Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Anshan and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Anshan: $626 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Anshan
Learn more

Anshan Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Anshan

🇨🇳 China

$626

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Anshan and in Playa del Carmen

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Anshan and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $626 in Anshan versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Anshan $626
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,011 in Anshan versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Anshan $1,011
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,396 in Anshan versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Anshan $1,396
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Anshan costs roughly 48% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Anshan 54% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.94 ¥19.67

$10.86 MX$201

-72.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.46 ¥123

$44.21 MX$817

-58.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.59 ¥30.70

$11.76 MX$217

-60.97%

Cappuccino

$2.49 ¥16.65

$3.68 MX$68.0

-32.34%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 ¥2.38

$1.34 MX$24.79

-73.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.21 ¥1.40

$0.82 MX$15.24

-74.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.73 ¥4.89

$3.06 MX$56.6

-76.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 ¥10.79

$4.94 MX$91.2

-67.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 ¥11.80

$1.47 MX$27.17

20.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 ¥8.42

$2.22 MX$40.95

-43.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.39 ¥2.59

$1.48 MX$27.32

-73.65%

Eggs

$1.06 ¥7.07

$2.49 MX$45.99

-57.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 ¥60.6

$7.52 MX$139

20.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$1.83 ¥12.24

$7.96 MX$147

-77.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.93 ¥59.7

$12.57 MX$232

-28.96%

Apples (1kg)

$1.02 ¥6.83

$2.78 MX$51.3

-63.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.17 ¥7.80

$1.43 MX$26.37

-18.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.17 ¥7.83

$2.62 MX$48.37

-55.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 ¥7.95

$2.14 MX$39.49

-44.39%

Potato (1kg)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$2.02 MX$37.38

-84.65%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.14

$1.99 MX$36.74

-53.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$1.14 MX$21.01

-74.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 ¥2.92

$1.20 MX$22.18

-63.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.78 ¥25.28

$4.26 MX$78.7

-11.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.39 ¥49.42

$10.02 MX$185

-26.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ¥4.79

$1.54 MX$28.41

-53.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.09 ¥7.29

$2.66 MX$49.17

-59.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.92

$0.53 MX$9.73

-45.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.04 ¥121

$27.51 MX$508

-34.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.03 ¥6.90

$4.90 MX$90.6

-78.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.14 ¥0.90

$3.43 MX$63.5

-95.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.93 ¥19.59

$5.38 MX$99.4

-45.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 ¥7.05

$1.45 MX$26.76

-27.59%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$19.5K ¥130.4K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

-7.85%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$15.1K ¥101.2K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

-34.24%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$29.47 ¥197

$85.4 MX$1,577

-65.48%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$7.37 ¥49.28

$23.46 MX$434

-68.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.66 ¥98.0

$28.43 MX$525

-48.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.48 ¥277

$62.2 MX$1,149

-33.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.78 ¥98.9

$28.68 MX$530

-48.47%

Cinema Ticket

$5.93 ¥39.63

$5.10 MX$94.3

16.27%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$226 ¥1,514

$201 MX$3,715

12.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.4K ¥143.1K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

442.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.77 ¥246

$44.39 MX$820

-17.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.89 ¥220

$41.35 MX$764

-20.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.6 ¥405

$72.7 MX$1,344

-16.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.9 ¥468

$89.6 MX$1,656

-21.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$295 ¥1,971

$979 MX$18.1K

-69.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$182 ¥1,217

$373 MX$6,887

-51.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$629 ¥4,209

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-62.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$377 ¥2,518

$1,095 MX$20.2K

-65.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,509 ¥23.5K

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-11.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,923 ¥12.9K

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-68.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$926 ¥6,194

$738 MX$13.6K

25.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-82.53%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Anshan: October 18, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Anshan

$182 29.1%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 105% $191

Groceries & Markets

Anshan

$152 24.2%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 70.5% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Anshan

$90 14.4%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 23.9% $22

Eating Out

Anshan

$76 12.2%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 162% $124

Sport & Entertainment

Anshan

$53 8.5%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 35.8% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Anshan

$52 8.2%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 167% $86

Getting Around

Anshan

$21 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 147% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $295 in Anshan and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Anshan pays 26% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $18.00 in Anshan vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $152 vs $258 per month, with Anshan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Anshan

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

18:50 6:50 PM

05:50 5:50 AM

13 h behind Anshan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,543,696

149,923

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Anshan Playa del Carmen 12,480 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Anshan
Playa del Carmen

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Anshan vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Anshan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 92% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 26% higher in Anshan, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $295 in Anshan versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Anshan – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $626 per month in Anshan versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – a 92% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $626 in Anshan versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Anshan but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Anshan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Anshan is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Anshan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 92% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.