Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tampico and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Tampico: $1,304 a month against $1,647 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Monterrey outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

63

Cost of Living Index in Tampico
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Tampico Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Tampico

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,304

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,304 in Tampico versus $1,647 in Monterrey.

Tampico $1,304
Monterrey $1,647

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,065 in Tampico versus $2,591 in Monterrey.

Tampico $2,065
Monterrey $2,591

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,825 in Tampico versus $3,536 in Monterrey.

Tampico $2,825
Monterrey $3,536

Living in Tampico costs roughly 21% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tampico is 4% below, Monterrey is 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.28 MX$155

$13.45 MX$253

-38.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.0 MX$1,014

$48.43 MX$909

11.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.58 MX$180

$10.90 MX$205

-12.11%

Cappuccino

$2.97 MX$55.8

$3.82 MX$71.7

-22.25%

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

$1.19 MX$22.41

$1.67 MX$31.28

-28.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.81

$0.98 MX$18.45

-14.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.43 MX$83.3

$2.35 MX$44.12

88.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.79 MX$90.0

$4.41 MX$82.8

8.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$27.26

$1.80 MX$33.82

-19.44%

White Bread (500g)

$3.98 MX$74.8

$2.79 MX$52.4

42.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.81

$1.82 MX$34.26

-24.73%

Eggs

$3.98 MX$74.7

$2.51 MX$47.17

58.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.94 MX$92.8

$12.09 MX$227

-59.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.76 MX$183

$9.41 MX$177

3.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.90 MX$242

$12.71 MX$239

1.49%

Apples (1kg)

$3.41 MX$64.0

$3.21 MX$60.2

6.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.10 MX$20.58

$1.50 MX$28.12

-26.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.68

$2.14 MX$40.26

-6.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 MX$40.91

$2.32 MX$43.58

-6.03%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.27

$2.20 MX$41.34

-7.27%

Onion (1kg)

$2.69 MX$50.5

$2.60 MX$48.78

3.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.08 MX$39.12

$1.44 MX$27.04

44.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 MX$16.27

$1.17 MX$22.03

-25.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.68 MX$87.8

$4.79 MX$89.9

-2.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 MX$248

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 MX$28.69

$1.94 MX$36.47

-21.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 MX$54.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 MX$14.04

$0.87 MX$16.37

-13.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.24 MX$511

$31.14 MX$585

-12.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.65 MX$49.71

$1.66 MX$31.10

59.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.68 MX$50.2

$1.09 MX$20.53

145.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.10 MX$95.7

$10.67 MX$200

-52.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 MX$25.95

$1.47 MX$27.66

-6.12%

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

$32.1K MX$602.2K

$24.2K MX$455.2K

32.31%

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

$23.9K MX$448.9K

$23.6K MX$442.2K

1.53%

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

$102 MX$1,914

$118 MX$2,213

-13.50%

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

$27.25 MX$512

$25.55 MX$480

6.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.53 MX$442

$26.43 MX$496

-10.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.28 MX$813

$30.77 MX$578

40.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.27 MX$306

$21.07 MX$396

-22.78%

Cinema Ticket

$5.41 MX$102

$5.09 MX$95.6

6.29%

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

$269 MX$5,055

$694 MX$13.0K

-61.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,934 MX$148.9K

$11.3K MX$212.5K

-29.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.5 MX$1,379

$72.5 MX$1,360

1.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$65.9 MX$1,236

$41.51 MX$779

58.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$161 MX$3,014

$110 MX$2,060

46.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$239 MX$4,488

$115 MX$2,158

107.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$508 MX$9,536

$1,056 MX$19.8K

-51.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$380 MX$7,129

$721 MX$13.5K

-47.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$932 MX$17.5K

$1,999 MX$37.5K

-53.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$662 MX$12.4K

$1,435 MX$26.9K

-53.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,219 MX$79.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,731 MX$51.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$539 MX$10.1K

$1,149 MX$21.6K

-53.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

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

Last update for Tampico: October 26, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tampico

$380 29.1%

Monterrey

$721 43.8% 89.9% $342

Groceries & Markets

Tampico

$258 * 19.8%

Monterrey

$303 18.4% 17.4% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Tampico

$243 18.6%

Monterrey

$152 9.3% 37.2% $90

Eating Out

Tampico

$171 13.1%

Monterrey

$217 13.2% 27.4% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tampico

$153 11.7%

Monterrey

$170 10.3% 11.2% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Tampico

$54 4.2%

Monterrey

$41 2.5% 24.3% $13

Getting Around

Tampico

$46 3.6%

Monterrey

$42 2.5% 9.7% $4.5

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 $508 in Tampico and $1,056 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $54 in Tampico vs $48 in Monterrey. Groceries flip the comparison at $258 vs $303, with Tampico cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Tampico

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

07:54 7:54 AM

Same time as Tampico

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

297,562

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Tampico Monterrey 460 km

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Tampico
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

Tampico vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,304 in Tampico and $1,647 in Monterrey, so Tampico is about 21% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 53% lower in Tampico. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $508 in Tampico versus $1,056 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Monterrey – a meal for two runs $48 versus $54 in Tampico. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,304 per month in Tampico versus $1,647 in Monterrey – Tampico is about 21% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Tampico gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Tampico is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Monterrey, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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