Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Tampico

For one person, living is cheaper in Tampico: $1,304 a month against $1,647 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Tampico
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Tampico Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Tampico

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,304

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Tampico

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,647 in Monterrey versus $1,304 in Tampico.

Monterrey $1,647
Tampico $1,304

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,591 in Monterrey versus $2,065 in Tampico.

Monterrey $2,591
Tampico $2,065

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,536 in Monterrey versus $2,825 in Tampico.

Monterrey $3,536
Tampico $2,825

Living in Monterrey is roughly 26% more expensive than in Tampico, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 21% above, Tampico is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.45 MX$253

$8.28 MX$156

62.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.43 MX$910

$54.0 MX$1,015

-10.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$205

$9.58 MX$180

13.78%

Cappuccino

$3.82 MX$71.8

$2.97 MX$55.8

28.62%

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

$1.67 MX$31.31

$1.19 MX$22.43

40.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.47

$0.84 MX$15.83

16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.35 MX$44.17

$4.43 MX$83.3

-46.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 MX$82.9

$4.79 MX$90.1

-7.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 MX$33.86

$1.45 MX$27.29

24.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$52.5

$3.98 MX$74.9

-29.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.30

$1.37 MX$25.84

32.85%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$47.22

$3.98 MX$74.8

-36.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.09 MX$227

$4.94 MX$92.9

144.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.41 MX$177

$9.76 MX$183

-3.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.71 MX$239

$12.90 MX$242

-1.47%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 MX$60.3

$3.41 MX$64.0

-5.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.15

$1.10 MX$20.60

36.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$40.30

$2.01 MX$37.72

6.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.32 MX$43.63

$2.18 MX$40.96

6.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 MX$41.38

$2.04 MX$38.31

7.84%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 MX$48.83

$2.69 MX$50.5

-3.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$27.07

$2.08 MX$39.16

-30.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 MX$22.05

$0.87 MX$16.29

34.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.79 MX$90.0

$4.68 MX$87.9

2.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 MX$249

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 MX$36.51

$1.53 MX$28.72

26.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 MX$54.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 MX$16.39

$0.75 MX$14.06

16.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.14 MX$585

$27.24 MX$512

14.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MX$31.13

$2.65 MX$49.76

-37.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 MX$20.55

$2.68 MX$50.3

-59.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.67 MX$201

$5.10 MX$95.8

109.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.69

$1.38 MX$25.97

6.52%

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

$24.2K MX$455.6K

$32.1K MX$602.9K

-24.42%

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

$23.6K MX$442.7K

$23.9K MX$449.4K

-1.50%

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

$118 MX$2,215

$102 MX$1,916

15.60%

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

$25.55 MX$480

$27.25 MX$512

-6.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.43 MX$497

$23.53 MX$442

12.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.77 MX$578

$43.28 MX$813

-28.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 MX$396

$16.27 MX$306

29.50%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$95.7

$5.41 MX$102

-5.91%

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

$694 MX$13.0K

$269 MX$5,060

157.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K MX$212.7K

$7,934 MX$149.1K

42.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 MX$1,362

$73.5 MX$1,380

-1.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.51 MX$780

$65.9 MX$1,238

-36.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,062

$161 MX$3,017

-31.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 MX$2,160

$239 MX$4,493

-51.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,056 MX$19.8K

$508 MX$9,546

107.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$721 MX$13.6K

$380 MX$7,136

89.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,999 MX$37.6K

$932 MX$17.5K

114.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,435 MX$27.0K

$662 MX$12.4K

116.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,219 MX$79.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,731 MX$51.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,149 MX$21.6K

$539 MX$10.1K

113.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 25, 2026

Last update for Tampico: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$721 43.8%

Tampico

$380 29.1% 47.4% $342

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$303 18.4%

Tampico

$258 * 19.8% 14.8% $45

Eating Out

Monterrey

$217 13.2%

Tampico

$171 13.1% 21.5% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$170 10.3%

Tampico

$153 11.7% 10.1% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$152 9.3%

Tampico

$243 18.6% 59.1% $90

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.5%

Tampico

$46 3.6% 10.8% $4.5

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Tampico

$54 4.2% 32.1% $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 $1,056 in Monterrey and $508 in Tampico. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $54 in Tampico. Groceries flip the comparison at $303 vs $258, with Tampico cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Tampico

🕒 Local time

02:06 2:06 AM

Same time as Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

297,562

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Monterrey Tampico 460 km

From you

Monterrey
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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 Tampico: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,647 in Monterrey and $1,304 in Tampico, so Tampico is about 21% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Monterrey is about 2.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,056 in Monterrey versus $508 in Tampico. 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 $54 in Tampico. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,647 per month in Monterrey versus $1,304 in Tampico – Tampico is about 21% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Tampico gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Tampico is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Monterrey, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

It comes down to priorities – Tampico wins on affordability, Monterrey on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.