Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Castle Rock, CO and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,255 in Castle Rock, CO, rent and utilities included – about $610 less a year. The total is higher in Castle Rock, CO despite lower rent and utilities.

60

Cost of Living Index in Castle Rock, CO
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Castle Rock, CO Living Index
58

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

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Castle Rock, CO

🇺🇸 United States

$1,255

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,255 in Castle Rock, CO versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Castle Rock, CO $1,255
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,982 in Castle Rock, CO versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Castle Rock, CO $1,982
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,709 in Castle Rock, CO versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Castle Rock, CO $2,709
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Castle Rock, CO is roughly 4% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Castle Rock, CO 8% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.15 $22.15

$10.92 MX$205

102.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.0 $65.0

$43.37 MX$815

49.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.15 $9.15

$11.78 MX$221

-22.33%

Cappuccino

$5.46 $5.46

$3.81 MX$71.6

43.31%

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

$2.53 $2.53

$1.28 MX$24.10

97.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 $1.95

$0.78 MX$14.71

150.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.03 $7.03

$3.17 MX$59.5

121.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.15 $6.15

$4.93 MX$92.7

24.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 $1.03

$1.41 MX$26.43

-26.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.90 $2.90

$2.22 MX$41.66

30.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.72 $2.72

$1.42 MX$26.64

91.55%

Eggs

$4.36 $4.36

$2.52 MX$47.41

73.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.04 $11.04

$7.26 MX$137

52.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.51 $9.51

$7.70 MX$145

23.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.86 $18.86

$12.69 MX$239

48.62%

Apples (1kg)

$4.71 $4.71

$2.78 MX$52.3

69.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 $1.41

$1.37 MX$25.71

2.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.79 $3.79

$2.55 MX$47.94

48.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.33 $5.33

$2.12 MX$39.90

151.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.79 $2.79

$1.94 MX$36.43

43.81%

Onion (1kg)

$3.27 $3.27

$1.89 MX$35.44

73.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 $1.32

$1.15 MX$21.55

14.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 $1.77

$1.18 MX$22.16

50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.41 $10.41

$4.30 MX$80.7

142.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.22 $12.22

$9.95 MX$187

22.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.60 $2.60

$1.58 MX$29.76

64.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 $2.65

$2.67 MX$50.2

-0.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.43 $2.43

$4.97 MX$93.4

-51.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.90 $1.90

$3.33 MX$62.6

-42.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.72 $24.72

$5.36 MX$101

361.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.79 $0.79

$1.44 MX$27.14

-45.14%

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

$28.4K $28.4K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

37.29%

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

$26.1K $26.1K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

11.41%

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

$215 $215

$84.8 MX$1,594

153.80%

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

$40.02 $40.02

$23.41 MX$440

70.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.7 $69.7

$28.66 MX$539

143.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$59.5 $59.5

$57.1 MX$1,072

4.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$12.10 $12.10

$5.14 MX$96.6

135.41%

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

$1,319 $1,319

$207 MX$3,882

538.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K $18.3K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

365.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.0 $54.0

$43.35 MX$815

24.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.2 $50.2

$41.44 MX$779

21.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.3 $81.3

$74.2 MX$1,394

9.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 $116

$89.3 MX$1,677

30.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,897 $5,897

$735 MX$13.8K

702.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.77

11.45

-40.87%

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

Last update for Castle Rock, CO: October 24, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Castle Rock, CO

$363 28.9%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 29.8% $108

Eating Out

Castle Rock, CO

$336 26.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 39.7% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Castle Rock, CO

$325 25.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 57.9% $188

Clothing & Footwear

Castle Rock, CO

$136 10.8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 17.8% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Castle Rock, CO

$84 6.7%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 19.6% $16

Getting Around

Castle Rock, CO

$12 * 1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 323% $39

Accommodation & Living

Castle Rock, CO

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

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

Cost Breakdown

Castle Rock, CO pays about 8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $65 in Castle Rock, CO vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $363 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Castle Rock, CO

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:11 4:11 AM

06:11 6:11 AM

2 h ahead of Castle Rock, CO

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

73,158

149,923

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Castle Rock, CO Playa del Carmen 2,690 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Castle Rock, CO
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

Castle Rock, CO vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,255 in Castle Rock, CO and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 4% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Castle Rock, CO is about 8 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Castle Rock, CO. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,255 per month in Castle Rock, CO versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 4% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Playa del Carmen gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Castle Rock, CO on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.