Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oak Park, IL and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,599 a month against $2,585 in Oak Park, IL, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

124

Cost of Living Index in Oak Park, IL
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Oak Park, IL Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Oak Park, IL

🇺🇸 United States

$2,585

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Oak Park, IL 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 Oak Park, IL and in Monterrey actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,585 in Oak Park, IL versus $1,599 in Monterrey.

Oak Park, IL $2,585
Monterrey $1,599

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,781 in Oak Park, IL versus $2,493 in Monterrey.

Oak Park, IL $3,781
Monterrey $2,493

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,977 in Oak Park, IL versus $3,387 in Monterrey.

Oak Park, IL $4,977
Monterrey $3,387

Living in Oak Park, IL is roughly 62% more expensive than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Oak Park, IL 91% above, Monterrey 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.82 $19.82

$13.80 MX$255

43.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.3 $75.3

$47.99 MX$887

56.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.41 $11.41

$10.65 MX$197

7.14%

Cappuccino

$5.47 $5.47

$3.99 MX$73.7

37.09%

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

$2.72 $2.72

$1.66 MX$30.76

63.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 $1.96

$0.99 MX$18.21

97.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.04 $6.04

$2.36 MX$43.64

155.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.18 $7.18

$4.43 MX$81.8

62.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.82 MX$33.58

-43.96%

White Bread (500g)

$3.54 $3.54

$2.83 MX$52.4

25.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.22 $4.22

$1.92 MX$35.44

119.79%

Eggs

$4.12 $4.12

$2.48 MX$45.78

66.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.11 $14.11

$11.74 MX$217

20.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.34 $11.34

$9.10 MX$168

24.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.89 $16.89

$12.53 MX$232

34.80%

Apples (1kg)

$4.97 $4.97

$3.34 MX$61.6

48.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 $1.57

$1.57 MX$29.10

Oranges (1kg)

$4.41 $4.41

$2.16 MX$39.86

104.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 $4.47

$2.47 MX$45.65

80.97%

Potato (1kg)

$2.72 $2.72

$2.31 MX$42.64

17.75%

Onion (1kg)

$2.75 $2.75

$2.68 MX$49.47

2.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.92 $1.92

$1.46 MX$26.90

31.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.54 $2.54

$1.19 MX$22.07

113.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.26 $9.26

$4.75 MX$87.8

94.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.83 $14.83

$13.58 MX$251

9.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.23 $2.23

$1.92 MX$35.52

16.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 $3.46

$2.88 MX$53.2

20.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.71 $1.71

$0.79 MX$14.66

116.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 $2.68

$1.59 MX$29.44

68.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.98 $1.98

$1.06 MX$19.58

86.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.26 $33.26

$10.80 MX$200

207.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.55 MX$28.59

-32.90%

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

$25.9K $25.9K

$24.2K MX$446.4K

7.38%

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

$24.1K $24.1K

$24.3K MX$449.4K

-0.78%

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

$198 $198

$117 MX$2,159

69.18%

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

$59.2 $59.2

$26.38 MX$488

124.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.7 $70.7

$26.04 MX$481

171.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.92 $37.92

$30.26 MX$559

25.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.25 MX$393

Cinema Ticket

$12.41 $12.41

$5.23 MX$96.6

137.28%

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

$1,458 $1,458

$673 MX$12.4K

116.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.2K $23.2K

$11.1K MX$205.2K

108.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.1 $53.1

$72.1 MX$1,332

-26.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.71 $43.71

$42.38 MX$783

3.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.5 $87.5

$112 MX$2,066

-21.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 $124

$119 MX$2,200

3.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,575 $1,575

$949 MX$17.5K

66.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,312 $1,312

$666 MX$12.3K

96.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,550 $2,550

$1,821 MX$33.7K

40.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,168 $2,168

$1,271 MX$23.5K

70.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,118 $3,118

$4,050 MX$74.8K

-23.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,251 $2,251

$2,348 MX$43.4K

-4.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,703 $5,703

$1,155 MX$21.3K

393.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.57

11.79

-44.27%

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

Last update for Oak Park, IL: October 19, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Oak Park, IL

$1.3K 50.8%

Monterrey

$666 41.7% 49.2% $646

Groceries & Markets

Oak Park, IL

$403 15.6%

Monterrey

$304 19% 24.4% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oak Park, IL

$328 12.7%

Monterrey

$169 10.6% 48.3% $158

Eating Out

Oak Park, IL

$322 12.5%

Monterrey

$221 13.9% 31.2% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Oak Park, IL

$139 5.4%

Monterrey

$155 9.7% 12.1% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Oak Park, IL

$63 2.4%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 35.1% $22

Getting Around

Oak Park, IL

$19 * 0.8%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 113% $22

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 $1,575 in Oak Park, IL and $949 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Oak Park, IL pays 394% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $75.0 in Oak Park, IL vs $48.00 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $403 vs $304 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Oak Park, IL

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

11:17 11:17 AM

10:17 10:17 AM

1 h behind Oak Park, IL

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

54,583

1,142,994

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Oak Park, IL Monterrey 2,140 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Oak Park, IL
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

Oak Park, IL vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Oak Park, IL and Monterrey differ by about 62% in total monthly costs ($2,585 vs $1,599 including rent). Monterrey is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 394% higher in Oak Park, IL, 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: $1,575 in Oak Park, IL versus $949 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,458 in Oak Park, IL versus $673 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 $48.00 versus $75.0 in Oak Park, IL. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,599 in Monterrey versus $2,585 in Oak Park, IL, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Monterrey but tight or insufficient in Oak Park, IL. The gap between the two cities makes Monterrey 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.

Safety-wise, Oak Park, IL and Monterrey are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Monterrey gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Oak Park, IL. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.