Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bangor and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,926 in Bangor, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

92

Cost of Living Index in Bangor
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Bangor Living Index
57

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

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Bangor

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,926

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,926 in Bangor versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Bangor $1,926
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,051 in Bangor versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Bangor $3,051
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,176 in Bangor versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Bangor $4,176
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Bangor is roughly 60% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bangor is 42% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.76 £17.66

$10.67 MX$198

122.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.0 £62.4

$43.80 MX$813

91.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.08 £7.49

$11.79 MX$219

-14.50%

Cappuccino

$4.32 £3.21

$3.79 MX$70.3

13.98%

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

$2.01 £1.49

$1.30 MX$24.07

54.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 £1.44

$0.83 MX$15.47

132.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.59 £4.90

$3.15 MX$58.4

109.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.51 £5.58

$4.93 MX$91.6

52.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 £1.37

$1.41 MX$26.14

31.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 £1.65

$2.20 MX$40.75

0.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.30 £1.71

$1.47 MX$27.33

56.46%

Eggs

$4.03 £3.00

$2.50 MX$46.34

61.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.32 £7.67

$7.29 MX$135

41.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.54 £7.84

$7.95 MX$148

32.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.47 £11.50

$12.86 MX$239

20.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.65 £1.97

$2.90 MX$53.8

-8.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 £1.31

$1.38 MX$25.67

27.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.46 £1.83

$2.49 MX$46.23

-1.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.40 £2.53

$2.03 MX$37.67

67.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 £1.13

$2.02 MX$37.58

-24.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.90 MX$35.32

-6.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 £0.96

$1.14 MX$21.24

14.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 £1.32

$1.24 MX$22.99

42.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.47 £17.45

$4.27 MX$79.3

449.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.12 £7.52

$9.81 MX$182

3.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.12 £2.32

$1.59 MX$29.43

96.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.40

$2.75 MX$51.0

17.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.04 £3.00

$0.51 MX$9.56

692.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$99.6 £74.0

$27.39 MX$508

263.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.70 £3.50

$4.76 MX$88.4

-1.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.23 £1.66

$3.25 MX$60.3

-31.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.98 £18.57

$5.39 MX$100

363.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.47

$1.53 MX$28.36

28.76%

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

$36.5K £27.1K

$21.2K MX$393.7K

72.12%

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

$40.5K £30.1K

$23.3K MX$431.7K

74.12%

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

$319 £237

$83.5 MX$1,549

282.63%

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

$24.19 £17.98

$23.19 MX$430

4.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.03 £29.75

$27.61 MX$512

44.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.68 £32.47

$56.4 MX$1,047

-22.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.37 £15.14

$28.19 MX$523

-27.74%

Cinema Ticket

$14.18 £10.54

$5.00 MX$92.8

183.60%

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

$1,896 £1,409

$207 MX$3,843

815.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.5K £19.7K

$5,231 MX$97.1K

407.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £84.6

$43.45 MX$806

161.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.5 £39.02

$42.54 MX$789

23.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 £77.7

$72.8 MX$1,350

43.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 £90.2

$88.4 MX$1,640

37.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$604 £449

$995 MX$18.5K

-39.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$503 £374

$382 MX$7,097

31.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,275 £948

$1,674 MX$31.1K

-23.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,089 £810

$1,081 MX$20.1K

0.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,872 £4,364

$3,909 MX$72.5K

50.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,308 £3,202

$6,138 MX$113.9K

-29.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,398 £1,782

$832 MX$15.4K

188.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.5

11.45

-51.97%

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

Last update for Bangor: November 1, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bangor

$503 26.1%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 24% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bangor

$384 19.9%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 65% $249

Eating Out

Bangor

$336 17.4%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 40.4% $136

Groceries & Markets

Bangor

$324 16.8%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 20.5% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Bangor

$176 9.2%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 37% $65

Getting Around

Bangor

$132 6.8%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 61.7% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Bangor

$72 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 7.8% $5.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $604 in Bangor and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bangor pays about 2.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $84 in Bangor vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $257 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bangor

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

21:14 9:14 PM

16:14 4:14 PM

5 h behind Bangor

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,988

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.39 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.743 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.56 MXN (100 MXN = 5.39 USD). 1 EUR = 20.83 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bangor Playa del Carmen 7,720 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Bangor
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 38% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Bangor is about 2.9 times higher, 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: $604 in Bangor versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $44 versus $84 in Bangor. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,926 per month in Bangor versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 38% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,926 in Bangor, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Bangor. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Bangor on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.