Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rosarito and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Rosarito: $1,177 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Rosarito
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Rosarito Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Rosarito

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,177

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,177 in Rosarito versus $1,599 in Monterrey.

Rosarito $1,177
Monterrey $1,599

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,869 in Rosarito versus $2,493 in Monterrey.

Rosarito $1,869
Monterrey $2,493

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,561 in Rosarito versus $3,387 in Monterrey.

Rosarito $2,561
Monterrey $3,387

Living in Rosarito costs roughly 26% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rosarito is 13% below, Monterrey is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.45 MX$230

$13.80 MX$255

-9.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.84 MX$625

$47.99 MX$887

-29.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 MX$178

$10.65 MX$197

-9.30%

Cappuccino

$4.32 MX$79.9

$3.99 MX$73.7

8.27%

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

$1.43 MX$26.48

$1.66 MX$30.76

-13.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.96

$0.99 MX$18.21

25.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.0

$2.36 MX$43.64

37.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.69 MX$124

$4.43 MX$81.8

51.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 MX$33.73

$1.82 MX$33.58

0.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$54.3

$2.83 MX$52.4

3.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 MX$31.87

$1.92 MX$35.44

-10.42%

Eggs

$3.15 MX$58.3

$2.48 MX$45.78

27.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.58 MX$159

$11.74 MX$217

-26.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.28 MX$135

$9.10 MX$168

-20.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.74 MX$217

$12.53 MX$232

-6.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 MX$51.7

$3.34 MX$61.6

-16.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 MX$29.59

$1.57 MX$29.10

1.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.67

$2.16 MX$39.86

-12.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.43

$2.47 MX$45.65

-33.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 MX$28.92

$2.31 MX$42.64

-32.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 MX$33.86

$2.68 MX$49.47

-31.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 MX$28.25

$1.46 MX$26.90

4.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$19.89

$1.19 MX$22.07

-9.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.36 MX$80.6

$4.75 MX$87.8

-8.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.26 MX$153

$13.58 MX$251

-39.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.25 MX$41.65

$1.92 MX$35.52

17.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.01 MX$74.2

$2.88 MX$53.2

39.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.65 MX$11.96

$0.79 MX$14.66

-17.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.83 MX$52.3

$1.59 MX$29.44

77.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.22 MX$41.04

$1.06 MX$19.58

109.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.87 MX$201

$10.80 MX$200

0.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 MX$23.94

$1.55 MX$28.59

-16.13%

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

$21.2K MX$392.4K

$24.2K MX$446.4K

-12.09%

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

$24.0K MX$443.6K

$24.3K MX$449.4K

-1.29%

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

$46.78 MX$864

$117 MX$2,159

-59.95%

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

$34.02 MX$629

$26.38 MX$488

28.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.01 MX$555

$26.04 MX$481

15.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.20 MX$632

$30.26 MX$559

13.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.14 MX$372

$21.25 MX$393

-5.22%

Cinema Ticket

$6.61 MX$122

$5.23 MX$96.6

26.39%

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

$202 MX$3,739

$673 MX$12.4K

-69.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,641 MX$85.8K

$11.1K MX$205.2K

-58.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 MX$1,002

$72.1 MX$1,332

-24.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.29 MX$837

$42.38 MX$783

6.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 MX$1,884

$112 MX$2,066

-8.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.9 MX$1,292

$119 MX$2,200

-41.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$618 MX$11.4K

$949 MX$17.5K

-34.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$393 MX$7,256

$666 MX$12.3K

-41.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$1,821 MX$33.7K

-42.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$767 MX$14.2K

$1,271 MX$23.5K

-39.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,921 MX$35.5K

$4,050 MX$74.8K

-52.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,150 MX$21.2K

$2,348 MX$43.4K

-51.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 MX$21.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.07

11.79

2.37%

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

Last update for Rosarito: October 18, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rosarito

$393 33.4%

Monterrey

$666 41.7% 69.7% $274

Groceries & Markets

Rosarito

$267 22.7%

Monterrey

$304 19% 14% $37

Eating Out

Rosarito

$221 18.8%

Monterrey

$221 13.9% 0.3% $0.7

Clothing & Footwear

Rosarito

$122 10.4%

Monterrey

$155 9.7% 27.2% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rosarito

$111 9.4%

Monterrey

$169 10.6% 52.7% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Rosarito

$47 4%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 14.2% $6.7

Getting Around

Rosarito

$17 * 1.4%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 151% $25

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 $618 in Rosarito and $949 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $34.00 in Rosarito vs $48.00 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $304 per month, with Rosarito cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Rosarito

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

11:36 11:36 AM

12:36 12:36 PM

1 h ahead of Rosarito

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

100,660

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

On the map

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Between locations

Rosarito Monterrey 1,790 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Rosarito
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

Rosarito vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rosarito and Monterrey differ by about 36% in total monthly costs ($1,177 vs $1,599 including rent). Rosarito is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,766 in Rosarito and $2,399 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: $618 in Rosarito versus $949 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $202 in Rosarito versus $673 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Rosarito – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $48.00 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,177 in Rosarito versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Rosarito but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Rosarito 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 Rosarito gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.