Cost of living comparison

compared to

United States vs. Monterrey Cost of Living Summary

United States is 70.7% more expensive than Monterrey.

Restaurants: pay 52.4% more in United States
Groceries: pay 38.4% more in United States
Transportation: pay 28.8% more in United States
Housing: pay 91.6% more in United States
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in United States
Entertainment and Sports: pay 85.2% more in United States
Clothing: pay 16.6% less in United States

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, and transportation in United States are more expensive than in Monterrey. Notably, childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in United States.

United States vs. Monterrey Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United States instead of Monterrey, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 52.4% more for restaurants

	Monterrey	United States
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.57 MX$244.46	$19.45	+43.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.31 MX$185.79	$11.12	+7.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.50 MX$27.07	$2.56	+70.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 MX$19.17	$2.00	+88.3%
Average			+52.4%

Monterrey vs. United States - Cost of restaurants

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pay 38.4% more for groceries

	Monterrey	United States
Bread 1 loaf	$2.86 MX$51.45	$3.56	+24.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.51 MX$99.25	$6.50	+18.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.76 MX$121.78	$3.97	-41.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.59 MX$46.69	$4.27	+64.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.49 MX$80.90	$5.41	+20.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.55 MX$27.86	$2.37	+53.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 MX$12.56	$0.78	+12.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.97 MX$17.46	$2.04	+109.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.99 MX$17.77	$2.21	+124.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.08 MX$19.43	$1.34	+24.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.24 MX$22.40	$1.38	+11.3%
Average			+38.4%

Monterrey vs. United States - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.8% more for transportation

	Monterrey	United States
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.26 MX$94.67	$3.41	-35.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$43.97 MX$792.06	$65.85	+49.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,155.97 MX$435,143.16	$32,336.38	+33.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.59 MX$190.68	$17.61	+66.4%
Average			+28.8%

Monterrey vs. United States - Cost of transportation

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pay 91.6% more for housing

	Monterrey	United States
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.26 MX$545.02	$68.97	+128.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$919.42 MX$16,562.33	$1,664.59	+81.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$717.49 MX$12,924.87	$1,416.15	+97.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$93.90 MX$1,691.49	$150.19	+59.9%
Average			+91.6%

Monterrey vs. United States - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Monterrey	United States
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$367.64 MX$6,622.71	$1,387.27	+277.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,179.87 MX$165,365.27	$23,196.46	+152.7%
Average			+215.0%

Monterrey vs. United States - Cost of childcare

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pay 85.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Monterrey	United States
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.71 MX$48.89	$5.84	+115.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.83 MX$69.01	$5.15	+34.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.61 MX$83.12	$9.90	+114.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.58 MX$694.90	$51.45	+33.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.97 MX$107.56	$13.64	+128.4%
Average			+85.2%

Monterrey vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.6% less for clothing

	Monterrey	United States
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.26 MX$1,121.59	$51.08	-18.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.64 MX$786.04	$41.81	-4.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$115.54 MX$2,081.35	$87.56	-24.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$139.97 MX$2,521.46	$112.04	-20.0%
Average			-16.6%

Monterrey vs. United States - 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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