Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montes Claros and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Montes Claros: $818 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Montes Claros
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Montes Claros Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Montes Claros

🇧🇷 Brazil

$818

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montes Claros and in Mexico City

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Montes Claros and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $818 in Montes Claros versus $1,674 in Mexico City.

Montes Claros $818
Mexico City $1,674

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,288 in Montes Claros versus $2,606 in Mexico City.

Montes Claros $1,288
Mexico City $2,606

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,758 in Montes Claros versus $3,537 in Mexico City.

Montes Claros $1,758
Mexico City $3,537

Living in Montes Claros costs roughly 51% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Montes Claros is 39% below, Mexico City is 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.26 R$17.89

$10.59 MX$197

-69.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.27 R$161

$52.0 MX$967

-43.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.33 R$40.24

$10.73 MX$200

-31.69%

Cappuccino

$1.81 R$9.92

$3.80 MX$70.7

-52.37%

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

$1.19 R$6.50

$1.61 MX$30.01

-26.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 R$3.79

$1.21 MX$22.55

-42.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.35 R$7.38

$3.18 MX$59.1

-57.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 R$15.52

$5.44 MX$101

-47.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.93 R$5.08

$1.72 MX$31.96

-45.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.59 R$8.72

$2.97 MX$55.2

-46.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.15 R$6.33

$1.93 MX$35.84

-40.41%

Eggs

$2.08 R$11.40

$2.77 MX$51.6

-24.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.47 R$52.0

$11.67 MX$217

-18.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.98 R$21.82

$9.48 MX$176

-58.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.86 R$43.14

$15.37 MX$286

-48.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.42 R$13.30

$3.10 MX$57.8

-21.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.68

$1.96 MX$36.49

-37.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.06 R$5.81

$1.98 MX$36.88

-46.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.51 R$8.31

$2.34 MX$43.46

-35.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 R$6.78

$2.02 MX$37.66

-39.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 R$5.49

$1.82 MX$33.95

-45.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 R$4.00

$1.54 MX$28.74

-52.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.65 R$3.59

$1.31 MX$24.42

-50.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.20 R$12.06

$5.35 MX$99.6

-58.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.21 R$39.60

$16.19 MX$301

-55.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 R$6.86

$1.96 MX$36.46

-36.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 R$11.40

$4.35 MX$81.0

-52.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 R$5.05

$0.30 MX$5.67

206.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.11 R$220

$19.49 MX$363

105.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.15 R$6.30

$1.92 MX$35.68

-40.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 R$3.87

$0.47 MX$8.80

51.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.12 R$39.09

$5.41 MX$101

31.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 R$5.43

$1.48 MX$27.61

-33.11%

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

$19.7K R$108.2K

$21.4K MX$397.7K

-7.80%

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

$34.4K R$188.6K

$23.8K MX$442.1K

44.63%

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

$79.0 R$433

$62.0 MX$1,154

27.41%

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

$10.66 R$58.5

$28.47 MX$530

-62.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.00 R$98.8

$34.11 MX$635

-47.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.05 R$132

$58.4 MX$1,087

-58.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.54 R$140

$24.50 MX$456

4.24%

Cinema Ticket

$7.42 R$40.73

$6.59 MX$123

12.59%

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

$296 R$1,625

$434 MX$8,081

-31.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,015 R$33.0K

$14.0K MX$261.2K

-57.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.2 R$281

$68.4 MX$1,272

-25.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.32 R$249

$54.8 MX$1,020

-17.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.1 R$445

$111 MX$2,063

-26.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.1 R$374

$116 MX$2,159

-41.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$341 R$1,872

$1,179 MX$21.9K

-71.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$240 R$1,320

$771 MX$14.3K

-68.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$645 R$3,543

$2,570 MX$47.8K

-74.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$453 R$2,486

$1,420 MX$26.4K

-68.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,777 R$9,754

$3,586 MX$66.7K

-50.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,287 R$7,065

$2,064 MX$38.4K

-37.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$373 R$2,045

$1,003 MX$18.7K

-62.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

-3.08%

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

Last update for Montes Claros: November 2, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montes Claros

$240 29.4%

Mexico City

$771 46.1% 221% $530

Groceries & Markets

Montes Claros

$182 22.3%

Mexico City

$324 19.3% 77.3% $141

Clothing & Footwear

Montes Claros

$111 13.5%

Mexico City

$158 9.4% 42.5% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montes Claros

$108 13.2%

Mexico City

$125 7.4% 15.7% $17

Eating Out

Montes Claros

$90 11%

Mexico City

$201 12% 124% $111

Getting Around

Montes Claros

$48 5.9%

Mexico City

$25 1.5% 48.4% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Montes Claros

$39 4.8%

Mexico City

$72 4.3% 84% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $341 in Montes Claros and $1,179 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $29 in Montes Claros vs $52 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $182 vs $324 per month, with Montes Claros cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Montes Claros

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

09:32 9:32 AM

06:32 6:32 AM

3 h behind Montes Claros

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

414,240

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.15 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.86 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

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Montes Claros Mexico City 7,260 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Montes Claros
Mexico City

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

Montes Claros vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $818 in Montes Claros and $1,674 in Mexico City, so Montes Claros is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 63% lower in Montes Claros. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $341 in Montes Claros versus $1,179 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 51% less than in Montes Claros. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $296 in Montes Claros versus $434 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $818 in Montes Claros versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Montes Claros but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Montes Claros 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.

It comes down to priorities – Montes Claros wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.