Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Trujillo

For one person, living is cheaper in Trujillo: $867 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
Learn more

Monterrey Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Trujillo
Learn more

Trujillo Living Index

Jump to prices

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Trujillo

🇵🇪 Peru

$867

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Trujillo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Monterrey versus $867 in Trujillo.

Monterrey $1,608
Trujillo $867

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,521 in Monterrey versus $1,340 in Trujillo.

Monterrey $2,521
Trujillo $1,340

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,433 in Monterrey versus $1,814 in Trujillo.

Monterrey $3,433
Trujillo $1,814

Living in Monterrey is roughly 86% more expensive than in Trujillo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 19% above, Trujillo is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.85 MX$256

$3.50 PEN 12.01

295.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.70 MX$918

$23.64 PEN 81.2

110.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.05 MX$204

$7.01 PEN 24.07

57.63%

Cappuccino

$4.09 MX$75.6

$3.25 PEN 11.17

25.85%

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

$1.68 MX$30.97

$0.89 PEN 3.06

88.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$18.98

$0.62 PEN 2.12

66.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 MX$44.28

$1.98 PEN 6.81

21.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.3

$3.46 PEN 11.89

25.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.55

$1.31 PEN 4.50

46.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$54.2

$2.06 PEN 7.08

42.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.66

$1.14 PEN 3.92

64.91%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$47.06

$3.98 PEN 13.68

-35.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 MX$219

$7.81 PEN 26.82

51.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.36 MX$173

$6.54 PEN 22.46

43.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 MX$242

$9.20 PEN 31.61

42.39%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$1.67 PEN 5.74

102.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$0.61 PEN 2.08

149.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.51

$0.60 PEN 2.06

265.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.63

$0.89 PEN 3.07

165.17%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.76

$1.00 PEN 3.42

126.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 MX$50.5

$1.14 PEN 3.90

139.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.17

$1.24 PEN 4.24

22.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.90

$1.14 PEN 3.93

8.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$4.22 PEN 14.49

12.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.66 MX$252

$5.72 PEN 19.66

138.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 MX$34.95

$1.71 PEN 5.88

10.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 MX$55.2

$1.63 PEN 5.61

83.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 MX$15.78

$0.57 PEN 1.94

49.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

$17.65 PEN 60.6

75.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 MX$30.98

$2.53 PEN 8.68

-33.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.87

$2.21 PEN 7.58

-48.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.15 MX$206

$5.98 PEN 20.55

86.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.91

$1.70 PEN 5.84

-8.24%

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

$21.4K MX$395.8K

$17.5K PEN 60.2K

22.25%

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

$25.1K MX$463.2K

$27.8K PEN 95.3K

-9.71%

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

$119 MX$2,206

$97.9 PEN 336

21.94%

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

$26.21 MX$484

$12.84 PEN 44.08

104.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.78 MX$495

$27.05 PEN 92.9

-1.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

$39.49 PEN 136

-21.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

$5.79 PEN 19.89

270.12%

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MX$97.7

$4.40 PEN 15.11

20.23%

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

$691 MX$12.8K

$107 PEN 369

543.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K MX$212.1K

$2,078 PEN 7,136

452.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.3 MX$1,335

$71.8 PEN 247

0.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.72 MX$789

$14.35 PEN 49.28

197.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,024

$46.03 PEN 158

137.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,158

$43.97 PEN 151

165.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 MX$17.9K

$384 PEN 1,319

152.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$664 MX$12.3K

$253 PEN 869

162.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,857 MX$34.3K

$744 PEN 2,555

149.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 MX$23.8K

$512 PEN 1,758

151.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 MX$76.9K

$1,177 PEN 4,043

253.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,349 MX$43.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

$548 PEN 1,884

109.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

11.7

0.77%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Last update for Trujillo: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

Trujillo

$253 29.2% 61.9% $411

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$310 19.3%

Trujillo

$204 23.5% 34.3% $106

Eating Out

Monterrey

$225 14%

Trujillo

$111 12.8% 50.6% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$172 10.7%

Trujillo

$138 15.9% 20.1% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$154 9.6%

Trujillo

$79 9.2% 48.4% $74

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Trujillo

$33 3.9% 19.7% $8.2

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Trujillo

$48 5.6% 16.1% $6.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $970 in Monterrey and $384 in Trujillo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 109% 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 $24.00 in Trujillo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $204 per month, with Trujillo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇵🇪 Trujillo

🕒 Local time

07:27 7:27 AM

08:27 8:27 AM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

314,939

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Trujillo 4,410 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Trujillo

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 Trujillo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Trujillo differ by about 86% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $867 including rent). Trujillo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 109% 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: $970 in Monterrey versus $384 in Trujillo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Trujillo – a meal for two runs $24.00 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,608 per month in Monterrey versus $867 in Trujillo – a 86% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $867 in Trujillo versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Trujillo but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Trujillo 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 Trujillo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 86% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.