Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Todos Santos

For one person, living is cheaper in Todos Santos: $1,418 a month against $1,647 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
Learn more

Monterrey Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Todos Santos
Learn more

Todos Santos Living Index

Jump to prices

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Todos Santos

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,418

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Todos Santos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,647 in Monterrey versus $1,418 in Todos Santos.

Monterrey $1,647
Todos Santos $1,418

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,591 in Monterrey versus $2,111 in Todos Santos.

Monterrey $2,591
Todos Santos $2,111

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,536 in Monterrey versus $2,804 in Todos Santos.

Monterrey $3,536
Todos Santos $2,804

Living in Monterrey is roughly 16% more expensive than in Todos Santos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monterrey 21% above, Todos Santos 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.45 MX$252

$10.71 MX$201

25.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.43 MX$908

$42.31 MX$793

14.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$204

$8.69 MX$163

25.43%

Cappuccino

$3.82 MX$71.5

$3.59 MX$67.2

6.41%

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

$1.67 MX$31.22

$1.35 MX$25.22

23.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.42

$0.99 MX$18.57

-1.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.35 MX$44.04

$2.48 MX$46.51

-5.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 MX$82.7

$4.00 MX$75.0

10.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 MX$33.76

$1.58 MX$29.55

13.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$52.3

$2.62 MX$49.09

6.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.20

$1.52 MX$28.53

19.74%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$47.09

$2.47 MX$46.33

1.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.09 MX$227

$9.14 MX$171

32.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.41 MX$176

$9.37 MX$176

0.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.71 MX$238

$12.16 MX$228

4.52%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 MX$60.1

$2.73 MX$51.2

17.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.07

$1.48 MX$27.75

1.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$40.19

$1.94 MX$36.36

10.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.32 MX$43.50

$1.76 MX$33.06

31.82%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 MX$41.26

$1.97 MX$36.99

11.68%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 MX$48.69

$1.88 MX$35.18

38.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.99

$1.46 MX$27.29

-1.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 MX$21.99

$1.07 MX$20.09

9.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.79 MX$89.7

$4.19 MX$78.5

14.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 MX$248

$10.10 MX$189

30.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 MX$36.40

$1.74 MX$32.61

11.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 MX$54.1

$3.17 MX$59.4

-8.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 MX$16.34

$0.74 MX$13.96

17.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.14 MX$584

$26.19 MX$491

18.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MX$31.04

$2.48 MX$46.42

-33.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 MX$20.49

$1.99 MX$37.23

-45.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.67 MX$200

$12.34 MX$231

-13.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.61

$1.24 MX$23.17

18.55%

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

$24.2K MX$454.3K

$22.4K MX$420.3K

8.11%

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

$23.6K MX$441.4K

$25.9K MX$484.9K

-8.98%

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

$118 MX$2,209

$56.3 MX$1,055

109.36%

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

$25.55 MX$479

$22.51 MX$422

13.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.43 MX$495

$28.54 MX$535

-7.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.77 MX$577

$34.45 MX$646

-10.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 MX$395

$20.43 MX$383

3.13%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$95.4

$4.75 MX$89.1

7.16%

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

$694 MX$13.0K

$193 MX$3,609

260.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K MX$212.1K

$4,019 MX$75.3K

181.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 MX$1,358

$47.93 MX$898

51.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.51 MX$778

$45.84 MX$859

-9.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,056

$90.5 MX$1,696

21.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 MX$2,154

$101 MX$1,892

13.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,056 MX$19.8K

$988 MX$18.5K

6.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$721 MX$13.5K

$640 MX$12.0K

12.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,999 MX$37.5K

$1,866 MX$35.0K

7.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,435 MX$26.9K

$987 MX$18.5K

45.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,219 MX$79.1K

$2,144 MX$40.2K

96.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,731 MX$51.2K

$1,181 MX$22.1K

131.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,149 MX$21.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

11.31

4.24%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 25, 2026

Last update for Todos Santos: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$721 43.8%

Todos Santos

$640 45.2% 11.2% $81

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$303 18.4%

Todos Santos

$271 19.2% 10.6% $32

Eating Out

Monterrey

$217 13.2%

Todos Santos

$185 13% 15.1% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$170 10.3%

Todos Santos

$107 7.6% 36.8% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$152 9.3%

Todos Santos

$128 9.1% 15.8% $24

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.5%

Todos Santos

$42 2.9% 0.4% $0.2

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Todos Santos

$44 3.1% 7.4% $3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,056 in Monterrey and $988 in Todos Santos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $42 in Todos Santos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $303 vs $271 per month, with Todos Santos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Todos Santos

🕒 Local time

15:40 3:40 PM

14:40 2:40 PM

1 h behind Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

5,148

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Todos Santos 1,030 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Todos Santos

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 Todos Santos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,647 in Monterrey and $1,418 in Todos Santos, so Todos Santos is about 14% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,470 in Monterrey and $2,126 in Todos Santos 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: $1,056 in Monterrey versus $988 in Todos Santos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Todos Santos – a meal for two runs $42 versus $48 in Monterrey. 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 $1,418 in Todos Santos – Todos Santos is about 14% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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

Expats usually find Todos Santos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.