Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Villahermosa

For one person, living is cheaper in Villahermosa: $1,219 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Villahermosa
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Villahermosa Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Villahermosa

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,219

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Villahermosa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,647 in Monterrey versus $1,219 in Villahermosa.

Monterrey $1,647
Villahermosa $1,219

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,591 in Monterrey versus $2,057 in Villahermosa.

Monterrey $2,591
Villahermosa $2,057

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,536 in Monterrey versus $2,895 in Villahermosa.

Monterrey $3,536
Villahermosa $2,895

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.45 MX$253

$10.57 MX$199

27.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.43 MX$910

$35.43 MX$666

36.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$205

$10.57 MX$199

3.12%

Cappuccino

$3.82 MX$71.8

$3.38 MX$63.5

13.02%

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

$1.67 MX$31.31

$1.23 MX$23.03

35.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.47

$1.17 MX$22.00

-16.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.35 MX$44.17

$2.84 MX$53.4

-17.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 MX$82.9

$5.36 MX$101

-17.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 MX$33.86

$1.73 MX$32.52

4.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$52.5

$1.75 MX$32.82

59.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.30

$1.31 MX$24.67

38.93%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$47.22

$1.92 MX$36.03

30.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.09 MX$227

$8.45 MX$159

43.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.41 MX$177

$10.51 MX$198

-10.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.71 MX$239

$13.38 MX$251

-5.01%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 MX$60.3

$3.39 MX$63.8

-5.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.15

$1.38 MX$25.96

8.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$40.30

$1.64 MX$30.90

30.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.32 MX$43.63

$1.18 MX$22.14

96.61%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 MX$41.38

$1.65 MX$30.93

33.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 MX$48.83

$1.34 MX$25.10

94.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$27.07

$1.31 MX$24.71

9.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 MX$22.05

$1.24 MX$23.33

-5.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.79 MX$90.0

$6.42 MX$121

-25.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 MX$249

$9.62 MX$181

37.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 MX$36.51

$2.70 MX$50.8

-28.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 MX$54.2

$6.42 MX$121

-54.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 MX$16.39

$0.55 MX$10.39

58.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.14 MX$585

$23.50 MX$442

32.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MX$31.13

$2.14 MX$40.19

-22.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 MX$20.55

$2.17 MX$40.82

-49.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.67 MX$201

$10.82 MX$203

-1.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.69

$1.35 MX$25.38

8.89%

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

$24.2K MX$455.6K

$22.9K MX$429.6K

6.06%

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

$23.6K MX$442.7K

$26.6K MX$499.6K

-11.40%

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

$118 MX$2,215

$62.4 MX$1,173

88.77%

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

$25.55 MX$480

$28.41 MX$534

-10.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.43 MX$497

$32.67 MX$614

-19.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.77 MX$578

$50.0 MX$940

-38.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$95.7

$4.32 MX$81.2

17.82%

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

$694 MX$13.0K

$303 MX$5,690

129.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K MX$212.7K

$4,331 MX$81.4K

161.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 MX$1,362

$63.7 MX$1,198

13.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.51 MX$780

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,062

$75.6 MX$1,421

45.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 MX$2,160

$58.1 MX$1,092

97.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,056 MX$19.8K

$476 MX$8,941

121.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$721 MX$13.6K

$441 MX$8,290

63.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,999 MX$37.6K

$1,589 MX$29.9K

25.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,435 MX$27.0K

$1,159 MX$21.8K

23.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,219 MX$79.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,731 MX$51.3K

$1,205 MX$22.6K

126.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,149 MX$21.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 25, 2026

Last update for Villahermosa: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$721 43.8%

Villahermosa

$441 36.2% 38.8% $280

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$303 18.4%

Villahermosa

$277 22.7% 8.8% $27

Eating Out

Monterrey

$217 13.2%

Villahermosa

$191 15.7% 12% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$170 10.3%

Villahermosa

$124 10.1% 27.3% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$152 9.3%

Villahermosa

$89 * 7.3% 41.7% $64

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.5%

Villahermosa

$39 3.2% 7.3% $3

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Villahermosa

$59 4.8% 43.2% $18

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,056 in Monterrey and $476 in Villahermosa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $35 in Villahermosa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $303 vs $277 per month, with Villahermosa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Villahermosa

🕒 Local time

12:25 12:25 PM

Same time as Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

340,060

💱 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

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Between locations

Monterrey Villahermosa 1,140 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Villahermosa

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 Villahermosa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,647 in Monterrey and $1,219 in Villahermosa, so Villahermosa is about 26% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,470 in Monterrey and $1,828 in Villahermosa 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 $476 in Villahermosa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Villahermosa – a meal for two runs $35 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 $1,219 in Villahermosa – Villahermosa is about 26% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Villahermosa 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 Villahermosa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.