Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portmore and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Portmore: $1,246 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Monterrey outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

61

Cost of Living Index in Portmore
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Portmore Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Portmore

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,246

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,246 in Portmore versus $1,608 in Monterrey.

Portmore $1,246
Monterrey $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,073 in Portmore versus $2,521 in Monterrey.

Portmore $2,073
Monterrey $2,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,900 in Portmore versus $3,433 in Monterrey.

Portmore $2,900
Monterrey $3,433

Living in Portmore costs roughly 23% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Portmore is 8% below, Monterrey is 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.15 JMD 1,603

$13.85 MX$256

-26.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.3 JMD 10.0K

$49.70 MX$918

27.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.04 JMD 1,270

$11.05 MX$204

-27.24%

Cappuccino

$5.43 JMD 859

$4.09 MX$75.6

32.76%

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

$0.90 JMD 143

$1.68 MX$30.97

-46.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 JMD 104

$1.03 MX$18.98

-35.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.18 JMD 345

$2.40 MX$44.28

-9.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 JMD 342

$4.35 MX$80.3

-50.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.02 JMD 478

$1.92 MX$35.55

57.29%

White Bread (500g)

$3.49 JMD 551

$2.94 MX$54.2

18.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 JMD 161

$1.88 MX$34.66

-45.74%

Eggs

$3.61 JMD 571

$2.55 MX$47.06

41.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.52 JMD 1,821

$11.84 MX$219

-2.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.30 JMD 996

$9.36 MX$173

-32.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.43 JMD 1,490

$13.10 MX$242

-28.02%

Apples (1kg)

$5.99 JMD 946

$3.38 MX$62.5

77.22%

Banana (1kg)

$3.93 JMD 620

$1.52 MX$28.13

158.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 JMD 468

$2.19 MX$40.51

35.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.01 JMD 476

$2.36 MX$43.63

27.54%

Potato (1kg)

$3.30 JMD 521

$2.26 MX$41.76

46.02%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 JMD 411

$2.73 MX$50.5

-4.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.59 JMD 251

$1.52 MX$28.17

4.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 JMD 199

$1.24 MX$22.90

1.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.64 JMD 1,523

$4.75 MX$87.8

102.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.24 JMD 1,776

$13.66 MX$252

-17.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 JMD 444

$1.89 MX$34.95

48.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 JMD 356

$2.99 MX$55.2

-24.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.29 JMD 361

$0.85 MX$15.78

169.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 JMD 7,931

$30.95 MX$572

62.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.96 JMD 152

$1.68 MX$30.98

-42.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.09 JMD 488

$1.13 MX$20.87

173.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.24 JMD 985

$11.15 MX$206

-44.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 JMD 187

$1.56 MX$28.91

-24.36%

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

$43.1K JMD 6.8M

$21.4K MX$395.8K

101.16%

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

$32.3K JMD 5.1M

$25.1K MX$463.2K

28.93%

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

$155 JMD 24.5K

$119 MX$2,206

29.68%

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

$29.01 JMD 4,583

$26.21 MX$484

10.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.7 JMD 8,322

$26.78 MX$495

96.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.2 JMD 9,503

$31.03 MX$573

93.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$13.38 JMD 2,114

$5.29 MX$97.7

152.93%

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

$285 JMD 45.1K

$691 MX$12.8K

-58.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,143 JMD 496.5K

$11.5K MX$212.1K

-72.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.25 JMD 3,674

$72.3 MX$1,335

-67.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.94 JMD 4,889

$42.72 MX$789

-27.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.7 JMD 12.4K

$110 MX$2,024

-28.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.5 JMD 14.9K

$117 MX$2,158

-19.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$307 JMD 48.6K

$970 MX$17.9K

-68.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$216 JMD 34.1K

$664 MX$12.3K

-67.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$656 JMD 103.7K

$1,857 MX$34.3K

-64.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$590 JMD 93.3K

$1,287 MX$23.8K

-54.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,466 JMD 1.2M

$4,162 MX$76.9K

79.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,702 JMD 900.9K

$2,349 MX$43.4K

142.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,301 JMD 205.5K

$1,146 MX$21.2K

13.48%

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 Portmore: October 10, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Portmore

$336 27%

Monterrey

$310 19.3% 7.6% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portmore

$237 19%

Monterrey

$172 10.7% 27.1% $64

Accommodation & Living

Portmore

$216 17.3%

Monterrey

$664 41.3% 207% $448

Eating Out

Portmore

$192 15.4%

Monterrey

$225 14% 16.9% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Portmore

$102 8.2%

Monterrey

$154 9.6% 50.1% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Portmore

$87 7%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 52.1% $45

Getting Around

Portmore

$76 6.1%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 45% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $307 in Portmore and $970 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Portmore pays 13% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $63.0 in Portmore vs $50.0 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $336 vs $310 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Portmore

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

19:52 7:52 PM

18:52 6:52 PM

1 h behind Portmore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

170,000

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 19, 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 19, 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

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Highest

Between locations

Portmore Monterrey 2,560 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Portmore
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

Portmore vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Portmore and Monterrey differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($1,246 vs $1,608 including rent). Portmore is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 13% higher in Portmore, 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: $307 in Portmore versus $970 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Portmore – 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.

All in, you'll spend $1,246 per month in Portmore versus $1,608 in Monterrey – a 29% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,246 in Portmore versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Portmore but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Portmore 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 Portmore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.