Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Spanish Town and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Spanish Town: $994 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Monterrey outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

49

Cost of Living Index in Spanish Town
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Spanish Town Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Spanish Town

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$994

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $994 in Spanish Town versus $1,608 in Monterrey.

Spanish Town $994
Monterrey $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,895 in Spanish Town versus $2,521 in Monterrey.

Spanish Town $1,895
Monterrey $2,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,796 in Spanish Town versus $3,433 in Monterrey.

Spanish Town $2,796
Monterrey $3,433

Living in Spanish Town costs roughly 38% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Spanish Town is 26% below, Monterrey is 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.25 JMD 2,094

$13.85 MX$256

-4.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.2 JMD 11.7K

$49.70 MX$918

49.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.01 JMD 1,265

$11.05 MX$204

-27.51%

Cappuccino

$5.31 JMD 840

$4.09 MX$75.6

29.83%

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

$1.14 JMD 179

$1.68 MX$30.97

-32.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 JMD 117

$1.03 MX$18.98

-28.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 JMD 355

$2.40 MX$44.28

-6.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 JMD 483

$4.35 MX$80.3

-29.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.14 JMD 655

$1.92 MX$35.55

115.63%

White Bread (500g)

$3.76 JMD 594

$2.94 MX$54.2

27.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 JMD 260

$1.88 MX$34.66

-12.23%

Eggs

$3.56 JMD 562

$2.55 MX$47.06

39.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.22 JMD 1,773

$11.84 MX$219

-5.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.38 JMD 1,008

$9.36 MX$173

-31.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.21 JMD 1,614

$13.10 MX$242

-22.06%

Apples (1kg)

$6.16 JMD 973

$3.38 MX$62.5

82.25%

Banana (1kg)

$3.85 JMD 609

$1.52 MX$28.13

153.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.38 JMD 1,166

$2.19 MX$40.51

236.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.06 JMD 483

$2.36 MX$43.63

29.66%

Potato (1kg)

$3.17 JMD 500

$2.26 MX$41.76

40.27%

Onion (1kg)

$2.13 JMD 336

$2.73 MX$50.5

-21.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.09 JMD 489

$1.52 MX$28.17

103.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 JMD 228

$1.24 MX$22.90

16.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.46 JMD 1,494

$4.75 MX$87.8

99.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.20 JMD 1,769

$13.66 MX$252

-18.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 JMD 439

$1.89 MX$34.95

47.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.95 JMD 624

$2.99 MX$55.2

32.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 MX$15.78

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 JMD 183

$1.68 MX$30.98

-30.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.05 JMD 483

$1.13 MX$20.87

169.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.21 JMD 981

$11.15 MX$206

-44.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 JMD 231

$1.56 MX$28.91

-6.41%

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

$43.9K JMD 6.9M

$21.4K MX$395.8K

105.03%

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

$32.2K JMD 5.1M

$25.1K MX$463.2K

28.46%

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

$165 JMD 26.1K

$119 MX$2,206

38.54%

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

$29.30 JMD 4,629

$26.21 MX$484

11.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.8 JMD 8,179

$26.78 MX$495

93.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.03 MX$573

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$12.95 JMD 2,047

$5.29 MX$97.7

144.80%

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

$356 JMD 56.3K

$691 MX$12.8K

-48.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,212 JMD 1.3M

$11.5K MX$212.1K

-28.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.80 JMD 3,760

$72.3 MX$1,335

-67.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.13 JMD 4,918

$42.72 MX$789

-27.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.3 JMD 12.1K

$110 MX$2,024

-30.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 JMD 15.9K

$117 MX$2,158

-14.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 MX$17.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$664 MX$12.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$633 JMD 100.0K

$1,857 MX$34.3K

-65.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$499 JMD 78.9K

$1,287 MX$23.8K

-61.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 MX$76.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,349 MX$43.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 JMD 182.5K

$1,146 MX$21.2K

0.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

11.79

-19.85%

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

Last update for Spanish Town: October 11, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Spanish Town

$382 38.5%

Monterrey

$310 19.3% 18.8% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Spanish Town

$246 24.8%

Monterrey

$172 10.7% 30.1% $74

Eating Out

Spanish Town

$219 22%

Monterrey

$225 14% 2.7% $5.8

Clothing & Footwear

Spanish Town

$104 10.5%

Monterrey

$154 9.6% 47.3% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Spanish Town

$26 * 2.6%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 60.6% $16

Getting Around

Spanish Town

$16 * 1.7%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 154% $25

Accommodation & Living

Spanish Town

- * 0%

Monterrey

$664 41.3%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Spanish Town pays 1% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $74.0 in Spanish Town vs $50.0 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $382 vs $310 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Spanish Town

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

01:55 1:55 AM

00:55 12:55 AM

1 h behind Spanish Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

131,056

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Spanish Town Monterrey 2,550 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Spanish Town
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

Spanish Town vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Spanish Town and Monterrey differ by about 62% in total monthly costs ($994 vs $1,608 including rent). Spanish Town is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1% higher in Spanish Town, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $356 in Spanish Town 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 Spanish Town – a meal for two runs $74.0 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $994 in Spanish Town versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Spanish Town but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Spanish Town 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 Spanish Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.