX$44.28

$2.25 JMD 355

6.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.3

$3.06 JMD 483

42.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.55

$4.14 JMD 655

-53.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$54.2

$3.76 JMD 594

-21.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.66

$1.65 JMD 260

13.94%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$47.06

$3.56 JMD 562

-28.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 MX$219

$11.22 JMD 1,773

5.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.36 MX$173

$6.38 JMD 1,008

46.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 MX$242

$10.21 JMD 1,614

28.31%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$6.16 JMD 973

-45.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$3.85 JMD 609

-60.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.51

$7.38 JMD 1,166

-70.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.63

$3.06 JMD 483

-22.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.76

$3.17 JMD 500

-28.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.13 JMD 336

28.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.17

$3.09 JMD 489

-50.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.90

$1.45 JMD 228

-14.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$9.46 JMD 1,494

-49.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.66 MX$252

$11.20 JMD 1,769

21.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 MX$34.95

$2.78 JMD 439

-32.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 MX$55.2

$3.95 JMD 624

-24.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 MX$15.78

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 MX$30.98

$1.16 JMD 183

44.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.87

$3.05 JMD 483

-62.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.15 MX$206

$6.21 JMD 981

79.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.91

$1.46 JMD 231

6.85%

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

$21.4K MX$395.8K

$43.9K JMD 6.9M

-51.23%

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

$25.1K MX$463.2K

$32.2K JMD 5.1M

-22.16%

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

$119 MX$2,206

$165 JMD 26.1K

-27.82%

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

$26.21 MX$484

$29.30 JMD 4,629

-10.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.78 MX$495

$51.8 JMD 8,179

-48.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MX$97.7

$12.95 JMD 2,047

-59.15%

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

$691 MX$12.8K

$356 JMD 56.3K

93.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K MX$212.1K

$8,212 JMD 1.3M

39.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.3 MX$1,335

$23.80 JMD 3,760

203.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.72 MX$789

$31.13 JMD 4,918

37.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,024

$76.3 JMD 12.1K

43.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,158

$100 JMD 15.9K

16.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 MX$17.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$664 MX$12.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,857 MX$34.3K

$633 JMD 100.0K

193.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 MX$23.8K

$499 JMD 78.9K

157.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 MX$76.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,349 MX$43.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

$1,155 JMD 182.5K

-0.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

9.45

24.76%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Last update for Spanish Town: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

Spanish Town

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$310 19.3%

Spanish Town

$382 38.5% 23.2% $72

Eating Out

Monterrey

$225 14%

Spanish Town

$219 22% 2.6% $5.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$172 10.7%

Spanish Town

$246 24.8% 43% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$154 9.6%

Spanish Town

$104 10.5% 32.1% $49

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Spanish Town

$16 * 1.7% 60.6% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Spanish Town

$26 * 2.6% 37.7% $16

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Spanish Town pays 1% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $50.0 in Monterrey vs $74.0 in Spanish Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $382 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇯🇲 Spanish Town

🕒 Local time

03:56 3:56 AM

04:56 4:56 AM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

131,056

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Spanish Town 2,550 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Spanish Town

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 Spanish Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Spanish Town differ by about 62% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $994 including rent). Spanish Town is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 1% lower in Spanish Town. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $691 in Monterrey versus $356 in Spanish Town. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Spanish Town – a meal for two runs $74.0 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $994 in Spanish Town versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Spanish Town but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Spanish Town 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 Spanish Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.