Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Popayan and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Popayan: $1,340 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Popayan
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Popayan Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Popayan

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Popayan versus $1,608 in Monterrey.

Popayan $1,340
Monterrey $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,023 in Popayan versus $2,521 in Monterrey.

Popayan $2,023
Monterrey $2,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,706 in Popayan versus $3,433 in Monterrey.

Popayan $2,706
Monterrey $3,433

Living in Popayan costs roughly 17% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Popayan is 1% below, Monterrey is 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.55 COP 20.8K

$13.85 MX$256

-52.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.13 COP 143.1K

$49.70 MX$918

-9.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.71 COP 27.6K

$11.05 MX$204

-21.18%

Cappuccino

$2.80 COP 8,877

$4.09 MX$75.6

-31.54%

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

$1.20 COP 3,793

$1.68 MX$30.97

-28.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 COP 3,234

$1.03 MX$18.98

-0.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.45 COP 10.9K

$2.40 MX$44.28

43.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.02 COP 12.8K

$4.35 MX$80.3

-7.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 COP 5,224

$1.92 MX$35.55

-14.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.49 COP 7,898

$2.94 MX$54.2

-15.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,338

$1.88 MX$34.66

-10.64%

Eggs

$3.13 COP 9,927

$2.55 MX$47.06

22.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.94 COP 22.0K

$11.84 MX$219

-41.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.05 COP 35.0K

$9.36 MX$173

18.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.39 COP 32.9K

$13.10 MX$242

-20.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.49 COP 11.1K

$3.38 MX$62.5

3.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,209

$1.52 MX$28.13

7.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 COP 5,805

$2.19 MX$40.51

-16.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,031

$2.36 MX$43.63

-32.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.33 COP 4,232

$2.26 MX$41.76

-41.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 COP 4,714

$2.73 MX$50.5

-45.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,572

$1.52 MX$28.17

-25.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 COP 3,183

$1.24 MX$22.90

-19.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.81 COP 12.1K

$4.75 MX$87.8

-19.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.86 COP 37.6K

$13.66 MX$252

-13.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,485

$1.89 MX$34.95

-25.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 COP 8,304

$2.99 MX$55.2

-12.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.05 COP 3,332

$0.85 MX$15.78

23.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.71 COP 5,413

$1.68 MX$30.98

1.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.27 COP 7,194

$1.13 MX$20.87

100.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.26 COP 29.4K

$11.15 MX$206

-16.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 COP 4,091

$1.56 MX$28.91

-17.31%

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

$25.7K COP 81.4M

$21.4K MX$395.8K

19.91%

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

$35.5K COP 112.5M

$25.1K MX$463.2K

41.62%

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

$136 COP 431.3K

$119 MX$2,206

13.95%

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

$11.34 COP 35.9K

$26.21 MX$484

-56.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.78 COP 84.9K

$26.78 MX$495

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.41 COP 109.1K

$31.03 MX$573

10.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$5.91 COP 18.8K

$5.29 MX$97.7

11.72%

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

$539 COP 1.7M

$691 MX$12.8K

-21.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,384 COP 23.4M

$11.5K MX$212.1K

-35.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.9 COP 250.1K

$72.3 MX$1,335

9.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.9 COP 189.8K

$42.72 MX$789

40.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$131 COP 414.9K

$110 MX$2,024

19.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 COP 363.3K

$117 MX$2,158

-1.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$554 COP 1.8M

$970 MX$17.9K

-42.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$513 COP 1.6M

$664 MX$12.3K

-22.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 COP 2.9M

$1,857 MX$34.3K

-51.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$874 COP 2.8M

$1,287 MX$23.8K

-32.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,101 COP 6.7M

$4,162 MX$76.9K

-49.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,896 COP 6.0M

$2,349 MX$43.4K

-19.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.58

11.79

-1.78%

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

Last update for Popayan: October 11, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Popayan

$513 38.3%

Monterrey

$664 41.3% 29.4% $151

Groceries & Markets

Popayan

$270 20.2%

Monterrey

$310 19.3% 15% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Popayan

$174 13%

Monterrey

$172 10.7% 1% $1.8

Clothing & Footwear

Popayan

$173 12.9%

Monterrey

$154 9.6% 11.2% $19

Eating Out

Popayan

$146 10.9%

Monterrey

$225 14% 53.5% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Popayan

$46 3.5%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 10% $4.6

Getting Around

Popayan

$17 * 1.3%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 142% $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 $554 in Popayan and $970 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $45.00 in Popayan vs $50.0 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $270 vs $310 per month, with Popayan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Popayan

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

00:20 12:20 AM

23:20 11:20 PM

1 h behind Popayan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

318,059

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Popayan Monterrey 3,620 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Popayan
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

Popayan vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Popayan and Monterrey differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $1,608 including rent). Popayan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,009 in Popayan 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: $554 in Popayan versus $970 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $539 in Popayan 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 Popayan – a meal for two runs $45.00 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,340 in Popayan versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Popayan but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Popayan 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 Popayan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.