Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ocho Rios and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Ocho Rios: $1,089 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Ocho Rios
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Ocho Rios Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Ocho Rios

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,089

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,089 in Ocho Rios versus $1,608 in Monterrey.

Ocho Rios $1,089
Monterrey $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,565 in Ocho Rios versus $2,521 in Monterrey.

Ocho Rios $1,565
Monterrey $2,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,040 in Ocho Rios versus $3,433 in Monterrey.

Ocho Rios $2,040
Monterrey $3,433

Living in Ocho Rios costs roughly 32% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.32 JMD 1,473

$13.85 MX$256

-32.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.4 JMD 10.0K

$49.70 MX$918

27.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.73 JMD 1,063

$11.05 MX$204

-39.10%

Cappuccino

$3.07 JMD 486

$4.09 MX$75.6

-24.94%

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

$1.16 JMD 183

$1.68 MX$30.97

-30.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 JMD 107

$1.03 MX$18.98

-34.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.22 JMD 350

$2.40 MX$44.28

-7.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 JMD 486

$4.35 MX$80.3

-29.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.94 JMD 623

$1.92 MX$35.55

105.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 JMD 439

$2.94 MX$54.2

-5.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 JMD 255

$1.88 MX$34.66

-14.36%

Eggs

$3.58 JMD 566

$2.55 MX$47.06

40.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 JMD 1,813

$11.84 MX$219

-3.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.19 JMD 978

$9.36 MX$173

-33.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.14 JMD 1,602

$13.10 MX$242

-22.60%

Apples (1kg)

$5.86 JMD 926

$3.38 MX$62.5

73.37%

Banana (1kg)

$3.12 JMD 493

$1.52 MX$28.13

105.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.42 JMD 1,015

$2.19 MX$40.51

193.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.44 JMD 385

$2.36 MX$43.63

3.39%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 JMD 518

$2.26 MX$41.76

45.13%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 JMD 401

$2.73 MX$50.5

-6.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.85 JMD 451

$1.52 MX$28.17

87.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 JMD 221

$1.24 MX$22.90

12.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.54 JMD 1,349

$4.75 MX$87.8

79.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.25 JMD 1,462

$13.66 MX$252

-32.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.88 JMD 454

$1.89 MX$34.95

52.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.86 JMD 609

$2.99 MX$55.2

29.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.95 JMD 151

$0.85 MX$15.78

11.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 JMD 193

$1.68 MX$30.98

-27.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.22 JMD 509

$1.13 MX$20.87

184.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.33 JMD 1,000

$11.15 MX$206

-43.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 JMD 227

$1.56 MX$28.91

-8.33%

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

$43.7K JMD 6.9M

$21.4K MX$395.8K

103.95%

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

$33.1K JMD 5.2M

$25.1K MX$463.2K

31.89%

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

$169 JMD 26.7K

$119 MX$2,206

41.34%

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

$19.74 JMD 3,118

$26.21 MX$484

-24.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 JMD 8,471

$26.78 MX$495

100.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$11.47 JMD 1,812

$5.29 MX$97.7

116.82%

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

$358 JMD 56.6K

$691 MX$12.8K

-48.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,091 JMD 1.3M

$11.5K MX$212.1K

-29.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.39 JMD 3,696

$72.3 MX$1,335

-67.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.00 JMD 4,897

$42.72 MX$789

-27.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.2 JMD 12.0K

$110 MX$2,024

-30.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 JMD 16.4K

$117 MX$2,158

-11.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$378 JMD 59.7K

$970 MX$17.9K

-61.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 JMD 29.7K

$664 MX$12.3K

-71.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,857 MX$34.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 MX$23.8K

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 %)

9.45

11.79

-19.85%

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

Last update for Ocho Rios: October 11, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ocho Rios

$353 32.4%

Monterrey

$310 19.3% 12.1% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ocho Rios

$242 22.2%

Monterrey

$172 10.7% 28.8% $70

Accommodation & Living

Ocho Rios

$188 17.3%

Monterrey

$664 41.3% 253% $476

Eating Out

Ocho Rios

$156 14.3%

Monterrey

$225 14% 43.7% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Ocho Rios

$105 9.7%

Monterrey

$154 9.6% 45.8% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Ocho Rios

$23 * 2.1%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 81.4% $19

Getting Around

Ocho Rios

$21 * 1.9%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 97.3% $21

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 $378 in Ocho Rios and $970 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $63.0 in Ocho Rios vs $50.0 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $353 vs $310 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Ocho Rios

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

19:10 7:10 PM

18:10 6:10 PM

1 h behind Ocho Rios

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

26,503

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ocho Rios Monterrey 2,520 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ocho Rios
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

Ocho Rios vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ocho Rios and Monterrey differ by about 48% in total monthly costs ($1,089 vs $1,608 including rent). Ocho Rios is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,634 in Ocho Rios 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: $378 in Ocho Rios versus $970 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $358 in Ocho Rios 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 Ocho Rios – a meal for two runs $63.0 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,089 in Ocho Rios versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ocho Rios but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Ocho Rios 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 Ocho Rios gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.