Cost of living comparison
compared to
Monterrey vs. Ames Cost of Living Summary
Monterrey is 21.7% cheaper than Ames.
Monterrey vs. Ames Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Monterrey instead of Ames, you would:
pay 23.7% less for restaurants
|
Ames
|
Monterrey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.00
|
$13.91
MX$257.20
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.13
MX$205.76
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$1.68
MX$30.99
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.31
|
$1.03
MX$19.03
|
|
Ames vs. Monterrey - Cost of restaurants
pay 27.3% less for groceries
|
Ames
|
Monterrey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.58
|
$2.95
MX$54.63
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.14
|
$6.13
MX$113.44
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.28
|
$7.20
MX$133.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.42
|
$2.56
MX$47.39
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.15
|
$4.28
MX$79.19
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.63
|
$1.52
MX$28.05
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.83
|
$0.71
MX$13.19
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$0.98
MX$18.19
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.33
|
$1.12
MX$20.72
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.06
MX$19.52
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.89
|
$1.23
MX$22.77
|
|
Ames vs. Monterrey - Cost of groceries
pay 5.3% more for transportation
|
Ames
|
Monterrey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.58
|
$5.91
MX$109.36
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$35.00
|
$32.04
MX$592.58
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$25,000.00
|
$21,528.95
MX$398K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.68
|
$10.57
MX$195.47
|
|
Ames vs. Monterrey - Cost of transportation
pay 17.8% less for housing
|
Ames
|
Monterrey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.25
|
$26.79
MX$495.42
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,020.00
|
$981.90
MX$18,158.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$822.75
|
$685.94
MX$12,685.02
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$136.55
|
$91.91
MX$1,699.66
|
|
Ames vs. Monterrey - Cost of housing
pay 59.5% less for childcare
|
Ames
|
Monterrey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,364.44
|
$703.26
MX$13,005.38
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$36,151.80
|
$11,496.80
MX$213K
|
|
Ames vs. Monterrey - Cost of childcare
pay 51.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Ames
|
Monterrey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.00
|
$2.36
MX$43.72
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.00
|
$4.04
MX$74.68
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$4.90
MX$90.53
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$68.33
|
$31.22
MX$577.27
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$5.29
MX$97.74
|
|
Ames vs. Monterrey - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.1% more for clothing
|
Ames
|
Monterrey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.94
|
$73.56
MX$1,360.29
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.06
|
$42.76
MX$790.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.00
|
$112.51
MX$2,080.57
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.02
|
$120.67
MX$2,231.48
|
|
Ames vs. Monterrey - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Ames vs. Monterrey
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