Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Thompson

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,607 a month against $1,808 in Thompson, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Thompson
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Thompson Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,607

/mo nomad

Thompson

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,808

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Thompson

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,607 in Monterrey versus $1,808 in Thompson.

Monterrey $1,607
Thompson $1,808

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,512 in Monterrey versus $2,730 in Thompson.

Monterrey $2,512
Thompson $2,730

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,417 in Monterrey versus $3,652 in Thompson.

Monterrey $3,417
Thompson $3,652

Living in Monterrey costs roughly 11% less than in Thompson, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monterrey 20% above, Thompson 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.75 MX$250

$17.37 CA$24.71

-20.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.2 MX$913

$63.3 CA$90.0

-20.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.13 MX$203

$10.63 CA$15.12

4.70%

Cappuccino

$4.04 MX$73.5

$3.62 CA$5.15

11.60%

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

$1.70 MX$31.00

$1.96 CA$2.79

-13.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 MX$18.00

$1.62 CA$2.30

-38.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.41 MX$43.80

$5.33 CA$7.58

-54.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 MX$81.6

$5.60 CA$7.97

-20.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$34.98

$2.13 CA$3.02

-9.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.89 MX$52.6

$2.49 CA$3.55

16.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.34

$3.20 CA$4.56

-39.38%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$45.47

$3.33 CA$4.74

-24.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.30 MX$224

$10.09 CA$14.35

21.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$170

$11.46 CA$16.30

-18.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.07 MX$238

$14.70 CA$20.91

-11.09%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$61.5

$3.65 CA$5.19

-7.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 MX$28.75

$1.17 CA$1.67

35.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.20 MX$40.07

$3.77 CA$5.37

-41.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.45 MX$44.48

$4.16 CA$5.92

-41.11%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.09

$2.40 CA$3.42

-5.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.74 MX$49.89

$2.20 CA$3.13

24.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 MX$27.83

$2.42 CA$3.44

-36.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$22.94

$1.60 CA$2.27

-21.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.84 MX$88.1

$13.73 CA$19.53

-64.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.59 MX$247

$12.67 CA$18.02

7.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 MX$34.69

$2.69 CA$3.83

-29.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 MX$55.8

$3.04 CA$4.32

0.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.47

$2.20 CA$3.13

-63.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.77 MX$578

$67.2 CA$95.5

-52.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 MX$29.50

$2.86 CA$4.07

-43.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.10 MX$19.99

$1.38 CA$1.97

-20.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.97 MX$199

$22.69 CA$32.27

-51.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$27.68

$1.12 CA$1.60

35.71%

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

$21.4K MX$388.7K

$27.8K CA$39.6K

-23.22%

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

$25.5K MX$463.3K

$20.4K CA$29.1K

24.65%

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

$120 MX$2,178

$137 CA$195

-12.65%

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

$27.08 MX$493

$37.96 CA$54.0

-28.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.70 MX$486

$53.0 CA$75.4

-49.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.15 MX$567

$41.03 CA$58.4

-24.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.95 MX$399

$15.67 CA$22.28

40.08%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$93.5

$10.96 CA$15.59

-53.10%

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

$688 MX$12.5K

$641 CA$911

7.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$207.9K

$13.8K CA$19.6K

-17.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.9 MX$1,308

$53.5 CA$76.0

34.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.30 MX$788

$38.21 CA$54.4

13.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MX$2,040

$84.0 CA$120

33.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 MX$2,216

$102 CA$145

19.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$957 MX$17.4K

$672 CA$956

42.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$670 MX$12.2K

$674 CA$958

-0.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,887 MX$34.3K

$1,090 CA$1,551

73.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,305 MX$23.7K

$1,116 CA$1,587

16.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,159 MX$75.7K

$4,094 CA$5,823

1.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,437 MX$44.3K

$4,002 CA$5,693

-39.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,133 MX$20.6K

$1,531 CA$2,178

-26.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

4.64

154.09%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 4, 2026

Last update for Thompson: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$670 41.4%

Thompson

$674 37.6% 0.5% $3.3

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$312 19.3%

Thompson

$350 19.6% 12.2% $38

Eating Out

Monterrey

$224 13.8%

Thompson

$266 14.9% 19.1% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$174 10.7%

Thompson

$228 12.7% 31.4% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$157 9.7%

Thompson

$125 7% 20.4% $32

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Thompson

$86 4.8% 104% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Thompson

$63 3.5% 51.9% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $957 in Monterrey and $672 in Thompson. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Thompson pays 35% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $50.0 in Monterrey vs $63.0 in Thompson for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $350 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇨🇦 Thompson

🕒 Local time

02:08 2:08 AM

03:08 3:08 AM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

12,829

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 EUR

1 CAD = 0.703 USD

1 CAD = 0.627 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 October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.4 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.627 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Thompson 3,350 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Thompson

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 Thompson: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Thompson differ by about 12% in total monthly costs ($1,607 vs $1,808 including rent). Monterrey is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 35% lower in Thompson. 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: $957 in Monterrey versus $672 in Thompson. 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 $50.0 versus $63.0 in Thompson. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,607 per month in Monterrey versus $1,808 in Thompson – a 12% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,607 in Monterrey versus $1,808 in Thompson, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Monterrey but tight or insufficient in Thompson. The gap between the two cities makes Monterrey 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 Monterrey gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Thompson. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.