Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Fernando and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in San Fernando: $1,130 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in San Fernando
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San Fernando Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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San Fernando

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,130

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,130 in San Fernando versus $1,599 in Monterrey.

San Fernando $1,130
Monterrey $1,599

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,832 in San Fernando versus $2,493 in Monterrey.

San Fernando $1,832
Monterrey $2,493

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,534 in San Fernando versus $3,387 in Monterrey.

San Fernando $2,534
Monterrey $3,387

Living in San Fernando costs roughly 29% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Fernando is 17% below, Monterrey is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$13.80 MX$255

-22.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.30 MX$800

$47.99 MX$887

-9.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 MX$156

$10.65 MX$197

-20.94%

Cappuccino

$3.63 MX$67.0

$3.99 MX$73.7

-9.02%

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

$1.42 MX$26.21

$1.66 MX$30.76

-14.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.06 MX$19.52

$0.99 MX$18.21

7.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.42 MX$44.65

$2.36 MX$43.64

2.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.15 MX$76.7

$4.43 MX$81.8

-6.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 MX$29.59

$1.82 MX$33.58

-12.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.68 MX$49.57

$2.83 MX$52.4

-5.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 MX$31.53

$1.92 MX$35.44

-10.94%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.78

$2.48 MX$45.78

2.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 MX$151

$11.74 MX$217

-30.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.27 MX$153

$9.10 MX$168

-9.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.60 MX$214

$12.53 MX$232

-7.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.67 MX$49.25

$3.34 MX$61.6

-20.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 MX$29.50

$1.57 MX$29.10

1.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 MX$36.32

$2.16 MX$39.86

-8.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.84 MX$33.96

$2.47 MX$45.65

-25.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 MX$36.36

$2.31 MX$42.64

-14.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.57

$2.68 MX$49.47

-32.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.41

$1.46 MX$26.90

-2.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 MX$21.00

$1.19 MX$22.07

-4.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.32 MX$79.9

$4.75 MX$87.8

-9.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.48 MX$194

$13.58 MX$251

-22.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 MX$33.11

$1.92 MX$35.52

-6.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 MX$59.2

$2.88 MX$53.2

11.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 MX$11.85

$0.79 MX$14.66

-18.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.56 MX$47.39

$1.59 MX$29.44

61.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.01 MX$37.15

$1.06 MX$19.58

89.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.82 MX$200

$10.80 MX$200

0.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 MX$27.45

$1.55 MX$28.59

-3.87%

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

$21.0K MX$387.5K

$24.2K MX$446.4K

-13.18%

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

$23.7K MX$438.6K

$24.3K MX$449.4K

-2.40%

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

$57.0 MX$1,054

$117 MX$2,159

-51.19%

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

$22.91 MX$423

$26.38 MX$488

-13.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.54 MX$546

$26.04 MX$481

13.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.60 MX$621

$30.26 MX$559

11.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.12 MX$372

$21.25 MX$393

-5.32%

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 MX$96.6

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

$220 MX$4,060

$673 MX$12.4K

-67.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,534 MX$83.8K

$11.1K MX$205.2K

-59.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.3 MX$1,003

$72.1 MX$1,332

-24.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.69 MX$752

$42.38 MX$783

-3.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.8 MX$1,825

$112 MX$2,066

-11.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.3 MX$1,669

$119 MX$2,200

-24.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$612 MX$11.3K

$949 MX$17.5K

-35.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$383 MX$7,076

$666 MX$12.3K

-42.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 MX$19.0K

$1,821 MX$33.7K

-43.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$779 MX$14.4K

$1,271 MX$23.5K

-38.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,910 MX$35.3K

$4,050 MX$74.8K

-52.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,160 MX$21.4K

$2,348 MX$43.4K

-50.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 MX$21.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.79

-4.16%

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

Last update for San Fernando: October 17, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Fernando

$383 33.9%

Monterrey

$666 41.7% 74% $283

Groceries & Markets

San Fernando

$266 23.5%

Monterrey

$304 19% 14.6% $39

Eating Out

San Fernando

$185 16.4%

Monterrey

$221 13.9% 19.7% $36

Clothing & Footwear

San Fernando

$128 11.3%

Monterrey

$155 9.7% 21.6% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Fernando

$109 9.7%

Monterrey

$169 10.6% 54.6% $60

Sport & Entertainment

San Fernando

$44 3.9%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 7.6% $3.3

Getting Around

San Fernando

$15 * 1.3%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 173% $26

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 $612 in San Fernando and $949 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43.00 in San Fernando vs $48.00 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $304 per month, with San Fernando cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 San Fernando

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

02:13 2:13 AM

Same time as San Fernando

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,867

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

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Between locations

San Fernando Monterrey 1,220 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

San Fernando
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

San Fernando vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Fernando and Monterrey differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($1,130 vs $1,599 including rent). San Fernando is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,695 in San Fernando 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: $612 in San Fernando versus $949 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $220 in San Fernando 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 San Fernando – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $48.00 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,130 in San Fernando versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Fernando but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes San Fernando 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 San Fernando gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.