Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Tehuacan

For one person, living is cheaper in Tehuacan: $1,188 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Tehuacan
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Tehuacan Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Tehuacan

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,188

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Tehuacan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,599 in Monterrey versus $1,188 in Tehuacan.

Monterrey $1,599
Tehuacan $1,188

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,493 in Monterrey versus $1,914 in Tehuacan.

Monterrey $2,493
Tehuacan $1,914

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Monterrey versus $2,641 in Tehuacan.

Monterrey $3,387
Tehuacan $2,641

Living in Monterrey is roughly 35% more expensive than in Tehuacan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 18% above, Tehuacan is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 MX$255

$11.08 MX$205

24.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.99 MX$887

$43.80 MX$809

9.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 MX$197

$8.86 MX$164

20.20%

Cappuccino

$3.99 MX$73.7

$3.24 MX$59.8

23.15%

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

$1.66 MX$30.76

$1.32 MX$24.41

25.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 MX$18.21

$0.82 MX$15.14

20.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 MX$43.64

$2.14 MX$39.53

10.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 MX$81.8

$3.48 MX$64.3

27.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MX$33.58

$1.79 MX$33.16

1.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.83 MX$52.4

$3.16 MX$58.5

-10.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.44

$2.21 MX$40.85

-13.12%

Eggs

$2.48 MX$45.78

$3.09 MX$57.0

-19.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.74 MX$217

$7.93 MX$147

48.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.10 MX$168

$8.22 MX$152

10.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.53 MX$232

$9.04 MX$167

38.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.34 MX$61.6

$4.33 MX$80.1

-22.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.10

$2.00 MX$37.03

-21.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 MX$39.86

$2.33 MX$42.96

-7.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 MX$45.65

$2.29 MX$42.23

7.86%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.64

$2.96 MX$54.7

-21.96%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 MX$49.47

$2.46 MX$45.49

8.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 MX$26.90

$1.67 MX$30.84

-12.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 MX$22.07

$1.01 MX$18.62

17.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$5.07 MX$93.8

-6.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.58 MX$251

$12.70 MX$235

6.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 MX$35.52

$2.02 MX$37.27

-4.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 MX$53.2

$3.79 MX$70.0

-24.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MX$14.66

$0.69 MX$12.76

14.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.59 MX$29.44

$3.20 MX$59.1

-50.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.58

$1.94 MX$35.92

-45.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.80 MX$200

$10.23 MX$189

5.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.59

$1.31 MX$24.20

18.32%

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

$24.2K MX$446.4K

$27.2K MX$502.3K

-11.14%

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

$24.3K MX$449.4K

$23.5K MX$434.1K

3.52%

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

$117 MX$2,159

$58.2 MX$1,076

100.57%

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

$26.38 MX$488

$25.71 MX$475

2.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.04 MX$481

$32.63 MX$603

-20.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.26 MX$559

$34.54 MX$638

-12.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.25 MX$393

$19.90 MX$368

6.78%

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 MX$96.6

$7.01 MX$130

-25.39%

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

$673 MX$12.4K

$230 MX$4,255

192.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K MX$205.2K

$5,188 MX$95.9K

114.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 MX$1,332

$65.6 MX$1,212

9.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.38 MX$783

$53.8 MX$994

-21.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MX$2,066

$105 MX$1,942

6.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,200

$107 MX$1,971

11.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$949 MX$17.5K

$609 MX$11.3K

55.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$666 MX$12.3K

$385 MX$7,112

73.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,821 MX$33.7K

$1,028 MX$19.0K

77.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 MX$23.5K

$763 MX$14.1K

66.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$74.8K

$1,939 MX$35.8K

108.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,348 MX$43.4K

$1,168 MX$21.6K

100.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 MX$21.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

11.07

6.50%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Last update for Tehuacan: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$666 41.7%

Tehuacan

$385 32.4% 42.2% $281

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$304 19%

Tehuacan

$293 24.7% 3.8% $12

Eating Out

Monterrey

$221 13.9%

Tehuacan

$180 15.2% 18.6% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$169 10.6%

Tehuacan

$117 9.8% 31.1% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$155 9.7%

Tehuacan

$149 12.6% 4.1% $6.3

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Tehuacan

$16 * 1.3% 62.1% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Tehuacan

$49 4.1% 19.3% $7.9

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 $609 in Tehuacan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48.00 in Monterrey vs $44.00 in Tehuacan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $304 vs $293 per month, with Tehuacan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Tehuacan

🕒 Local time

03:32 3:32 AM

Same time as Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

293,825

💱 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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Between locations

Monterrey Tehuacan 860 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Tehuacan

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 Tehuacan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Tehuacan differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($1,599 vs $1,188 including rent). Tehuacan 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 $1,782 in Tehuacan 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 $609 in Tehuacan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $673 in Monterrey versus $230 in Tehuacan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tehuacan – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $48.00 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,188 in Tehuacan versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tehuacan but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Tehuacan 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 Tehuacan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.