Cost of living comparison

compared to

Mexico City vs. Monterrey Cost of Living Summary

Mexico City is 3.3% cheaper than Monterrey.

Restaurants: pay 0.8% more in Mexico City
Groceries: pay 6.4% less in Mexico City
Transportation: pay 33.3% less in Mexico City
Housing: pay 11.6% less in Mexico City
Childcare: pay 17.9% more in Mexico City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.8% more in Mexico City
Clothing: pay 5.3% less in Mexico City

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Mexico City are more expensive than in Monterrey. Expenses including transportation, housing, groceries, and clothing are lower in Mexico City.

Mexico City vs. Monterrey Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mexico City instead of Monterrey, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.8% more for restaurants

	Monterrey	Mexico City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.57 MX$246.64	$10.86 MX$197.31	-20.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.31 MX$187.45	$8.82 MX$160.32	-14.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.50 MX$27.31	$1.73 MX$31.47	+15.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 MX$19.35	$1.30 MX$23.70	+22.5%
Average			+0.8%

Monterrey vs. Mexico City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.4% less for groceries

	Monterrey	Mexico City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.86 MX$51.91	$2.63 MX$47.71	-8.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.51 MX$100.14	$5.04 MX$91.60	-8.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.76 MX$122.87	$6.54 MX$118.83	-3.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.59 MX$47.11	$2.61 MX$47.38	+0.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.49 MX$81.62	$3.80 MX$69.15	-15.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.55 MX$28.11	$1.37 MX$24.88	-11.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 MX$12.67	$0.80 MX$14.54	+14.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.97 MX$17.62	$0.97 MX$17.69	+0.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.99 MX$17.93	$0.91 MX$16.47	-8.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.08 MX$19.60	$0.96 MX$17.42	-11.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.24 MX$22.60	$0.99 MX$18.07	-20.0%
Average			-6.4%

Monterrey vs. Mexico City - Cost of groceries

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pay 33.3% less for transportation

	Monterrey	Mexico City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.26 MX$95.52	$5.14 MX$93.37	-2.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$43.97 MX$799.12	$19.54 MX$355.17	-55.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,155.97 MX$439,025.02	$20,030.45 MX$364,045.47	-17.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.59 MX$192.38	$4.42 MX$80.42	-58.2%
Average			-33.3%

Monterrey vs. Mexico City - Cost of transportation

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pay 11.6% less for housing

	Monterrey	Mexico City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.26 MX$549.88	$30.93 MX$562.20	+2.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$919.42 MX$16,710.08	$1,079.15 MX$19,613.07	+17.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$717.49 MX$13,040.17	$677.25 MX$12,308.67	-5.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$93.90 MX$1,706.58	$37.36 MX$679.03	-60.2%
Average			-11.6%

Monterrey vs. Mexico City - Cost of housing

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pay 17.9% more for childcare

	Monterrey	Mexico City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$367.64 MX$6,681.79	$430.39 MX$7,822.12	+17.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,179.87 MX$166,840.47	$10,897.53 MX$198,058.25	+18.7%
Average			+17.9%

Monterrey vs. Mexico City - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Monterrey	Mexico City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.71 MX$49.33	$3.26 MX$59.19	+20.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.83 MX$69.63	$3.81 MX$69.31	-0.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.61 MX$83.86	$4.34 MX$78.93	-5.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.58 MX$701.10	$58.44 MX$1,062.21	+51.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.97 MX$108.52	$6.51 MX$118.39	+9.1%
Average			+14.8%

Monterrey vs. Mexico City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.3% less for clothing

	Monterrey	Mexico City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.26 MX$1,131.60	$60.95 MX$1,107.65	-2.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.64 MX$793.05	$48.08 MX$873.77	+10.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$115.54 MX$2,099.92	$105.72 MX$1,921.42	-8.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$139.97 MX$2,543.95	$110.91 MX$2,015.75	-20.8%
Average			-5.3%

Monterrey vs. Mexico City - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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