Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan de Pasto and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan de Pasto: $1,371 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in San Juan de Pasto
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San Juan de Pasto Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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San Juan de Pasto

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,371

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto versus $1,608 in Monterrey.

San Juan de Pasto $1,371
Monterrey $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,031 in San Juan de Pasto versus $2,521 in Monterrey.

San Juan de Pasto $2,031
Monterrey $2,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,691 in San Juan de Pasto versus $3,433 in Monterrey.

San Juan de Pasto $2,691
Monterrey $3,433

Living in San Juan de Pasto 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: San Juan de Pasto 2% above, Monterrey 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.63 COP 21.0K

$13.85 MX$256

-52.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.64 COP 144.7K

$49.70 MX$918

-8.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 COP 31.6K

$11.05 MX$204

-9.86%

Cappuccino

$2.57 COP 8,146

$4.09 MX$75.6

-37.16%

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

$1.56 COP 4,948

$1.68 MX$30.97

-7.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 COP 2,715

$1.03 MX$18.98

-16.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.07 COP 9,733

$2.40 MX$44.28

27.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.05 COP 12.9K

$4.35 MX$80.3

-6.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 COP 4,538

$1.92 MX$35.55

-25.52%

White Bread (500g)

$2.41 COP 7,629

$2.94 MX$54.2

-18.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 COP 5,795

$1.88 MX$34.66

-2.66%

Eggs

$3.33 COP 10.6K

$2.55 MX$47.06

30.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.27 COP 23.1K

$11.84 MX$219

-38.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.06 COP 35.1K

$9.36 MX$173

18.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.41 COP 42.5K

$13.10 MX$242

2.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.58 COP 11.3K

$3.38 MX$62.5

5.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 COP 4,426

$1.52 MX$28.13

-7.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 COP 6,359

$2.19 MX$40.51

-8.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.78 COP 5,640

$2.36 MX$43.63

-24.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 COP 4,481

$2.26 MX$41.76

-37.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 COP 4,041

$2.73 MX$50.5

-53.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 COP 3,566

$1.52 MX$28.17

-26.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 COP 3,555

$1.24 MX$22.90

-9.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.65 COP 11.6K

$4.75 MX$87.8

-23.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.43 COP 42.6K

$13.66 MX$252

-1.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 COP 4,635

$1.89 MX$34.95

-22.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 COP 8,670

$2.99 MX$55.2

-8.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.07 COP 3,390

$0.85 MX$15.78

25.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.61 COP 5,102

$1.68 MX$30.98

-4.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.39 COP 7,590

$1.13 MX$20.87

111.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.04 COP 28.7K

$11.15 MX$206

-18.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 COP 3,770

$1.56 MX$28.91

-23.72%

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

$22.6K COP 71.7M

$21.4K MX$395.8K

5.55%

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

$32.0K COP 101.4M

$25.1K MX$463.2K

27.57%

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

$124 COP 392.5K

$119 MX$2,206

3.69%

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

$13.01 COP 41.2K

$26.21 MX$484

-50.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.19 COP 92.5K

$26.78 MX$495

9.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.67 COP 135.3K

$31.03 MX$573

37.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$6.19 COP 19.6K

$5.29 MX$97.7

17.01%

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

$682 COP 2.2M

$691 MX$12.8K

-1.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,774 COP 21.5M

$11.5K MX$212.1K

-40.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.0 COP 288.5K

$72.3 MX$1,335

25.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.1 COP 193.8K

$42.72 MX$789

43.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$153 COP 486.6K

$110 MX$2,024

40.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 COP 323.0K

$117 MX$2,158

-12.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$706 COP 2.2M

$970 MX$17.9K

-27.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$518 COP 1.6M

$664 MX$12.3K

-21.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,082 COP 3.4M

$1,857 MX$34.3K

-41.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$789 COP 2.5M

$1,287 MX$23.8K

-38.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$4,162 MX$76.9K

-51.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,580 COP 5.0M

$2,349 MX$43.4K

-32.77%

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 San Juan de Pasto: 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

San Juan de Pasto

$518 37.8%

Monterrey

$664 41.3% 28% $145

Groceries & Markets

San Juan de Pasto

$284 20.7%

Monterrey

$310 19.3% 9.3% $27

Clothing & Footwear

San Juan de Pasto

$183 13.4%

Monterrey

$154 9.6% 16.2% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Juan de Pasto

$166 12.1%

Monterrey

$172 10.7% 3.9% $6.4

Eating Out

San Juan de Pasto

$147 10.7%

Monterrey

$225 14% 52.8% $78

Sport & Entertainment

San Juan de Pasto

$55 4%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 24.4% $13

Getting Around

San Juan de Pasto

$18 * 1.3%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 134% $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 $706 in San Juan de Pasto and $970 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $46.00 in San Juan de Pasto vs $50.0 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $310 per month, with San Juan de Pasto cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 San Juan de Pasto

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

23:13 11:13 PM

22:13 10:13 PM

1 h behind San Juan de Pasto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

392,930

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

San Juan de Pasto Monterrey 3,670 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

San Juan de Pasto
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 Juan de Pasto vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Juan de Pasto and Monterrey differ by about 17% in total monthly costs ($1,371 vs $1,608 including rent). San Juan de Pasto is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,057 in San Juan de Pasto 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: $706 in San Juan de Pasto versus $970 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $682 in San Juan de Pasto 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 San Juan de Pasto – a meal for two runs $46.00 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in San Juan de Pasto but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes San Juan de Pasto 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.

Safety-wise, San Juan de Pasto and Monterrey are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find San Juan de Pasto gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.