Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Staten Island, NY and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,641 a month against $3,009 in Staten Island, NY, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

145

Cost of Living Index in Staten Island, NY
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Staten Island, NY Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Staten Island, NY

🇺🇸 United States

$3,009

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,009 in Staten Island, NY versus $1,641 in Monterrey.

Staten Island, NY $3,009
Monterrey $1,641

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,483 in Staten Island, NY versus $2,573 in Monterrey.

Staten Island, NY $4,483
Monterrey $2,573

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,957 in Staten Island, NY versus $3,504 in Monterrey.

Staten Island, NY $5,957
Monterrey $3,504

Living in Staten Island, NY is roughly 83% more expensive than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Staten Island, NY 123% above, Monterrey 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.43 $23.43

$13.37 MX$249

75.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.5 $86.5

$47.95 MX$892

80.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.46 $13.46

$10.79 MX$201

24.75%

Cappuccino

$6.48 $6.48

$3.77 MX$70.0

71.88%

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

$2.69 $2.69

$1.51 MX$28.09

78.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 $1.69

$1.03 MX$19.14

64.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.19 $8.19

$2.48 MX$46.14

230.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.79 $7.79

$4.36 MX$81.0

78.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 $1.25

$1.89 MX$35.23

-33.86%

White Bread (500g)

$4.93 $4.93

$2.85 MX$53.0

72.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$6.68 $6.68

$1.86 MX$34.52

259.14%

Eggs

$6.00 $6.00

$2.47 MX$45.86

142.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.57 $17.57

$11.81 MX$220

48.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.16 $14.16

$8.97 MX$167

57.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.61 $19.61

$12.57 MX$234

56.01%

Apples (1kg)

$6.69 $6.69

$3.20 MX$59.4

109.06%

Banana (1kg)

$3.60 $3.60

$1.50 MX$27.96

140.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.49 $6.49

$2.12 MX$39.52

206.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.89 $6.89

$2.33 MX$43.39

195.71%

Potato (1kg)

$4.38 $4.38

$2.22 MX$41.34

97.30%

Onion (1kg)

$4.46 $4.46

$2.58 MX$48.07

72.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.89 $2.89

$1.45 MX$26.88

99.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.87 $2.87

$1.22 MX$22.72

135.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.03 $19.03

$4.80 MX$89.2

296.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.83 $14.83

$13.30 MX$247

11.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 $1.86

$1.93 MX$35.93

-3.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 $3.48

$2.86 MX$53.1

21.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.08 $3.08

$0.80 MX$14.85

285.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.94 MX$575

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 $2.91

$1.83 MX$34.08

59.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.12 $2.12

$1.06 MX$19.66

100.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.65 $42.65

$10.82 MX$201

294.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 $1.09

$1.47 MX$27.39

-25.85%

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

$34.1K $34.1K

$24.1K MX$447.9K

41.43%

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

$26.4K $26.4K

$23.5K MX$437.7K

12.00%

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

$227 $227

$115 MX$2,132

97.65%

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

$71.3 $71.3

$26.37 MX$490

170.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.2 $65.2

$25.70 MX$478

153.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$118 $118

$30.53 MX$568

287.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.27 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$20.40 $20.40

$4.96 MX$92.2

311.29%

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

$1,973 $1,973

$679 MX$12.6K

190.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.5K $20.5K

$14.2K MX$263.8K

44.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.4 $72.4

$72.2 MX$1,343

0.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.81 $36.81

$41.94 MX$780

-12.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 $104

$107 MX$1,999

-2.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 $104

$119 MX$2,207

-12.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,808 $1,808

$1,018 MX$18.9K

77.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,415 $1,415

$722 MX$13.4K

96.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,317 $3,317

$1,966 MX$36.6K

68.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,415 $2,415

$1,416 MX$26.3K

70.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,203 MX$78.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,782 MX$51.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,647 $6,647

$1,096 MX$20.4K

506.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.72

11.79

-43.00%

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

Last update for Staten Island, NY: 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

Staten Island, NY

$1.4K 47%

Monterrey

$722 44% 49% $693

Groceries & Markets

Staten Island, NY

$524 17.4%

Monterrey

$302 18.4% 42.4% $222

Eating Out

Staten Island, NY

$380 12.6%

Monterrey

$216 13.2% 43.2% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Staten Island, NY

$363 12.1%

Monterrey

$167 10.2% 54.1% $196

Sport & Entertainment

Staten Island, NY

$159 5.3%

Monterrey

$40 2.5% 74.6% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Staten Island, NY

$143 4.7%

Monterrey

$153 9.3% 7.3% $10

Getting Around

Staten Island, NY

$26 * 0.9%

Monterrey

$41 2.5% 59.6% $15

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 $1,808 in Staten Island, NY and $1,018 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Staten Island, NY pays about 6.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $86 in Staten Island, NY vs $48 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $524 vs $302 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Staten Island, NY

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

23:08 11:08 PM

22:08 10:08 PM

1 h behind Staten Island, NY

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

495,747

1,142,994

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.895 EUR

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.895 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 18.6 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Staten Island, NY Monterrey 2,930 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Staten Island, NY
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

Staten Island, NY vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $3,009 in Staten Island, NY and $1,641 in Monterrey, so Monterrey is about 45% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Staten Island, NY is about 6.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,808 in Staten Island, NY versus $1,018 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,973 in Staten Island, NY 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 Monterrey – a meal for two runs $48 versus $86 in Staten Island, NY. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,641 in Monterrey versus $3,009 in Staten Island, NY, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Monterrey but tight or insufficient in Staten Island, NY. The gap between the two cities makes Monterrey 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.

It comes down to priorities – Monterrey wins on affordability, Staten Island, NY on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.