Cost of living comparison
compared to
Monterrey vs. Tainan Cost of Living Summary
Monterrey is 56.1% more expensive than Tainan.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.7 times more in Monterrey
- Groceries
-
pay 19.8% less in Monterrey
- Transportation
-
pay 1.5% more in Monterrey
- Housing
-
pay 2.8 times more in Monterrey
- Childcare
-
pay 84.7% more in Monterrey
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 19.2% less in Monterrey
- Clothing
-
pay 17.3% more in Monterrey
The cost of housing, restaurants, childcare, clothing, and transportation in Monterrey are more expensive than in Tainan. Expenses including groceries and entertainment and sports are lower in Monterrey. Notably, housing, restaurants, and childcare are significantly more expensive in Monterrey.
Monterrey vs. Tainan Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Monterrey instead of Tainan, you would:
pay 2.7 times more for restaurants
|
Tainan
|
Monterrey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.77
NT$122.24
|
$13.91
MX$257.20
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.71
NT$152.81
|
$11.13
MX$205.76
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.92
NT$29.80
|
$1.68
MX$30.99
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.65
NT$21.18
|
$1.03
MX$19.03
|
|
Tainan vs. Monterrey - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.8% less for groceries
|
Tainan
|
Monterrey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.76
NT$57.28
|
$2.95
MX$54.63
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.85
NT$319.53
|
$6.13
MX$113.44
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$11.54
NT$374.58
|
$7.20
MX$133.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.72
NT$88.34
|
$2.56
MX$47.39
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.45
NT$144.40
|
$4.28
MX$79.19
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.23
NT$72.36
|
$1.52
MX$28.05
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.29
NT$41.72
|
$0.71
MX$13.19
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.38
NT$44.91
|
$0.98
MX$18.19
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.02
NT$65.53
|
$1.12
MX$20.72
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.25
NT$40.46
|
$1.06
MX$19.52
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.04
NT$33.78
|
$1.23
MX$22.77
|
|
Tainan vs. Monterrey - Cost of groceries
pay 1.5% more for transportation
|
Tainan
|
Monterrey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.93
NT$127.46
|
$5.91
MX$109.36
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$33.74
NT$1,095.10
|
$32.04
MX$592.58
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,523.97
NT$1M
|
$21,528.95
MX$398K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.87
NT$287.78
|
$10.57
MX$195.47
|
|
Tainan vs. Monterrey - Cost of transportation
pay 2.8 times more for housing
|
Tainan
|
Monterrey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$21.44
NT$695.94
|
$26.79
MX$495.42
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$298.20
NT$9,677.67
|
$981.90
MX$18,158.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$196.18
NT$6,366.89
|
$685.94
MX$12,685.02
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$66.27
NT$2,150.71
|
$91.91
MX$1,699.66
|
|
Tainan vs. Monterrey - Cost of housing
pay 84.7% more for childcare
|
Tainan
|
Monterrey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$431.61
NT$14,007.15
|
$703.26
MX$13,005.38
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$5,493.16
NT$178K
|
$11,496.80
MX$213K
|
|
Tainan vs. Monterrey - Cost of childcare
pay 19.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Tainan
|
Monterrey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.83
NT$91.68
|
$2.36
MX$43.72
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.24
NT$105.27
|
$4.04
MX$74.68
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.92
NT$127.34
|
$4.90
MX$90.53
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.98
NT$1,459.80
|
$31.22
MX$577.27
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.73
NT$315.80
|
$5.29
MX$97.74
|
|
Tainan vs. Monterrey - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 17.3% more for clothing
|
Tainan
|
Monterrey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$63.18
NT$2,050.48
|
$73.56
MX$1,360.29
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.99
NT$1,297.67
|
$42.76
MX$790.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$84.98
NT$2,757.77
|
$112.51
MX$2,080.57
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$105.09
NT$3,410.39
|
$120.67
MX$2,231.48
|
|
Tainan 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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