Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tunja and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Tunja: $1,294 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Tunja
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Tunja Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Tunja

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Tunja versus $1,608 in Monterrey.

Tunja $1,294
Monterrey $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,992 in Tunja versus $2,521 in Monterrey.

Tunja $1,992
Monterrey $2,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,689 in Tunja versus $3,433 in Monterrey.

Tunja $2,689
Monterrey $3,433

Living in Tunja costs roughly 19% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tunja is 4% below, Monterrey is 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.61 COP 24.1K

$13.85 MX$256

-45.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.83 COP 132.6K

$49.70 MX$918

-15.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.53 COP 33.4K

$11.05 MX$204

-4.71%

Cappuccino

$2.56 COP 8,122

$4.09 MX$75.6

-37.41%

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

$1.38 COP 4,380

$1.68 MX$30.97

-17.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 COP 2,661

$1.03 MX$18.98

-18.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.09 COP 6,614

$2.40 MX$44.28

-12.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.81 COP 12.1K

$4.35 MX$80.3

-12.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 COP 5,075

$1.92 MX$35.55

-16.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.48 COP 7,874

$2.94 MX$54.2

-15.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 COP 5,169

$1.88 MX$34.66

-13.30%

Eggs

$3.35 COP 10.6K

$2.55 MX$47.06

31.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.90 COP 25.0K

$11.84 MX$219

-33.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.52 COP 23.9K

$9.36 MX$173

-19.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.94 COP 31.5K

$13.10 MX$242

-24.12%

Apples (1kg)

$3.48 COP 11.0K

$3.38 MX$62.5

2.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 COP 5,590

$1.52 MX$28.13

15.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 COP 6,028

$2.19 MX$40.51

-13.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 COP 5,527

$2.36 MX$43.63

-26.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 COP 4,673

$2.26 MX$41.76

-34.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 COP 4,471

$2.73 MX$50.5

-48.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 COP 4,152

$1.52 MX$28.17

-13.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 COP 3,654

$1.24 MX$22.90

-7.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.36 COP 13.8K

$4.75 MX$87.8

-8.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 COP 40.3K

$13.66 MX$252

-7.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 COP 4,559

$1.89 MX$34.95

-23.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 COP 9,295

$2.99 MX$55.2

-2.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 COP 2,541

$0.85 MX$15.78

-5.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.95 MX$572

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.96 COP 3,042

$1.68 MX$30.98

-42.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.32 COP 7,352

$1.13 MX$20.87

105.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.59 COP 30.4K

$11.15 MX$206

-13.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,067

$1.56 MX$28.91

-17.95%

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

$23.8K COP 75.4M

$21.4K MX$395.8K

10.96%

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

$35.4K COP 112.4M

$25.1K MX$463.2K

41.42%

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

$123 COP 391.0K

$119 MX$2,206

3.28%

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

$16.02 COP 50.8K

$26.21 MX$484

-38.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.03 COP 95.2K

$26.78 MX$495

12.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.92 COP 117.0K

$31.03 MX$573

18.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$7.75 COP 24.6K

$5.29 MX$97.7

46.50%

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

$499 COP 1.6M

$691 MX$12.8K

-27.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,621 COP 24.2M

$11.5K MX$212.1K

-33.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.2 COP 263.8K

$72.3 MX$1,335

15.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.16 COP 149.5K

$42.72 MX$789

10.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$145 COP 458.5K

$110 MX$2,024

32.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 COP 334.4K

$117 MX$2,158

-9.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$970 MX$17.9K

-33.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$475 COP 1.5M

$664 MX$12.3K

-28.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,022 COP 3.2M

$1,857 MX$34.3K

-44.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$882 COP 2.8M

$1,287 MX$23.8K

-31.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,682 COP 5.3M

$4,162 MX$76.9K

-59.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,710 COP 5.4M

$2,349 MX$43.4K

-27.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.81

11.79

8.65%

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

Last update for Tunja: October 11, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tunja

$475 36.7%

Monterrey

$664 41.3% 39.8% $189

Groceries & Markets

Tunja

$261 20.2%

Monterrey

$310 19.3% 19% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Tunja

$171 13.2%

Monterrey

$154 9.6% 10.3% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tunja

$169 13.1%

Monterrey

$172 10.7% 1.8% $3

Eating Out

Tunja

$150 11.6%

Monterrey

$225 14% 49.6% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Tunja

$52 4.1%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 20.6% $11

Getting Around

Tunja

$16 * 1.2%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 165% $26

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 $642 in Tunja and $970 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $42.00 in Tunja vs $50.0 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $261 vs $310 per month, with Tunja cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Tunja

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

05:42 5:42 AM

04:42 4:42 AM

1 h behind Tunja

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

200,000

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tunja Monterrey 3,640 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Tunja
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

Tunja vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tunja and Monterrey differ by about 24% in total monthly costs ($1,294 vs $1,608 including rent). Tunja is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,942 in Tunja and $2,412 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: $642 in Tunja versus $970 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $499 in Tunja 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 Tunja – a meal for two runs $42.00 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,294 in Tunja versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Tunja but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Tunja 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.

Safety-wise, Tunja and Monterrey are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Tunja gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.