Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Broken Hill and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,371 in Broken Hill, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Broken Hill
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Broken Hill Living Index
58

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

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Broken Hill

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,371

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,371 in Broken Hill versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Broken Hill $2,371
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,506 in Broken Hill versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Broken Hill $3,506
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,641 in Broken Hill versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Broken Hill $4,641
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Broken Hill is roughly 97% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Broken Hill is 74% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.76 A$23.94

$10.92 MX$203

53.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.4 A$119

$43.37 MX$805

92.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.11 A$13.01

$11.78 MX$219

-22.67%

Cappuccino

$4.13 A$5.90

$3.81 MX$70.7

8.40%

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

$2.79 A$3.99

$1.28 MX$23.81

117.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 A$3.33

$0.78 MX$14.54

198.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.47 A$10.66

$3.17 MX$58.8

135.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.00 A$10.00

$4.93 MX$91.7

41.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.76 A$2.52

$1.41 MX$26.12

24.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.80 A$4.00

$2.22 MX$41.17

26.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.04 A$2.91

$1.42 MX$26.32

43.66%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.91

$2.52 MX$46.85

119.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.62 A$13.74

$7.26 MX$135

32.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.18 A$14.54

$7.70 MX$143

32.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.35 A$23.35

$12.69 MX$236

28.84%

Apples (1kg)

$4.25 A$6.07

$2.78 MX$51.7

52.88%

Banana (1kg)

$2.85 A$4.06

$1.37 MX$25.41

108.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.98 A$4.26

$2.55 MX$47.37

16.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.72 A$6.74

$2.12 MX$39.43

122.64%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.32

$1.94 MX$36.00

56.19%

Onion (1kg)

$2.34 A$3.34

$1.89 MX$35.02

23.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.23 A$3.19

$1.15 MX$21.29

93.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 A$2.22

$1.18 MX$21.89

32.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$48.29 A$69.0

$4.30 MX$79.8

1023.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.24 A$21.76

$9.95 MX$185

53.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.21 A$6.01

$1.58 MX$29.41

166.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.47 A$7.82

$2.67 MX$49.60

104.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.70 A$3.85

$0.55 MX$10.28

390.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.7 A$109

$26.62 MX$494

187.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.77 A$5.39

$4.97 MX$92.3

-24.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.80 A$2.57

$3.33 MX$61.9

-45.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$44.58 A$63.7

$5.36 MX$99.5

731.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 A$2.17

$1.44 MX$26.82

5.56%

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

$30.7K A$43.9K

$20.7K MX$383.8K

48.62%

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

$24.5K A$35.0K

$23.5K MX$435.8K

4.43%

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

$205 A$293

$84.8 MX$1,575

141.82%

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

$25.11 A$35.87

$23.41 MX$435

7.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.2 A$81.6

$28.66 MX$532

99.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.6 A$90.9

$57.1 MX$1,059

11.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.15 A$21.63

$28.91 MX$537

-47.60%

Cinema Ticket

$13.97 A$19.96

$5.14 MX$95.4

171.79%

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

$2,372 A$3,388

$207 MX$3,836

1048.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.7K A$30.9K

$3,927 MX$72.9K

451.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.0 A$98.5

$43.35 MX$805

59.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.07 A$68.7

$41.44 MX$770

16.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 A$151

$74.2 MX$1,378

42.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 A$178

$89.3 MX$1,657

39.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 A$2,277

$980 MX$18.2K

62.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,070 A$1,528

$381 MX$7,072

180.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,252 A$3,216

$1,708 MX$31.7K

31.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,720 A$2,457

$1,075 MX$20.0K

60.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,079 A$7,253

$3,943 MX$73.2K

28.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,926 A$7,035

$6,158 MX$114.4K

-20.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

11.45

-48.47%

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

Last update for Broken Hill: October 26, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Broken Hill

$1.1K 45.1%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 64.4% $689

Groceries & Markets

Broken Hill

$383 16.1%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 33.4% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Broken Hill

$287 12.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 52.4% $150

Eating Out

Broken Hill

$283 11.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 28.5% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Broken Hill

$156 6.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 28.6% $45

Getting Around

Broken Hill

$100 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 49.7% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Broken Hill

$92 3.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 26.5% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,594 in Broken Hill and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $83 in Broken Hill vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $383 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Broken Hill

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

16:42 4:42 PM

01:12 1:12 AM

15 h 30 min behind Broken Hill

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,456

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.7 USD

1 AUD = 0.625 EUR

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.7 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.625 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Broken Hill Playa del Carmen 15,060 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Broken Hill
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 49% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $3,556 in Broken Hill and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,594 in Broken Hill versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,372 in Broken Hill versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 50% higher in Broken Hill. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,371 in Broken Hill, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Broken Hill. 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Broken Hill. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.