Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Queretaro and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Queretaro: $1,395 a month against $1,647 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Queretaro
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Queretaro Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Queretaro

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,395

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,395 in Queretaro versus $1,647 in Monterrey.

Queretaro $1,395
Monterrey $1,647

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,130 in Queretaro versus $2,591 in Monterrey.

Queretaro $2,130
Monterrey $2,591

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,866 in Queretaro versus $3,536 in Monterrey.

Queretaro $2,866
Monterrey $3,536

Living in Queretaro costs roughly 15% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Queretaro 3% above, Monterrey 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.58 MX$197

$13.45 MX$251

-21.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.4 MX$1,144

$48.43 MX$903

26.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.36 MX$174

$10.90 MX$203

-14.13%

Cappuccino

$3.59 MX$66.9

$3.82 MX$71.2

-6.02%

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

$1.57 MX$29.23

$1.67 MX$31.06

-5.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.28

$0.98 MX$18.32

5.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.16 MX$58.8

$2.35 MX$43.81

34.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.28 MX$98.5

$4.41 MX$82.2

19.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.83

$1.80 MX$33.58

6.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.60 MX$48.53

$2.79 MX$52.1

-6.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.94

$1.82 MX$34.02

6.04%

Eggs

$2.61 MX$48.72

$2.51 MX$46.84

3.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.82 MX$164

$12.09 MX$225

-27.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.58 MX$160

$9.41 MX$175

-8.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.65 MX$255

$12.71 MX$237

7.40%

Apples (1kg)

$3.32 MX$61.9

$3.21 MX$59.8

3.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.20

$1.50 MX$27.92

4.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.11 MX$39.41

$2.14 MX$39.97

-1.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.94

$2.32 MX$43.28

-16.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.81 MX$33.83

$2.20 MX$41.04

-17.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 MX$33.39

$2.60 MX$48.43

-31.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 MX$27.15

$1.44 MX$26.85

1.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.38

$1.17 MX$21.88

2.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.57 MX$85.3

$4.79 MX$89.3

-4.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.26 MX$322

$13.22 MX$247

30.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 MX$40.97

$1.94 MX$36.21

13.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.89 MX$72.5

$2.89 MX$53.8

34.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.62

$0.87 MX$16.26

-34.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.09 MX$449

$31.14 MX$581

-22.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 MX$61.2

$1.66 MX$30.88

97.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.59 MX$48.28

$1.09 MX$20.39

137.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.97 MX$204

$10.67 MX$199

2.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.44

$1.47 MX$27.47

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

$24.2K MX$450.4K

$24.2K MX$451.9K

-0.34%

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

$22.8K MX$425.6K

$23.6K MX$439.1K

-3.08%

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

$55.9 MX$1,043

$118 MX$2,197

-52.54%

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

$26.29 MX$490

$25.55 MX$476

2.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.64 MX$459

$26.43 MX$493

-6.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.48 MX$885

$30.77 MX$574

54.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.17 MX$450

$21.07 MX$393

14.71%

Cinema Ticket

$7.06 MX$132

$5.09 MX$94.9

38.70%

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

$262 MX$4,888

$694 MX$12.9K

-62.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,028 MX$93.7K

$11.3K MX$211.0K

-55.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.1 MX$972

$72.5 MX$1,351

-28.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.86 MX$836

$41.51 MX$774

8.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.9 MX$1,862

$110 MX$2,046

-8.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.8 MX$1,768

$115 MX$2,143

-17.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$842 MX$15.7K

$1,056 MX$19.7K

-20.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$560 MX$10.4K

$721 MX$13.4K

-22.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,447 MX$27.0K

$1,999 MX$37.3K

-27.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$836 MX$15.6K

$1,435 MX$26.7K

-41.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,019 MX$37.6K

$4,219 MX$78.7K

-52.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,122 MX$20.9K

$2,731 MX$50.9K

-58.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$951 MX$17.7K

$1,149 MX$21.4K

-17.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.99

11.79

1.70%

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

Last update for Queretaro: October 24, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Queretaro

$560 40.1%

Monterrey

$721 43.8% 28.9% $162

Groceries & Markets

Queretaro

$300 21.5%

Monterrey

$303 18.4% 1% $3.1

Eating Out

Queretaro

$193 13.8%

Monterrey

$217 13.2% 12.9% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Queretaro

$131 9.4%

Monterrey

$152 9.3% 16.1% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Queretaro

$107 7.7%

Monterrey

$170 10.3% 58.9% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Queretaro

$62 4.4%

Monterrey

$41 2.5% 33.5% $21

Getting Around

Queretaro

$43 3.1%

Monterrey

$42 2.5% 2% $0.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $842 in Queretaro and $1,056 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 21% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Queretaro vs $48 in Monterrey. Groceries flip the comparison at $300 vs $303, with Queretaro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Queretaro

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

16:57 4:57 PM

Same time as Queretaro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

804,663

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Queretaro Monterrey 570 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Queretaro
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

Queretaro vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,395 in Queretaro and $1,647 in Monterrey, so Queretaro is about 15% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 17% lower in Queretaro. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $842 in Queretaro versus $1,056 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $262 in Queretaro versus $694 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 versus $61 in Queretaro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Queretaro is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Queretaro wins on affordability, Monterrey on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.