Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Villavicencio

For one person, living is cheaper in Villavicencio: $1,322 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Villavicencio
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Villavicencio Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Villavicencio

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,322

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Villavicencio

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Monterrey versus $1,322 in Villavicencio.

Monterrey $1,608
Villavicencio $1,322

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,521 in Monterrey versus $1,988 in Villavicencio.

Monterrey $2,521
Villavicencio $1,988

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,433 in Monterrey versus $2,655 in Villavicencio.

Monterrey $3,433
Villavicencio $2,655

Living in Monterrey is roughly 22% more expensive than in Villavicencio, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 19% above, Villavicencio is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.85 MX$256

$7.60 COP 24.1K

82.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.70 MX$918

$42.13 COP 133.6K

17.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.05 MX$204

$10.16 COP 32.2K

8.76%

Cappuccino

$4.09 MX$75.6

$2.58 COP 8,167

58.53%

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

$1.68 MX$30.97

$1.38 COP 4,371

21.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$18.98

$0.85 COP 2,709

21.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 MX$44.28

$2.08 COP 6,592

15.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.3

$3.96 COP 12.5K

9.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.55

$1.69 COP 5,351

13.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$54.2

$2.52 COP 7,993

16.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.66

$1.69 COP 5,355

11.24%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$47.06

$3.35 COP 10.6K

-23.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 MX$219

$7.85 COP 24.9K

50.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.36 MX$173

$7.55 COP 23.9K

23.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 MX$242

$9.83 COP 31.2K

33.27%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$3.58 COP 11.3K

-5.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.83 COP 5,807

-16.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.51

$1.91 COP 6,048

14.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.63

$1.80 COP 5,715

31.11%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.76

$1.49 COP 4,729

51.68%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 MX$50.5

$1.38 COP 4,372

97.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.17

$1.29 COP 4,100

17.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.90

$1.20 COP 3,794

3.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$4.31 COP 13.7K

10.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.66 MX$252

$12.48 COP 39.6K

9.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 MX$34.95

$1.44 COP 4,563

31.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 MX$55.2

$2.79 COP 8,849

7.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 MX$15.78

$1.14 COP 3,619

-25.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 MX$30.98

$2.06 COP 6,537

-18.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.87

$2.32 COP 7,351

-51.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.15 MX$206

$9.22 COP 29.2K

20.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.91

$1.32 COP 4,198

18.18%

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

$21.4K MX$395.8K

$23.6K COP 74.8M

-9.25%

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

$25.1K MX$463.2K

$36.1K COP 114.4M

-30.55%

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

$119 MX$2,206

$122 COP 386.9K

-2.16%

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

$26.21 MX$484

$16.15 COP 51.2K

62.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.78 MX$495

$30.25 COP 95.9K

-11.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

$34.45 COP 109.2K

-9.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MX$97.7

$7.71 COP 24.4K

-31.39%

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

$691 MX$12.8K

$503 COP 1.6M

37.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K MX$212.1K

$7,429 COP 23.6M

54.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.3 MX$1,335

$85.5 COP 270.9K

-15.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.72 MX$789

$48.53 COP 153.9K

-11.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,024

$143 COP 454.0K

-23.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,158

$106 COP 334.5K

10.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 MX$17.9K

$666 COP 2.1M

45.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$664 MX$12.3K

$501 COP 1.6M

32.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,857 MX$34.3K

$872 COP 2.8M

112.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 MX$23.8K

$840 COP 2.7M

53.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 MX$76.9K

$2,129 COP 6.8M

95.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,349 MX$43.4K

$1,771 COP 5.6M

32.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

12.81

-7.96%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Last update for Villavicencio: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

Villavicencio

$501 37.9% 24.6% $163

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$310 19.3%

Villavicencio

$263 19.9% 15.3% $47

Eating Out

Monterrey

$225 14%

Villavicencio

$149 11.3% 33.4% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$172 10.7%

Villavicencio

$168 12.7% 2.3% $3.9

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$154 9.6%

Villavicencio

$172 13% 12.1% $19

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Villavicencio

$18 * 1.4% 56.3% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Villavicencio

$50 3.8% 19.9% $8.3

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 $970 in Monterrey and $666 in Villavicencio. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50.0 in Monterrey vs $42.00 in Villavicencio for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $263 per month, with Villavicencio cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇨🇴 Villavicencio

🕒 Local time

00:28 12:28 AM

01:28 1:28 AM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

407,977

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey Villavicencio 3,720 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Villavicencio

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 Villavicencio: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Villavicencio differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $1,322 including rent). Villavicencio is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,412 in Monterrey and $1,983 in Villavicencio 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: $970 in Monterrey versus $666 in Villavicencio. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $691 in Monterrey versus $503 in Villavicencio. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Villavicencio – a meal for two runs $42.00 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,322 in Villavicencio versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Villavicencio but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Villavicencio 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 Villavicencio gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.