Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Clara and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Clara: $959 a month against $1,641 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Santa Clara
Learn more

Santa Clara Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
Learn more

Monterrey Living Index

Jump to prices

Santa Clara

🇨🇺 Cuba

$959

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $959 in Santa Clara versus $1,641 in Monterrey.

Santa Clara $959
Monterrey $1,641

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,438 in Santa Clara versus $2,573 in Monterrey.

Santa Clara $1,438
Monterrey $2,573

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,918 in Santa Clara versus $3,504 in Monterrey.

Santa Clara $1,918
Monterrey $3,504

Living in Santa Clara costs roughly 42% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santa Clara is 29% below, Monterrey is 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.54 CUP 85.1

$13.37 MX$250

-73.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.57 CUP 662

$47.95 MX$897

-42.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.85 CUP 116

$10.79 MX$202

-55.05%

Cappuccino

$1.05 CUP 25.09

$3.77 MX$70.4

-72.15%

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

$1.54 CUP 36.95

$1.51 MX$28.26

1.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.93 CUP 22.26

$1.03 MX$19.25

-9.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 CUP 29.37

$2.48 MX$46.41

-50.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 CUP 46.93

$4.36 MX$81.5

-55.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.82 CUP 67.7

$1.89 MX$35.43

49.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 CUP 35.24

$2.85 MX$53.3

-48.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 CUP 42.95

$1.86 MX$34.71

-3.76%

Eggs

$3.53 CUP 84.6

$2.47 MX$46.12

42.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.56 CUP 110

$11.81 MX$221

-61.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.70 CUP 113

$8.97 MX$168

-47.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.29 CUP 199

$12.57 MX$235

-34.05%

Apples (1kg)

$6.18 CUP 148

$3.20 MX$59.8

93.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.02 CUP 24.54

$1.50 MX$28.12

-32.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.84 CUP 92.1

$2.12 MX$39.74

81.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 CUP 54.5

$2.33 MX$43.64

-2.58%

Potato (1kg)

$2.93 CUP 70.2

$2.22 MX$41.58

31.98%

Onion (1kg)

$2.82 CUP 67.7

$2.58 MX$48.34

9.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 CUP 17.58

$1.45 MX$27.04

-49.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 CUP 13.64

$1.22 MX$22.85

-53.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.63 CUP 39.23

$4.80 MX$89.7

-66.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.18 CUP 124

$13.30 MX$249

-61.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 CUP 42.50

$1.93 MX$36.14

-8.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 CUP 51.5

$2.86 MX$53.4

-24.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.94

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.94 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 CUP 61.0

$1.83 MX$34.28

38.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 CUP 7.99

$1.06 MX$19.78

-68.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.92 CUP 478

$10.82 MX$202

84.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 CUP 30.49

$1.47 MX$27.54

-13.61%

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

$60.0K CUP 1.4M

$24.1K MX$450.4K

149.32%

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

$59.4K CUP 1.4M

$23.5K MX$440.2K

152.60%

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

$46.56 CUP 1,118

$115 MX$2,144

-59.38%

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

$38.76 CUP 930

$26.37 MX$493

46.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$90.2 CUP 2,164

$25.70 MX$481

250.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.53 MX$571

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.27 MX$398

Cinema Ticket

$0.89 CUP 21.41

$4.96 MX$92.8

-82.06%

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

$158 CUP 3,786

$679 MX$12.7K

-76.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K CUP 299.7K

$14.2K MX$265.3K

-11.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.6 CUP 1,239

$72.2 MX$1,350

-28.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.15 CUP 1,012

$41.94 MX$784

0.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.7 CUP 1,936

$107 MX$2,011

-24.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.5 CUP 1,573

$119 MX$2,219

-44.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$347 CUP 8,317

$1,018 MX$19.0K

-65.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 CUP 8,553

$722 MX$13.5K

-50.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$762 CUP 18.3K

$1,966 MX$36.8K

-61.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$601 CUP 14.4K

$1,416 MX$26.5K

-57.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$276 CUP 6,621

$4,203 MX$78.6K

-93.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$296 CUP 7,094

$2,782 MX$52.0K

-89.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,096 MX$20.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.1

11.79

-22.82%

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

Last update for Santa Clara: November 1, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Clara

$356 37.2%

Monterrey

$722 44% 103% $365

Groceries & Markets

Santa Clara

$238 24.8%

Monterrey

$302 18.4% 27.1% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Clara

$176 18.3%

Monterrey

$167 10.2% 5% $8.8

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Clara

$108 11.3%

Monterrey

$153 9.3% 41.8% $45

Eating Out

Santa Clara

$75 7.9%

Monterrey

$216 13.2% 186% $140

Getting Around

Santa Clara

$4.2 * 0.4%

Monterrey

$41 2.5% 880% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Clara

$1.8 * 0.2%

Monterrey

$40 2.5% 2173% $39

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 $347 in Santa Clara and $1,018 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $28 in Santa Clara vs $48 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $238 vs $302 per month, with Santa Clara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇺 Santa Clara

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

16:16 4:16 PM

15:16 3:16 PM

1 h behind Santa Clara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

216,056

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Cuban Peso CUP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.73 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CUP – Cuban Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇺 Cuban Peso ($)

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.82 CUP (100 CUP = 3.73 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.9 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

USD to CUP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Santa Clara Monterrey 2,100 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Clara
Monterrey

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Santa Clara vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $959 in Santa Clara and $1,641 in Monterrey, so Santa Clara is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,438 in Santa Clara and $2,461 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: $347 in Santa Clara versus $1,018 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $158 in Santa Clara versus $679 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Santa Clara – a meal for two runs $28 versus $48 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Santa Clara 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.