Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oaxaca de Juarez and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Oaxaca de Juarez: $1,154 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Oaxaca de Juarez
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Oaxaca de Juarez Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Oaxaca de Juarez

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,154

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Oaxaca de Juarez 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 Oaxaca de Juarez and in Monterrey actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,154 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $1,608 in Monterrey.

Oaxaca de Juarez $1,154
Monterrey $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,781 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $2,521 in Monterrey.

Oaxaca de Juarez $1,781
Monterrey $2,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,408 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $3,433 in Monterrey.

Oaxaca de Juarez $2,408
Monterrey $3,433

Living in Oaxaca de Juarez costs roughly 28% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Oaxaca de Juarez is 15% below, Monterrey is 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.48 MX$120

$13.85 MX$256

-53.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.81 MX$606

$49.70 MX$918

-33.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.33 MX$154

$11.05 MX$204

-24.62%

Cappuccino

$2.82 MX$52.1

$4.09 MX$75.6

-31.05%

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

$1.51 MX$27.83

$1.68 MX$30.97

-10.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.79 MX$14.59

$1.03 MX$18.98

-23.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 MX$45.90

$2.40 MX$44.28

3.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.79 MX$70.0

$4.35 MX$80.3

-12.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 MX$24.59

$1.92 MX$35.55

-30.73%

White Bread (500g)

$3.13 MX$57.8

$2.94 MX$54.2

6.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.12 MX$20.62

$1.88 MX$34.66

-40.43%

Eggs

$1.74 MX$32.21

$2.55 MX$47.06

-31.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.44 MX$119

$11.84 MX$219

-45.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.49 MX$101

$9.36 MX$173

-41.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.27 MX$208

$13.10 MX$242

-13.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.46

$3.38 MX$62.5

-36.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 MX$22.80

$1.52 MX$28.13

-19.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.14

$2.19 MX$40.51

-13.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.53 MX$9.81

$2.36 MX$43.63

-77.54%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.18

$2.26 MX$41.76

-11.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$2.73 MX$50.5

-26.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 MX$20.58

$1.52 MX$28.17

-26.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 MX$17.46

$1.24 MX$22.90

-24.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.24 MX$78.3

$4.75 MX$87.8

-10.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.40 MX$174

$13.66 MX$252

-31.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 MX$27.11

$1.89 MX$34.95

-22.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 MX$48.64

$2.99 MX$55.2

-12.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.81

$0.85 MX$15.78

-37.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.89 MX$71.9

$1.68 MX$30.98

131.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.95 MX$36.12

$1.13 MX$20.87

72.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.89 MX$201

$11.15 MX$206

-2.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 MX$25.17

$1.56 MX$28.91

-12.82%

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

$21.4K MX$396.0K

$21.4K MX$395.8K

0.04%

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

$24.4K MX$450.4K

$25.1K MX$463.2K

-2.75%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$119 MX$2,206

-47.63%

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

$11.03 MX$204

$26.21 MX$484

-57.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.19 MX$447

$26.78 MX$495

-9.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.34 MX$819

$31.03 MX$573

42.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$5.58 MX$103

$5.29 MX$97.7

5.48%

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

$422 MX$7,795

$691 MX$12.8K

-38.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K MX$369.3K

$11.5K MX$212.1K

74.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 MX$988

$72.3 MX$1,335

-25.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.6 MX$1,138

$42.72 MX$789

44.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 MX$1,887

$110 MX$2,024

-6.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.3 MX$1,816

$117 MX$2,158

-15.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$696 MX$12.9K

$970 MX$17.9K

-28.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$481 MX$8,885

$664 MX$12.3K

-27.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 MX$22.3K

$1,857 MX$34.3K

-34.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$892 MX$16.5K

$1,287 MX$23.8K

-30.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 MX$76.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,349 MX$43.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.96

11.79

-7.04%

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

Last update for Oaxaca de Juarez: 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

Oaxaca de Juarez

$481 41.7%

Monterrey

$664 41.3% 38% $183

Groceries & Markets

Oaxaca de Juarez

$222 19.3%

Monterrey

$310 19.3% 39.7% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Oaxaca de Juarez

$142 12.3%

Monterrey

$154 9.6% 8.2% $12

Eating Out

Oaxaca de Juarez

$140 12.1%

Monterrey

$225 14% 60.5% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oaxaca de Juarez

$98 8.5%

Monterrey

$172 10.7% 76.4% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Oaxaca de Juarez

$56 4.8%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 25% $14

Getting Around

Oaxaca de Juarez

$16 * 1.4%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 164% $26

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 $696 in Oaxaca de Juarez and $970 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $33.00 in Oaxaca de Juarez vs $50.0 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $310 per month, with Oaxaca de Juarez cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Oaxaca de Juarez

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

05:49 5:49 AM

Same time as Oaxaca de Juarez

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

258,913

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Oaxaca de Juarez Monterrey 1,030 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Oaxaca de Juarez
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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

Oaxaca de Juarez vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Oaxaca de Juarez and Monterrey differ by about 39% in total monthly costs ($1,154 vs $1,608 including rent). Oaxaca de Juarez is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,731 in Oaxaca de Juarez 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: $696 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $970 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $422 in Oaxaca de Juarez 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 Oaxaca de Juarez – a meal for two runs $33.00 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,154 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Oaxaca de Juarez but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Oaxaca de Juarez 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, Oaxaca de Juarez 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 Oaxaca de Juarez gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.