Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Tepic

For one person, living is cheaper in Tepic: $1,221 a month against $1,647 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Tepic
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Tepic Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Tepic

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,221

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Tepic

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,647 in Monterrey versus $1,221 in Tepic.

Monterrey $1,647
Tepic $1,221

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,591 in Monterrey versus $1,884 in Tepic.

Monterrey $2,591
Tepic $1,884

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,536 in Monterrey versus $2,548 in Tepic.

Monterrey $3,536
Tepic $2,548

Living in Monterrey is roughly 35% more expensive than in Tepic, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 21% above, Tepic is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.45 MX$251

$13.22 MX$247

1.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.43 MX$905

$43.16 MX$806

12.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$204

$9.03 MX$169

20.71%

Cappuccino

$3.82 MX$71.3

$3.17 MX$59.2

20.50%

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

$1.67 MX$31.14

$1.58 MX$29.49

5.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.37

$1.14 MX$21.28

-14.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.35 MX$43.91

$2.70 MX$50.5

-12.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 MX$82.4

$4.98 MX$93.1

-11.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 MX$33.66

$1.55 MX$29.02

16.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$52.2

$2.35 MX$43.97

18.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.10

$1.57 MX$29.42

15.92%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$46.95

$2.12 MX$39.62

18.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.09 MX$226

$4.91 MX$91.8

146.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.41 MX$176

$9.69 MX$181

-2.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.71 MX$237

$11.54 MX$216

10.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 MX$59.9

$2.68 MX$50.0

19.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$27.99

$1.54 MX$28.77

-2.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$40.07

$1.94 MX$36.20

10.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.32 MX$43.38

$1.76 MX$32.93

31.82%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 MX$41.14

$2.06 MX$38.56

6.80%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 MX$48.55

$1.84 MX$34.44

41.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.56 MX$29.12

-7.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 MX$21.93

$1.04 MX$19.39

12.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.79 MX$89.5

$4.36 MX$81.5

9.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 MX$247

$10.38 MX$194

27.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 MX$36.30

$0.78 MX$14.51

148.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 MX$53.9

$3.34 MX$62.5

-13.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 MX$16.30

$0.77 MX$14.42

12.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.14 MX$582

$30.37 MX$567

2.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MX$30.96

$2.19 MX$40.99

-24.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 MX$20.44

$1.51 MX$28.22

-27.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.67 MX$199

$9.30 MX$174

14.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.53

$1.40 MX$26.24

5.00%

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

$24.2K MX$453.0K

$21.2K MX$395.5K

14.55%

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

$23.6K MX$440.1K

$23.7K MX$442.9K

-0.62%

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

$118 MX$2,202

$43.90 MX$820

168.50%

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

$25.55 MX$477

$12.02 MX$225

112.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.43 MX$494

$29.28 MX$547

-9.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.77 MX$575

$31.78 MX$594

-3.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 MX$394

$17.42 MX$326

20.95%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$95.1

$5.92 MX$111

-14.02%

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

$694 MX$13.0K

$237 MX$4,426

192.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K MX$211.5K

$9,948 MX$185.9K

13.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 MX$1,354

$56.1 MX$1,049

29.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.51 MX$776

$40.24 MX$752

3.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,050

$104 MX$1,944

5.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 MX$2,148

$78.6 MX$1,469

46.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,056 MX$19.7K

$567 MX$10.6K

86.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$721 MX$13.5K

$467 MX$8,727

54.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,999 MX$37.4K

$1,115 MX$20.8K

79.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,435 MX$26.8K

$766 MX$14.3K

87.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,219 MX$78.8K

$1,934 MX$36.1K

118.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,731 MX$51.0K

$1,128 MX$21.1K

142.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,149 MX$21.5K

$652 MX$12.2K

76.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

11.53

2.25%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 25, 2026

Last update for Tepic: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$721 43.8%

Tepic

$467 38.3% 35.2% $254

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$303 18.4%

Tepic

$251 20.5% 17.4% $53

Eating Out

Monterrey

$217 13.2%

Tepic

$205 16.8% 5.6% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$170 10.3%

Tepic

$85 7% 49.8% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$152 9.3%

Tepic

$126 10.3% 17.6% $27

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.5%

Tepic

$43 3.5% 3.4% $1.4

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Tepic

$44 3.6% 6.5% $2.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,056 in Monterrey and $567 in Tepic. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 76% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $43 in Tepic for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $303 vs $251 per month, with Tepic cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Tepic

🕒 Local time

03:12 3:12 AM

02:12 2:12 AM

1 h behind Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

371,387

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey Tepic 660 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Tepic

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 Tepic: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Tepic differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($1,647 vs $1,221 including rent). Tepic is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 76% higher in Monterrey, 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 $567 in Tepic. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $694 in Monterrey versus $237 in Tepic. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tepic – a meal for two runs $43 versus $48 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Tepic 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.

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