Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Baerum and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $3,124 in Baerum, rent and utilities included – about $23,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

151

Cost of Living Index in Baerum
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Baerum Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Baerum

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,124

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Baerum 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 Baerum and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $3,124 per month in Baerum vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Baerum $3,124
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $4,846 per month in Baerum vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Baerum $4,846
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $6,568 per month in Baerum vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Baerum $6,568
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Baerum costs about 158% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Baerum sits 131% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.23 NOK 200

$10.76 MX$199

97.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$127 NOK 1,192

$43.03 MX$795

194.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.70 NOK 148

$11.79 MX$218

33.16%

Cappuccino

$6.06 NOK 57.1

$3.87 MX$71.4

56.59%

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

$4.34 NOK 40.82

$1.37 MX$25.29

216.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.44 NOK 32.42

$0.84 MX$15.44

309.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.46 NOK 108

$3.10 MX$57.3

269.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.59 NOK 119

$5.07 MX$93.6

148.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.42 NOK 22.74

$1.44 MX$26.55

68.06%

White Bread (500g)

$3.62 NOK 34.04

$2.23 MX$41.23

62.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.60 NOK 43.27

$1.47 MX$27.17

212.93%

Eggs

$5.59 NOK 52.7

$2.53 MX$46.71

120.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.29 NOK 96.9

$7.30 MX$135

40.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.50 NOK 146

$7.86 MX$145

97.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.54 NOK 297

$12.79 MX$236

146.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.59 NOK 24.37

$2.90 MX$53.6

-10.69%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 NOK 19.15

$1.44 MX$26.53

40.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 NOK 20.12

$2.55 MX$47.07

-16.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.07 NOK 38.35

$2.06 MX$38.03

97.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 NOK 15.50

$2.00 MX$36.97

-17.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.81 NOK 26.49

$2.01 MX$37.07

39.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.02 NOK 28.44

$1.19 MX$22.02

153.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.43 NOK 22.87

$1.26 MX$23.23

92.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.05 NOK 179

$4.40 MX$81.4

332.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.33 NOK 154

$9.59 MX$177

70.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.41 NOK 32.06

$1.59 MX$29.41

114.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 NOK 38.85

$2.81 MX$51.9

46.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.33 NOK 40.76

$0.57 MX$10.47

659.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$11.97 NOK 113

$4.98 MX$92.1

140.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.88 NOK 17.72

$3.50 MX$64.6

-46.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$69.2 NOK 651

$5.40 MX$99.8

1180.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 NOK 20.79

$1.47 MX$27.08

50.34%

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

$28.3K NOK 266.8K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

35.04%

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

$24.7K NOK 232.1K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

3.14%

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

$335 NOK 3,149

$84.2 MX$1,556

297.23%

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

$33.08 NOK 311

$23.99 MX$443

37.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.5 NOK 495

$29.02 MX$536

81.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 NOK 484

$63.0 MX$1,164

-18.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$15.97 NOK 150

$4.94 MX$91.3

223.28%

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

$233 NOK 2,194

$204 MX$3,763

14.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.4K NOK 144.8K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

290.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.5 NOK 927

$43.60 MX$806

125.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.6 NOK 551

$43.12 MX$797

35.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$133 NOK 1,248

$75.8 MX$1,400

74.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 NOK 1,450

$88.6 MX$1,637

73.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,742 NOK 16.4K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

72.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,511 NOK 14.2K

$374 MX$6,911

303.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,459 NOK 32.6K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

102.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,913 NOK 27.4K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

163.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$10.8K NOK 101.5K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

173.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$9,916 NOK 93.3K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

60.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,319 NOK 50.1K

$754 MX$13.9K

605.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.6

11.45

-59.83%

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

Last update for Baerum: October 12, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Baerum

$1.5K 48.4%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 75.2% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Baerum

$468 15%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 44.8% $209

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Baerum

$420 13.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 67.3% $283

Eating Out

Baerum

$403 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 49.8% $201

Clothing & Footwear

Baerum

$200 6.4%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 43.4% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Baerum

$83 2.7%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 12.5% $10

Getting Around

Baerum

$39 * 1.2%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 35.8% $14

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,742 in Baerum versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 605% higher in Baerum, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $127 in Baerum versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $468 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Baerum

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

08:30 8:30 AM

01:30 1:30 AM

7 h behind Baerum

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

131,136

149,923

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Baerum Playa del Carmen 8,440 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Baerum
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

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

Yes – Baerum is pricier by about 158%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,686 per month in Baerum and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,124 in Baerum and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 158%.

Kindergarten costs $233 per month in Baerum and $204 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Baerum at $3,124. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Baerum it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Baerum makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.