Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Neiva and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Neiva: $1,241 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Neiva
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Neiva Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Neiva

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,241

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Neiva and in Monterrey

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,241 in Neiva versus $1,608 in Monterrey.

Neiva $1,241
Monterrey $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,034 in Neiva versus $2,521 in Monterrey.

Neiva $2,034
Monterrey $2,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,826 in Neiva versus $3,433 in Monterrey.

Neiva $2,826
Monterrey $3,433

Living in Neiva costs roughly 23% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Neiva is 8% below, Monterrey is 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.72 COP 24.5K

$13.85 MX$256

-44.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.66 COP 132.5K

$49.70 MX$918

-16.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.26 COP 32.6K

$11.05 MX$204

-7.15%

Cappuccino

$2.61 COP 8,307

$4.09 MX$75.5

-36.19%

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

$1.34 COP 4,258

$1.68 MX$30.94

-20.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 COP 2,892

$1.03 MX$18.96

-11.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.06 COP 6,553

$2.40 MX$44.23

-14.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 COP 12.6K

$4.35 MX$80.3

-8.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 COP 5,147

$1.92 MX$35.51

-15.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.45 COP 7,778

$2.94 MX$54.2

-16.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 COP 5,152

$1.88 MX$34.63

-13.83%

Eggs

$3.54 COP 11.3K

$2.55 MX$47.01

38.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.18 COP 26.0K

$11.84 MX$219

-30.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.51 COP 23.9K

$9.36 MX$173

-19.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.91 COP 31.5K

$13.10 MX$242

-24.35%

Apples (1kg)

$3.41 COP 10.8K

$3.38 MX$62.4

0.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 COP 5,895

$1.52 MX$28.10

21.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,167

$2.19 MX$40.47

-11.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,633

$2.36 MX$43.58

-25.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.42 COP 4,529

$2.26 MX$41.72

-37.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 COP 4,519

$2.73 MX$50.5

-47.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 COP 4,244

$1.52 MX$28.14

-12.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 COP 3,770

$1.24 MX$22.88

-4.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 COP 13.7K

$4.75 MX$87.8

-9.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.60 COP 40.1K

$13.66 MX$252

-7.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 COP 4,589

$1.89 MX$34.92

-23.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 COP 9,155

$2.99 MX$55.1

-3.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.05 COP 3,335

$0.85 MX$15.76

23.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$571

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.39 COP 7,606

$1.68 MX$30.95

42.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.30 COP 7,320

$1.13 MX$20.85

103.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.66 COP 30.7K

$11.15 MX$206

-13.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,288

$1.56 MX$28.88

-13.46%

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

$23.2K COP 73.9M

$21.4K MX$395.4K

8.47%

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

$34.8K COP 110.6M

$25.1K MX$462.7K

38.73%

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

$125 COP 398.6K

$119 MX$2,204

4.98%

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

$16.32 COP 51.9K

$26.21 MX$484

-37.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.80 COP 94.8K

$26.78 MX$494

11.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.69 COP 123.0K

$31.03 MX$573

24.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$7.72 COP 24.6K

$5.29 MX$97.6

45.94%

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

$504 COP 1.6M

$691 MX$12.8K

-27.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,398 COP 23.5M

$11.5K MX$211.9K

-35.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$82.5 COP 262.5K

$72.3 MX$1,334

14.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.05 COP 152.8K

$42.72 MX$789

12.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$144 COP 457.6K

$110 MX$2,022

31.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 COP 335.0K

$117 MX$2,156

-9.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$559 COP 1.8M

$970 MX$17.9K

-42.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$413 COP 1.3M

$664 MX$12.3K

-37.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 COP 3.5M

$1,857 MX$34.3K

-40.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,002 COP 3.2M

$1,287 MX$23.8K

-22.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,854 COP 5.9M

$4,162 MX$76.8K

-55.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,770 COP 5.6M

$2,349 MX$43.4K

-24.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

1.78%

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

Last update for Neiva: October 12, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Neiva

$413 33.3%

Monterrey

$664 41.3% 60.8% $251

Groceries & Markets

Neiva

$263 21.2%

Monterrey

$310 19.3% 18.2% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Neiva

$171 13.8%

Monterrey

$172 10.7% 0.5% $0.9

Clothing & Footwear

Neiva

$171 13.8%

Monterrey

$154 9.6% 10.1% $17

Eating Out

Neiva

$151 12.2%

Monterrey

$225 14% 48.6% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Neiva

$54 4.4%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 23.1% $13

Getting Around

Neiva

$18 * 1.5%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 130% $24

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 $559 in Neiva and $970 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $42.00 in Neiva vs $50.0 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $263 vs $310 per month, with Neiva cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Neiva

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

04:32 4:32 AM

03:32 3:32 AM

1 h behind Neiva

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

357,392

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.42 USD

100 MXN = 4.84 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 3,181 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,562 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 18.46 MXN (100 MXN = 5.42 USD). 1 EUR = 20.67 MXN (100 MXN = 4.84 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Neiva Monterrey 3,680 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Neiva
Monterrey

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

Neiva vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Neiva and Monterrey differ by about 30% in total monthly costs ($1,241 vs $1,608 including rent). Neiva is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,862 in Neiva and $2,412 in Monterrey 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: $559 in Neiva versus $970 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $504 in Neiva versus $691 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Neiva – a meal for two runs $42.00 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,241 in Neiva versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Neiva but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Neiva 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.

Expats usually find Neiva gentler on the wallet – expenses run 30% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.