Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Carlton and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,253 in Carlton, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in Carlton
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Carlton Living Index
59

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

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Carlton

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,253

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,253 in Carlton versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Carlton $2,253
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,284 in Carlton versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Carlton $3,284
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,315 in Carlton versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Carlton $4,315
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Carlton is roughly 87% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Carlton is 66% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.35 A$24.96

$10.86 MX$201

59.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.5 A$100.0

$44.21 MX$817

57.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 A$14.66

$11.76 MX$217

-13.35%

Cappuccino

$3.03 A$4.36

$3.68 MX$68.0

-17.66%

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

$2.63 A$3.78

$1.34 MX$24.79

96.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 A$3.04

$0.82 MX$15.24

157.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.54 A$9.41

$3.06 MX$56.6

113.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.57 A$9.46

$4.94 MX$91.2

33.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 A$1.92

$1.47 MX$27.17

-8.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 A$2.98

$2.22 MX$40.95

-6.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 A$1.92

$1.48 MX$27.32

-9.46%

Eggs

$3.27 A$4.70

$2.49 MX$45.99

31.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.29 A$14.81

$7.52 MX$139

36.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.98 A$14.37

$7.96 MX$147

25.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.85 A$21.37

$12.57 MX$232

18.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$2.78 MX$51.3

17.99%

Banana (1kg)

$2.84 A$4.09

$1.43 MX$26.37

98.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.21 A$4.62

$2.62 MX$48.37

22.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.51 A$6.49

$2.14 MX$39.49

110.75%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.55

$2.02 MX$37.38

22.28%

Onion (1kg)

$2.14 A$3.08

$1.99 MX$36.74

7.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.17 A$3.13

$1.14 MX$21.01

90.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 A$1.30

$1.20 MX$22.18

-25.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.29 A$36.39

$4.26 MX$78.7

493.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.37 A$14.92

$10.02 MX$185

3.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.69 A$8.18

$1.54 MX$28.41

269.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.21 A$7.50

$2.66 MX$49.17

95.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.05 A$4.39

$0.53 MX$9.73

475.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.2 A$118

$27.51 MX$508

198.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.53 A$5.07

$4.90 MX$90.6

-27.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.23 A$1.77

$3.43 MX$63.5

-64.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.49 A$38.12

$5.38 MX$99.4

392.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 A$1.88

$1.45 MX$26.76

-10.34%

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

$18.1K A$26.1K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

-14.42%

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

$14.0K A$20.1K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

-39.32%

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

$92.2 A$133

$85.4 MX$1,577

8.04%

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

$27.31 A$39.30

$23.46 MX$434

16.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.00 A$67.6

$28.43 MX$525

65.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.64 A$45.53

$62.2 MX$1,149

-49.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.38 A$25.01

$28.68 MX$530

-39.40%

Cinema Ticket

$13.20 A$19.00

$5.10 MX$94.3

158.82%

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

$2,076 A$2,987

$201 MX$3,715

932.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K A$17.8K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

212.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.3 A$114

$44.39 MX$820

78.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.34 A$71.0

$41.35 MX$764

19.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.7 A$100

$72.7 MX$1,344

-4.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$89.6 MX$1,656

49.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,395 A$2,007

$979 MX$18.1K

42.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 A$1,679

$373 MX$6,887

213.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,121 A$3,052

$1,681 MX$31.1K

26.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,784 A$2,568

$1,095 MX$20.2K

62.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,783 A$8,322

$3,949 MX$73.0K

46.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,967 A$7,148

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-19.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,754 A$8,280

$738 MX$13.6K

680.19%

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 Carlton: 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

Carlton

$1.2K 51.8%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 68.1% $794

Groceries & Markets

Carlton

$338 15%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 23.4% $79

Eating Out

Carlton

$271 12%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 26% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Carlton

$167 7.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 17.6% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Carlton

$150 6.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 25.4% $38

Getting Around

Carlton

$104 4.6%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 50.3% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Carlton

$58 2.6%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 24.7% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,395 in Carlton and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Carlton pays 680% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $69.0 in Carlton vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $338 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Carlton

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:40 10:40 PM

06:40 6:40 AM

16 h behind Carlton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,001

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 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 AUD in detail →

On the map

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Carlton Playa del Carmen 14,690 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Carlton
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

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

Carlton and Playa del Carmen differ by about 87% in total monthly costs ($2,253 vs $1,204 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 680% higher in Carlton, 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: $1,395 in Carlton versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,076 in Carlton versus $201 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 31% higher in Carlton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,253 in Carlton, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Carlton. 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.

Safety-wise, Carlton and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 87% less than in Carlton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.