Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Ciudad Victoria

For one person, living is cheaper in Ciudad Victoria: $1,259 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Montevideo
🇺🇾 Uruguay
$1,771
/mo nomad
Ciudad Victoria
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,259
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Ciudad Victoria

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

A single person spends $1,771 per month in Montevideo vs $1,259 in Ciudad Victoria, rent included.

  • Montevideo $1,771
  • Ciudad Victoria $1,259

A couple spends around $2,740 per month in Montevideo vs $1,975 in Ciudad Victoria, rent included.

  • Montevideo $2,740
  • Ciudad Victoria $1,975

A family of three spends $3,708 per month in Montevideo vs $2,691 in Ciudad Victoria, rent included.

  • Montevideo $3,708
  • Ciudad Victoria $2,691

Montevideo costs about 41% more than Ciudad Victoria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Montevideo sits 31% above the global median, while Ciudad Victoria is 7% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Montevideo
Ciudad Victoria
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$15.16 UYU 609
$13.97 MX$258
8.52%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$69.2 UYU 2,776
$49.17 MX$909
40.63%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$14.65 UYU 588
$11.09 MX$205
32.10%
Cappuccino
$4.46 UYU 179
$4.06 MX$74.9
9.85%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.67 UYU 107
$1.62 MX$29.99
64.81%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.00 UYU 80.4
$1.00 MX$18.40
100.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.83 UYU 194
$2.35 MX$43.51
105.53%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.80 UYU 152
$4.44 MX$82.0
-14.41%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Montevideo
Ciudad Victoria
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.36 UYU 54.8
$1.91 MX$35.35
-28.80%
White Bread (500g)
$2.87 UYU 115
$2.84 MX$52.5
1.06%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.75 UYU 70.2
$1.89 MX$34.86
-7.41%
Eggs
$4.68 UYU 188
$2.59 MX$47.78
80.69%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$13.88 UYU 557
$12.01 MX$222
15.57%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$11.98 UYU 481
$9.13 MX$169
31.22%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.97 UYU 480
$12.94 MX$239
-7.50%
Apples (1kg)
$2.78 UYU 111
$3.27 MX$60.4
-14.98%
Banana (1kg)
$2.74 UYU 110
$1.59 MX$29.39
72.33%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.77 UYU 71.2
$2.13 MX$39.30
-16.90%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.24 UYU 130
$1.68 MX$31.12
92.86%
Potato (1kg)
$1.97 UYU 79.2
$2.27 MX$41.98
-13.22%
Onion (1kg)
$2.07 UYU 83.1
$2.70 MX$49.96
-23.33%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.37 UYU 55.1
$1.53 MX$28.34
-10.46%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.88 UYU 75.3
$1.25 MX$23.01
50.40%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.59 UYU 224
$4.92 MX$90.9
13.62%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.78 UYU 352
$13.89 MX$257
-36.79%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.26 UYU 90.9
$1.96 MX$36.26
15.31%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.75 UYU 110
$2.93 MX$54.2
-6.14%
🚌 Getting Around
Montevideo
Ciudad Victoria
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.53 UYU 61.5
$0.76 MX$14.01
101.32%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$74.3 UYU 2,980
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.91 UYU 76.7
$1.66 MX$30.62
15.06%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.40 UYU 16.18
$1.13 MX$20.86
-64.60%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$10.33 UYU 415
$10.75 MX$199
-3.91%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.13 UYU 85.6
$1.50 MX$27.78
42.00%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$27.1K UYU 1.1M
$21.0K MX$388.7K
28.87%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$36.3K UYU 1.5M
$24.7K MX$456.2K
46.88%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Montevideo
Ciudad Victoria
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$188 UYU 7,557
$57.1 MX$1,055
229.77%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$20.54 UYU 824
$26.20 MX$484
-21.60%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$44.81 UYU 1,798
$25.86 MX$478
73.28%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Montevideo
Ciudad Victoria
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$54.0 UYU 2,166
$34.16 MX$631
57.96%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$19.75 UYU 793
$18.33 MX$339
7.75%
Cinema Ticket
$11.95 UYU 480
$5.30 MX$98.0
125.47%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Montevideo
Ciudad Victoria
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$634 UYU 25.5K
$222 MX$4,101
185.85%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.1K UYU 443.6K
$11.5K MX$212.3K
-3.81%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Montevideo
Ciudad Victoria
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$102 UYU 4,099
$72.8 MX$1,345
40.31%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$57.5 UYU 2,309
$42.76 MX$790
34.54%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$127 UYU 5,079
$111 MX$2,060
13.53%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$128 UYU 5,131
$117 MX$2,170
8.87%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Montevideo
Ciudad Victoria
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$719 UYU 28.8K
$588 MX$10.9K
22.32%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$568 UYU 22.8K
$409 MX$7,557
38.86%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,145 UYU 46.0K
$1,111 MX$20.5K
3.03%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,023 UYU 41.1K
$679 MX$12.5K
50.67%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,392 UYU 136.1K
$1,882 MX$34.8K
80.25%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,949 UYU 78.2K
$1,204 MX$22.2K
61.91%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Montevideo
Ciudad Victoria
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,245 UYU 50.0K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.74
11.79
-51.31%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Ciudad Victoria: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Montevideo
$568
Ciudad Victoria
$409 28% $159
Groceries & Markets
Montevideo
$332
Ciudad Victoria
$305 7.9% $26
Eating Out
Montevideo
$269
Ciudad Victoria
$225 16.5% $44
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Montevideo
$254
Ciudad Victoria
$109 57% $144
Clothing & Footwear
Montevideo
$186
Ciudad Victoria
$155 16.8% $31
Getting Around
Montevideo
$84
Ciudad Victoria
$10 * 87.7% $74
Sport & Entertainment
Montevideo
$78
Ciudad Victoria
$45 42.5% $33

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $719 in Montevideo versus $588 in Ciudad Victoria. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $69.0 in Montevideo versus $49.00 in Ciudad Victoria. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $332 vs $305 – making Ciudad Victoria the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇺🇾 Montevideo
🇲🇽 Ciudad Victoria
🕒 Local time
04:26 4:26 AM
01:26 1:26 AM
3 h behind Montevideo
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,319,108 Capital
332,100
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to UYU – Uruguayan Peso Converter

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Montevideo Ciudad Victoria 7,940 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Montevideo
  • Ciudad Victoria

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
Montevideo vs Ciudad Victoria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
How do living costs in Montevideo and in Ciudad Victoria compare overall?
Monthly costs with rent: $1,771 in Montevideo, $1,259 in Ciudad Victoria – roughly 41% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.
What salary covers living expenses in Montevideo compared to Ciudad Victoria?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,656 per month in Montevideo and $1,888 in Ciudad Victoria. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
How do rents compare between Montevideo and Ciudad Victoria?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Ciudad Victoria, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
Which city is more expensive overall: Montevideo or Ciudad Victoria?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,771 in Montevideo and $1,259 in Ciudad Victoria. That's a gap of about 41%.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Montevideo and Ciudad Victoria?
Kindergarten costs $634 per month in Montevideo and $222 in Ciudad Victoria. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Ciudad Victoria, where all-in costs run around $1,259, than in Montevideo at $1,771. In Ciudad Victoria it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
How does quality of life compare between Montevideo and Ciudad Victoria?
It depends on your priorities. Montevideo has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,259 in Ciudad Victoria to $1,771 in Montevideo. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.
Is Montevideo or Ciudad Victoria safer for residents?
Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.
How do I decide between Montevideo and Ciudad Victoria?
If budget matters most, go with Ciudad Victoria. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Montevideo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

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