Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montreal and Tampico

For one person, living is cheaper in Tampico: $1,347 a month against $2,003 in Montreal, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

99

Cost of Living Index in Montreal
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Montreal Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Tampico
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Tampico Living Index

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Montreal

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,003

/mo nomad

Tampico

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,347

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montreal and in Tampico

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

A single person spends $2,003 per month in Montreal vs $1,347 in Tampico, rent included.

Montreal $2,003
Tampico $1,347

A couple spends around $3,048 per month in Montreal vs $2,120 in Tampico, rent included.

Montreal $3,048
Tampico $2,120

A family of three spends $4,092 per month in Montreal vs $2,894 in Tampico, rent included.

Montreal $4,092
Tampico $2,894

Montreal costs about 49% more than Tampico, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Montreal and Tampico sit above the global median – Montreal by 49%, Tampico by 1%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.31 CA$27.52

$8.12 MX$149

137.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.5 CA$108

$55.1 MX$1,012

37.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.63 CA$15.15

$9.60 MX$176

10.73%

Cappuccino

$3.93 CA$5.60

$3.11 MX$57.0

26.37%

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

$1.92 CA$2.73

$1.22 MX$22.33

57.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 CA$2.11

$0.80 MX$14.64

85.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.30 CA$8.98

$4.48 MX$82.2

40.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.19 CA$10.24

$4.77 MX$87.5

50.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.22 CA$3.17

$1.44 MX$26.45

54.17%

White Bread (500g)

$3.06 CA$4.36

$4.20 MX$77.1

-27.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.94 CA$4.19

$1.36 MX$25.06

116.18%

Eggs

$3.53 CA$5.03

$4.20 MX$77.1

-15.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.19 CA$18.79

$4.84 MX$89.0

172.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.24 CA$16.02

$10.29 MX$189

9.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.81 CA$19.69

$13.41 MX$246

2.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.40 CA$4.85

$3.50 MX$64.2

-2.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 CA$2.06

$1.18 MX$21.66

22.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.26 CA$4.65

$2.07 MX$38.05

57.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 CA$4.10

$2.28 MX$41.78

26.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 CA$2.65

$2.19 MX$40.13

-15.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 CA$2.60

$2.79 MX$51.2

-34.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.43 CA$3.46

$2.09 MX$38.29

16.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 CA$2.17

$0.95 MX$17.45

60.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.45 CA$16.32

$4.79 MX$88.0

139.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.36 CA$14.76

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 CA$3.16

$1.56 MX$28.71

42.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 CA$4.02

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.58 CA$3.67

$0.78 MX$14.38

230.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.9 CA$110

$27.28 MX$501

181.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.25 CA$4.64

$2.84 MX$52.1

14.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 CA$2.11

$2.71 MX$49.82

-45.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.04 CA$47.09

$5.24 MX$96.2

530.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 CA$1.94

$1.42 MX$26.05

-4.23%

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

$27.4K CA$39.1K

$33.1K MX$608.2K

-17.21%

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

$20.0K CA$28.5K

$23.7K MX$436.0K

-15.88%

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

$76.1 CA$109

$106 MX$1,940

-27.96%

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

$34.68 CA$49.43

$28.01 MX$514

23.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.69 CA$60.9

$24.40 MX$448

74.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.94 CA$41.26

$43.32 MX$795

-33.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.33 CA$28.97

$16.83 MX$309

20.80%

Cinema Ticket

$11.21 CA$15.98

$5.58 MX$102

100.90%

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

$505 CA$720

$282 MX$5,179

79.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.0K CA$22.8K

$8,172 MX$150.0K

95.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.5 CA$83.4

$74.7 MX$1,371

-21.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.00 CA$54.2

$66.9 MX$1,228

-43.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.7 CA$132

$164 MX$3,016

-43.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 CA$151

$253 MX$4,642

-58.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,240 CA$1,768

$531 MX$9,755

133.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$986 CA$1,405

$385 MX$7,066

156.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,102 CA$2,996

$946 MX$17.4K

122.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,615 CA$2,302

$678 MX$12.5K

138.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,043 CA$7,188

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,830 CA$5,459

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,920 CA$4,163

$571 MX$10.5K

411.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.46

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

Last update for Montreal: October 6, 2026

Last update for Tampico: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montreal

$986 47.9%

Tampico

$385 28.8% 61% $601

Groceries & Markets

Montreal

$344 16.7%

Tampico

$269 * 20.1% 21.8% $75

Eating Out

Montreal

$293 14.2%

Tampico

$171 12.8% 41.6% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montreal

$154 7.5%

Tampico

$158 11.8% 3% $4.6

Clothing & Footwear

Montreal

$133 6.5%

Tampico

$251 18.8% 89.4% $119

Getting Around

Montreal

$98 4.8%

Tampico

$47 3.5% 52.2% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Montreal

$51 2.5%

Tampico

$54 4.1% 6.1% $3.1

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,240 in Montreal versus $531 in Tampico. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 412% higher in Montreal, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $75.0 in Montreal versus $55.0 in Tampico. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $344 vs $269 – making Tampico the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Montreal

🇲🇽 Tampico

🕒 Local time

07:22 7:22 AM

05:22 5:22 AM

2 h behind Montreal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,762,949

297,562

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montreal Tampico 3,400 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Montreal
Tampico

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

Montreal vs Tampico: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montreal costs about 49% more than Tampico, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,005 per month in Montreal and $2,020 in Tampico. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tampico, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 28% more in Montreal, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $75.0 in Montreal and $55.0 in Tampico. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Tampico, where all-in costs run around $1,347, than in Montreal at $2,003. In Tampico it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montreal it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Tampico costs $1,347 versus $2,003 in Montreal. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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.

If budget matters most, go with Tampico. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Montreal makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.