Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tapachula and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Tapachula: $1,164 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Tapachula
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Tapachula Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Tapachula

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,164

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,164 in Tapachula versus $1,599 in Monterrey.

Tapachula $1,164
Monterrey $1,599

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,828 in Tapachula versus $2,493 in Monterrey.

Tapachula $1,828
Monterrey $2,493

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,493 in Tapachula versus $3,387 in Monterrey.

Tapachula $2,493
Monterrey $3,387

Living in Tapachula costs roughly 27% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tapachula is 14% below, Monterrey is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.44 MX$193

$13.80 MX$255

-24.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.58 MX$750

$47.99 MX$887

-15.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.90 MX$146

$10.65 MX$197

-25.82%

Cappuccino

$3.71 MX$68.6

$3.99 MX$73.7

-7.02%

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

$1.27 MX$23.45

$1.66 MX$30.76

-23.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.16 MX$21.35

$0.99 MX$18.21

17.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.41 MX$44.58

$2.36 MX$43.64

2.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.75 MX$69.3

$4.43 MX$81.8

-15.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.77

$1.82 MX$33.58

-14.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.65 MX$49.05

$2.83 MX$52.4

-6.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 MX$29.96

$1.92 MX$35.44

-15.62%

Eggs

$2.43 MX$44.94

$2.48 MX$45.78

-2.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.09 MX$149

$11.74 MX$217

-31.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.32 MX$154

$9.10 MX$168

-8.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.49 MX$212

$12.53 MX$232

-8.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.72

$3.34 MX$61.6

-30.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 MX$29.23

$1.57 MX$29.10

0.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.08 MX$38.50

$2.16 MX$39.86

-3.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 MX$33.81

$2.47 MX$45.65

-25.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.89 MX$34.94

$2.31 MX$42.64

-18.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 MX$33.37

$2.68 MX$49.47

-32.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.62 MX$29.91

$1.46 MX$26.90

10.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.12

$1.19 MX$22.07

-8.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.0

$4.75 MX$87.8

-10.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.18 MX$170

$13.58 MX$251

-32.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 MX$31.66

$1.92 MX$35.52

-10.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$2.88 MX$53.2

5.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 MX$11.19

$0.79 MX$14.66

-22.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 MX$49.11

$1.59 MX$29.44

67.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.70 MX$31.45

$1.06 MX$19.58

60.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.99 MX$185

$10.80 MX$200

-7.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 MX$24.73

$1.55 MX$28.59

-13.55%

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

$25.3K MX$467.0K

$24.2K MX$446.4K

4.62%

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

$23.0K MX$424.7K

$24.3K MX$449.4K

-5.49%

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

$54.4 MX$1,006

$117 MX$2,159

-53.39%

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

$23.70 MX$438

$26.38 MX$488

-10.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.93 MX$498

$26.04 MX$481

3.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.17 MX$687

$30.26 MX$559

22.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.73 MX$346

$21.25 MX$393

-11.86%

Cinema Ticket

$5.01 MX$92.6

$5.23 MX$96.6

-4.21%

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

$245 MX$4,528

$673 MX$12.4K

-63.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,825 MX$89.2K

$11.1K MX$205.2K

-56.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 MX$1,060

$72.1 MX$1,332

-20.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.06 MX$759

$42.38 MX$783

-3.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 MX$1,820

$112 MX$2,066

-11.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.8 MX$1,696

$119 MX$2,200

-22.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 MX$12.4K

$949 MX$17.5K

-29.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$428 MX$7,904

$666 MX$12.3K

-35.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,080 MX$20.0K

$1,821 MX$33.7K

-40.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$770 MX$14.2K

$1,271 MX$23.5K

-39.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,952 MX$36.1K

$4,050 MX$74.8K

-51.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,087 MX$20.1K

$2,348 MX$43.4K

-53.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 MX$21.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.79

-4.16%

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

Last update for Tapachula: October 18, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tapachula

$428 36.8%

Monterrey

$666 41.7% 55.8% $239

Groceries & Markets

Tapachula

$259 22.3%

Monterrey

$304 19% 17.6% $45

Eating Out

Tapachula

$181 15.6%

Monterrey

$221 13.9% 22.3% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Tapachula

$130 11.2%

Monterrey

$155 9.7% 19.6% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tapachula

$105 9%

Monterrey

$169 10.6% 61.1% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Tapachula

$47 4.1%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 13.8% $6.5

Getting Around

Tapachula

$14 * 1.2%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 205% $28

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 $673 in Tapachula and $949 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $41.00 in Tapachula vs $48.00 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $259 vs $304 per month, with Tapachula cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Tapachula

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

04:16 4:16 AM

Same time as Tapachula

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

217,550

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Tapachula Monterrey 1,460 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Tapachula
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

Tapachula vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tapachula and Monterrey differ by about 37% in total monthly costs ($1,164 vs $1,599 including rent). Tapachula is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,745 in Tapachula and $2,399 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: $673 in Tapachula versus $949 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $245 in Tapachula versus $673 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tapachula – a meal for two runs $41.00 versus $48.00 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,164 in Tapachula versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Tapachula but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Tapachula 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 Tapachula gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.