Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Zihuatanejo

For one person, living is cheaper in Zihuatanejo: $1,131 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Zihuatanejo
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Zihuatanejo Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Zihuatanejo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,131

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Zihuatanejo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,599 in Monterrey versus $1,131 in Zihuatanejo.

Monterrey $1,599
Zihuatanejo $1,131

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,493 in Monterrey versus $1,824 in Zihuatanejo.

Monterrey $2,493
Zihuatanejo $1,824

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Monterrey versus $2,517 in Zihuatanejo.

Monterrey $3,387
Zihuatanejo $2,517

Living in Monterrey is roughly 41% more expensive than in Zihuatanejo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 18% above, Zihuatanejo is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 MX$258

$10.86 MX$203

27.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.99 MX$898

$44.16 MX$827

8.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 MX$199

$8.74 MX$164

21.85%

Cappuccino

$3.99 MX$74.6

$3.48 MX$65.2

14.66%

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

$1.66 MX$31.16

$1.36 MX$25.45

22.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 MX$18.45

$1.02 MX$19.08

-2.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 MX$44.21

$2.45 MX$45.89

-3.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 MX$82.9

$3.98 MX$74.4

11.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MX$34.01

$1.66 MX$31.05

9.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.83 MX$53.0

$2.55 MX$47.69

10.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.90

$1.65 MX$30.90

16.36%

Eggs

$2.48 MX$46.37

$2.44 MX$45.61

1.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.74 MX$220

$8.11 MX$152

44.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.10 MX$170

$8.52 MX$159

6.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.53 MX$235

$11.56 MX$216

8.39%

Apples (1kg)

$3.34 MX$62.4

$2.72 MX$51.0

22.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.47

$1.56 MX$29.27

0.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 MX$40.37

$1.94 MX$36.39

11.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 MX$46.24

$1.77 MX$33.10

39.55%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.19

$1.94 MX$36.24

19.07%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 MX$50.1

$1.88 MX$35.15

42.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 MX$27.24

$1.43 MX$26.71

2.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 MX$22.35

$1.09 MX$20.47

9.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$88.9

$4.28 MX$80.1

10.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.58 MX$254

$10.27 MX$192

32.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 MX$35.98

$1.82 MX$34.04

5.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 MX$53.9

$3.06 MX$57.3

-5.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MX$14.85

$0.68 MX$12.77

16.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$587

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.59 MX$29.82

$2.61 MX$48.93

-39.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.83

$2.02 MX$37.88

-47.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.80 MX$202

$11.18 MX$209

-3.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.95

$1.44 MX$26.93

7.64%

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

$24.2K MX$452.1K

$21.3K MX$398.4K

13.48%

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

$24.3K MX$455.2K

$23.9K MX$447.0K

1.83%

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

$117 MX$2,186

$57.3 MX$1,072

104.00%

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

$26.38 MX$494

$23.00 MX$431

14.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.04 MX$487

$29.80 MX$558

-12.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.26 MX$566

$34.76 MX$651

-12.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.25 MX$398

$20.02 MX$375

6.14%

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 MX$97.8

$5.14 MX$96.2

1.75%

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

$673 MX$12.6K

$216 MX$4,041

211.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K MX$207.8K

$4,526 MX$84.7K

145.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 MX$1,349

$55.5 MX$1,038

29.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.38 MX$793

$40.25 MX$753

5.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MX$2,092

$98.5 MX$1,844

13.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,228

$90.0 MX$1,684

32.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$949 MX$17.8K

$596 MX$11.1K

59.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$666 MX$12.5K

$384 MX$7,182

73.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,821 MX$34.1K

$1,053 MX$19.7K

73.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 MX$23.8K

$759 MX$14.2K

67.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$75.8K

$1,915 MX$35.8K

111.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,348 MX$43.9K

$1,149 MX$21.5K

104.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 MX$21.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

11.3

4.34%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Last update for Zihuatanejo: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$666 41.7%

Zihuatanejo

$384 34% 42.4% $283

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$304 19%

Zihuatanejo

$264 23.3% 13.4% $41

Eating Out

Monterrey

$221 13.9%

Zihuatanejo

$185 16.3% 16.7% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$169 10.6%

Zihuatanejo

$110 9.7% 35% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$155 9.7%

Zihuatanejo

$128 11.3% 17.7% $27

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Zihuatanejo

$15 * 1.4% 62.7% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Zihuatanejo

$45 4% 10.6% $4.3

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 $949 in Monterrey and $596 in Zihuatanejo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $44 in Zihuatanejo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $304 vs $264 per month, with Zihuatanejo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Zihuatanejo

🕒 Local time

03:16 3:16 AM

Same time as Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

67,408

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey Zihuatanejo 900 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Zihuatanejo

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 Zihuatanejo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Zihuatanejo differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($1,599 vs $1,131 including rent). Zihuatanejo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,399 in Monterrey and $1,696 in Zihuatanejo 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: $949 in Monterrey versus $596 in Zihuatanejo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $673 in Monterrey versus $216 in Zihuatanejo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Zihuatanejo – a meal for two runs $44 versus $48 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,131 in Zihuatanejo versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Zihuatanejo but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Zihuatanejo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Zihuatanejo is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Monterrey, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.