Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Yaguajay

For one person, living is cheaper in Yaguajay: $1,211 a month against $1,641 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
Learn more

Monterrey Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Yaguajay
Learn more

Yaguajay Living Index

Jump to prices

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Yaguajay

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,211

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Yaguajay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,641 in Monterrey versus $1,211 in Yaguajay.

Monterrey $1,641
Yaguajay $1,211

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,573 in Monterrey versus $1,701 in Yaguajay.

Monterrey $2,573
Yaguajay $1,701

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,504 in Monterrey versus $2,190 in Yaguajay.

Monterrey $3,504
Yaguajay $2,190

Living in Monterrey is roughly 35% more expensive than in Yaguajay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.37 MX$249

$5.86 CUP 141

128.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.95 MX$892

$18.01 CUP 432

166.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.79 MX$201

$6.87 CUP 165

57.06%

Cappuccino

$3.77 MX$70.0

$1.27 CUP 30.58

196.85%

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

$1.51 MX$28.09

$1.22 CUP 29.24

23.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.14

$1.08 CUP 25.93

-4.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 MX$46.14

$1.46 CUP 35.05

69.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 MX$81.0

$1.77 CUP 42.38

146.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 MX$35.23

$2.86 CUP 68.5

-33.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 MX$53.0

$0.76 CUP 18.27

275.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.52

$2.38 CUP 57.2

-21.85%

Eggs

$2.47 MX$45.86

$2.98 CUP 71.4

-17.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.81 MX$220

$5.61 CUP 135

110.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 MX$167

$5.26 CUP 126

70.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$234

$11.91 CUP 286

5.54%

Apples (1kg)

$3.20 MX$59.4

$4.92 CUP 118

-34.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$27.96

$1.12 CUP 26.86

33.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.52

$1.32 CUP 31.60

60.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.33 MX$43.39

$1.32 CUP 31.60

76.52%

Potato (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.34

$1.82 CUP 43.66

21.98%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 MX$48.07

$2.82 CUP 67.6

-8.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$26.88

$0.98 CUP 23.56

47.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.72

$1.11 CUP 26.69

9.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.80 MX$89.2

$3.58 CUP 85.9

34.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 MX$247

$9.99 CUP 240

33.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 MX$35.93

$1.80 CUP 43.25

7.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 MX$53.1

$1.99 CUP 47.71

43.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.85

$0.18 CUP 4.31

344.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.94 MX$575

$20.35 CUP 488

52.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.83 MX$34.08

$2.04 CUP 49.07

-10.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.66

$0.39 CUP 9.34

171.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.82 MX$201

$20.16 CUP 484

-46.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.39

$1.24 CUP 29.65

18.55%

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

$24.1K MX$447.9K

$67.6K CUP 1.6M

-64.39%

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

$23.5K MX$437.7K

$73.9K CUP 1.8M

-68.14%

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

$115 MX$2,132

$34.54 CUP 829

231.82%

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

$26.37 MX$490

$39.73 CUP 954

-33.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.70 MX$478

$248 CUP 5,947

-89.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.53 MX$568

$39.85 CUP 956

-23.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.27 MX$396

$15.03 CUP 361

41.52%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 MX$92.2

$0.98 CUP 23.59

406.12%

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

$679 MX$12.6K

$115 CUP 2,753

491.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.2K MX$263.8K

$11.2K CUP 269.8K

26.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 MX$1,343

$40.34 CUP 968

78.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.94 MX$780

$29.42 CUP 706

42.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 MX$1,999

$75.9 CUP 1,822

41.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,207

$79.6 CUP 1,911

49.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,018 MX$18.9K

$362 CUP 8,692

180.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 MX$13.4K

$377 CUP 9,051

91.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,966 MX$36.6K

$1,018 CUP 24.4K

93.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,416 MX$26.3K

$599 CUP 14.4K

136.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,203 MX$78.2K

$387 CUP 9,299

984.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,782 MX$51.7K

$343 CUP 8,239

710.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,096 MX$20.4K

$53.7 CUP 1,288

1941.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

8.33

41.54%

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

Last update for Monterrey: November 2, 2026

Last update for Yaguajay: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$722 44%

Yaguajay

$377 31.1% 47.7% $344

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$302 18.4%

Yaguajay

$241 19.9% 20.2% $61

Eating Out

Monterrey

$216 13.2%

Yaguajay

$103 8.5% 52.4% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$167 10.2%

Yaguajay

$322 26.6% 93.2% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$153 9.3%

Yaguajay

$101 8.4% 33.8% $52

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Yaguajay

$25 2.1% 39.2% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$40 2.5%

Yaguajay

$42 3.5% 3.4% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,018 in Monterrey and $362 in Yaguajay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays about 20 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $18 in Yaguajay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $302 vs $241 per month, with Yaguajay cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇨🇺 Yaguajay

🕒 Local time

03:20 3:20 AM

04:20 4:20 AM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

13,827

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.83 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CUP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 8, 2026: 1 USD = 18.6 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.72 MXN (100 MXN = 4.83 EUR).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of November 8, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.74 CUP (100 CUP = 3.74 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Yaguajay 2,170 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Yaguajay

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 Yaguajay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,641 in Monterrey and $1,211 in Yaguajay, so Yaguajay is about 26% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Monterrey is about 20 times higher, 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: $1,018 in Monterrey versus $362 in Yaguajay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Yaguajay – a meal for two runs $18 versus $48 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,641 per month in Monterrey versus $1,211 in Yaguajay – Yaguajay is about 26% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Yaguajay is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Yaguajay 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.