Monterrey... or Guadalajara?

While Guadalajara proper has a larger population than Monterrey proper, Monterrey's metropolitan area surpassed Guadalajara's in 2020 and became the second largest in the country, only behind Mexico City.

Monterrey is the capital of Nuevo León and Guadalajara is the capital of Jalisco.

Guadalajara has a subtropical climate while Monterrey is semiarid. This causes Guadalajara to have a lower temperature on average, although Monterrey has reached colder temperatures on extreme cases.

The cost of living is considerably higher in Monterrey, being the highest in the country by some metrics.

Monterrey is located in northeastern Mexico, relatively close to the border with the United States. Guadalajara is considerably closer to the center, with a latitude not much higher than that of Mexico City.

While the exact numbers vary, many sources place Monterrey as the richest city with over 1 million residents in all of Latin America.

While neither is a coastal city, Guadalajara is closer to the Pacific than Monterrey is to the Atlantic.

Guadalajara was founded on February 14, 1542. Monterrey was founded over half a century later, on September 20, 1596

Monterrey has C.F Monterrey (Rayados) and Tigres UANL. Guadalajara is home to Atlas C.F. and C.D. Guadalajara (Chivas).

Guadalajara has the Sistema de Tren Eléctrico Urbano since 1989 while Monterrey has the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metrorrey since 1991.

The battle was fought during September in 1846. The battle resulted in the capitulation of the city.

Stading at a height of 305 meters, Torre Obispado I is one of only two supertall skyscrapers in Latin America. In comparison, the tallest building in Guadalajara is Hotel Riu Plaza Guadalajara with a height of 215 meters.

The Guadalajara International Book Fair is second only to the Frankfurt Book Fair in number of publishing companies represented, and is actually the largest by attendance.

Monterey gives its name to Monterey Bay. It was the capital of Alta California under Spanish and Mexican rule.

Guadalajara earned the nickname because it is one of Mexico´s main centers of innovation and technological development.

The word comes from the Nahuatl "tapatiotl", a currency during the XVII century.

The Cerro de la Silla is one of the main symbols of Monterrey. It appears in the municipal flag of the city.

Monterrey was the seat of government for a brief period between April and August of 1864. This happened during the Second French Intervention, as Mexican president Benito Juarez fled from the invaders.

Despite not being the birthplace of either, both are commonly associated with Guadalajara due to it being the capital of Jalisco and their actual origins being on smaller towns nearby.

Guadalajara was the capital of Nueva Galicia from 1560 until its dissolution. Monterrey was the capital of the New Kingdom of León instead.