Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Toluca

For one person, living is cheaper in Toluca: $1,114 a month against $1,647 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Toluca
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Toluca Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Toluca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,114

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Toluca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,647 in Monterrey versus $1,114 in Toluca.

Monterrey $1,647
Toluca $1,114

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,591 in Monterrey versus $1,826 in Toluca.

Monterrey $2,591
Toluca $1,826

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,536 in Monterrey versus $2,539 in Toluca.

Monterrey $3,536
Toluca $2,539

Living in Monterrey is roughly 48% more expensive than in Toluca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 21% above, Toluca is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.45 MX$253

$10.72 MX$201

25.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.43 MX$910

$43.64 MX$820

10.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$205

$9.07 MX$170

20.18%

Cappuccino

$3.82 MX$71.8

$3.12 MX$58.6

22.44%

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

$1.67 MX$31.31

$1.25 MX$23.47

33.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.47

$0.77 MX$14.54

27.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.35 MX$44.17

$2.11 MX$39.70

11.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 MX$82.9

$3.35 MX$62.9

31.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 MX$33.86

$1.75 MX$32.90

2.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$52.5

$3.09 MX$58.2

-9.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.30

$2.24 MX$42.11

-18.75%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$47.22

$3.15 MX$59.2

-20.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.09 MX$227

$7.88 MX$148

53.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.41 MX$177

$8.19 MX$154

14.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.71 MX$239

$8.82 MX$166

44.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 MX$60.3

$4.09 MX$76.9

-21.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.15

$2.08 MX$39.14

-27.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$40.30

$2.30 MX$43.25

-6.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.32 MX$43.63

$2.32 MX$43.56

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 MX$41.38

$2.91 MX$54.7

-24.40%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 MX$48.83

$2.30 MX$43.21

13.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$27.07

$1.69 MX$31.77

-14.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 MX$22.05

$1.00 MX$18.72

17.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.79 MX$90.0

$4.86 MX$91.4

-1.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 MX$249

$12.21 MX$229

8.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 MX$36.51

$1.99 MX$37.31

-2.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 MX$54.2

$3.65 MX$68.7

-20.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 MX$16.39

$0.79 MX$14.78

10.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.14 MX$585

$44.42 MX$835

-29.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MX$31.13

$3.25 MX$61.0

-48.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 MX$20.55

$1.95 MX$36.73

-44.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.67 MX$201

$10.12 MX$190

5.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.69

$1.44 MX$27.06

2.08%

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

$24.2K MX$455.6K

$24.5K MX$460.2K

-1.00%

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

$23.6K MX$442.7K

$22.8K MX$428.2K

3.37%

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

$118 MX$2,215

$55.9 MX$1,051

110.75%

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

$25.55 MX$480

$25.40 MX$477

0.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.43 MX$497

$31.81 MX$598

-16.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.77 MX$578

$39.99 MX$752

-23.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 MX$396

$22.69 MX$426

-7.14%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$95.7

$6.98 MX$131

-27.08%

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

$694 MX$13.0K

$219 MX$4,121

216.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K MX$212.7K

$5,195 MX$97.6K

117.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 MX$1,362

$64.9 MX$1,220

11.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.51 MX$780

$53.3 MX$1,001

-22.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,062

$101 MX$1,897

8.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 MX$2,160

$105 MX$1,981

9.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,056 MX$19.8K

$412 MX$7,748

156.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$721 MX$13.6K

$276 MX$5,188

161.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,999 MX$37.6K

$1,005 MX$18.9K

98.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,435 MX$27.0K

$589 MX$11.1K

143.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,219 MX$79.3K

$1,288 MX$24.2K

227.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,731 MX$51.3K

$898 MX$16.9K

204.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,149 MX$21.6K

$1,238 MX$23.3K

-7.21%

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 25, 2026

Last update for Toluca: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$721 43.8%

Toluca

$276 24.8% 61.7% $445

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$303 18.4%

Toluca

$289 25.9% 4.9% $15

Eating Out

Monterrey

$217 13.2%

Toluca

$176 15.8% 19.1% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$170 10.3%

Toluca

$113 10.2% 33.4% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$152 9.3%

Toluca

$146 13.1% 4.2% $6.3

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.5%

Toluca

$61 5.4% 45.1% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Toluca

$54 4.8% 31.7% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,056 in Monterrey and $412 in Toluca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Toluca pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $44 in Toluca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $303 vs $289 per month, with Toluca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Toluca

🕒 Local time

02:00 2:00 AM

Same time as Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

223,876

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Toluca 710 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Toluca

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 Toluca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,647 in Monterrey and $1,114 in Toluca, so Toluca is about 32% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 7% lower in Monterrey. 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: $1,056 in Monterrey versus $412 in Toluca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Toluca – a meal for two runs $44 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 $1,114 in Toluca – Toluca is about 32% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,114 in Toluca versus $1,647 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Toluca but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Toluca 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.