Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Bedford, MA and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,641 a month against $2,774 in New Bedford, MA, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

132

Cost of Living Index in New Bedford, MA
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New Bedford, MA Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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New Bedford, MA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,774

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in New Bedford, MA 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 New Bedford, MA and in Monterrey actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,774 in New Bedford, MA versus $1,641 in Monterrey.

New Bedford, MA $2,774
Monterrey $1,641

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,848 in New Bedford, MA versus $2,573 in Monterrey.

New Bedford, MA $3,848
Monterrey $2,573

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,921 in New Bedford, MA versus $3,504 in Monterrey.

New Bedford, MA $4,921
Monterrey $3,504

Living in New Bedford, MA is roughly 69% more expensive than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: New Bedford, MA 105% above, Monterrey 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.61 $19.61

$13.37 MX$250

46.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.5 $60.5

$47.95 MX$897

26.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.83 $5.83

$10.79 MX$202

-45.97%

Cappuccino

$3.89 $3.89

$3.77 MX$70.4

3.18%

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

$2.26 $2.26

$1.51 MX$28.26

49.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 $1.29

$1.03 MX$19.25

25.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.97 $5.97

$2.48 MX$46.41

140.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 $3.91

$4.36 MX$81.5

-10.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 $1.05

$1.89 MX$35.43

-44.44%

White Bread (500g)

$4.48 $4.48

$2.85 MX$53.3

57.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$16.29 $16.29

$1.86 MX$34.71

775.81%

Eggs

$6.47 $6.47

$2.47 MX$46.12

161.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.42 $10.42

$11.81 MX$221

-11.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.47 $10.47

$8.97 MX$168

16.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.43 $19.43

$12.57 MX$235

54.57%

Apples (1kg)

$5.44 $5.44

$3.20 MX$59.8

70.00%

Banana (1kg)

$4.31 $4.31

$1.50 MX$28.12

187.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.33 $3.33

$2.12 MX$39.74

57.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.15 $3.15

$2.33 MX$43.64

35.19%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 $2.24

$2.22 MX$41.58

0.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.39 $2.39

$2.58 MX$48.34

-7.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.63 $2.63

$1.45 MX$27.04

81.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 $2.82

$1.22 MX$22.85

131.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.74 $12.74

$4.80 MX$89.7

165.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.07 $17.07

$13.30 MX$249

28.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 $1.81

$1.93 MX$36.14

-6.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 $2.75

$2.86 MX$53.4

-3.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.94

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.94 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 $3.71

$1.83 MX$34.28

102.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.19 $2.19

$1.06 MX$19.78

106.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$48.09 $48.09

$10.82 MX$202

344.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 $1.08

$1.47 MX$27.54

-26.53%

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

$27.3K $27.3K

$24.1K MX$450.4K

13.46%

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

$26.3K $26.3K

$23.5K MX$440.2K

11.71%

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

$196 $196

$115 MX$2,144

70.78%

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

$37.66 $37.66

$26.37 MX$493

42.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$61.1 $61.1

$25.70 MX$481

137.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.22 $29.22

$30.53 MX$571

-4.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.27 MX$398

Cinema Ticket

$12.30 $12.30

$4.96 MX$92.8

147.98%

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

$2,163 $2,163

$679 MX$12.7K

218.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$34.0K $34.0K

$14.2K MX$265.3K

139.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.99 $37.99

$72.2 MX$1,350

-47.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.41 $16.41

$41.94 MX$784

-60.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.8 $98.8

$107 MX$2,011

-8.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,219

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,798 $1,798

$1,018 MX$19.0K

76.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 $1,594

$722 MX$13.5K

120.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,647 $2,647

$1,966 MX$36.8K

34.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,369 $2,369

$1,416 MX$26.5K

67.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,203 MX$78.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,782 MX$52.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,565 $4,565

$1,096 MX$20.5K

316.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.42

11.79

-54.03%

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

Last update for New Bedford, MA: October 31, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

New Bedford, MA

$1.6K 57.5%

Monterrey

$722 44% 54.7% $872

Groceries & Markets

New Bedford, MA

$475 17.1%

Monterrey

$302 18.4% 36.4% $173

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Bedford, MA

$294 10.6%

Monterrey

$167 10.2% 43.4% $128

Eating Out

New Bedford, MA

$273 9.8%

Monterrey

$216 13.2% 20.9% $57

Clothing & Footwear

New Bedford, MA

$69 * 2.5%

Monterrey

$153 9.3% 122% $84

Sport & Entertainment

New Bedford, MA

$54 1.9%

Monterrey

$40 2.5% 24.8% $13

Getting Around

New Bedford, MA

$15 * 0.5%

Monterrey

$41 2.5% 182% $27

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 $1,798 in New Bedford, MA and $1,018 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

New Bedford, MA pays about 4.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $60 in New Bedford, MA vs $48 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $475 vs $302 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 New Bedford, MA

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

16:15 4:15 PM

15:15 3:15 PM

1 h behind New Bedford, MA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

92,538

1,142,994

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.895 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.895 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.9 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

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New Bedford, MA Monterrey 3,220 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

New Bedford, MA
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

New Bedford, MA vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,774 in New Bedford, MA and $1,641 in Monterrey, so Monterrey is about 41% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in New Bedford, MA is about 4.2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,798 in New Bedford, MA versus $1,018 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,163 in New Bedford, MA versus $679 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Monterrey – a meal for two runs $48 versus $60 in New Bedford, MA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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 – Monterrey wins on affordability, New Bedford, MA on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.