Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cave Valley and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Cave Valley: $1,003 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

48

Cost of Living Index in Cave Valley
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Cave Valley Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Cave Valley

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,003

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,003 in Cave Valley versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Cave Valley $1,003
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,661 in Cave Valley versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Cave Valley $1,661
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,318 in Cave Valley versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Cave Valley $2,318
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Cave Valley costs roughly 17% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cave Valley 26% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.51 JMD 2,130

$10.92 MX$204

23.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.2 JMD 11.7K

$43.37 MX$810

71.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 JMD 1,328

$11.78 MX$220

-28.52%

Cappuccino

$5.34 JMD 843

$3.81 MX$71.2

40.16%

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

$1.15 JMD 182

$1.28 MX$23.96

-10.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 JMD 117

$0.78 MX$14.63

-5.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.17 JMD 341

$3.17 MX$59.2

-31.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 JMD 482

$4.93 MX$92.2

-37.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.16 JMD 656

$1.41 MX$26.28

195.04%

White Bread (500g)

$3.68 JMD 580

$2.22 MX$41.43

65.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 JMD 250

$1.42 MX$26.48

11.97%

Eggs

$3.63 JMD 572

$2.52 MX$47.14

44.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.55 JMD 1,821

$7.26 MX$136

59.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.21 JMD 979

$7.70 MX$144

-19.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.36 JMD 1,634

$12.69 MX$237

-18.36%

Apples (1kg)

$6.15 JMD 969

$2.78 MX$52.0

121.22%

Banana (1kg)

$3.93 JMD 620

$1.37 MX$25.56

186.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.51 JMD 1,185

$2.55 MX$47.66

194.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.98 JMD 470

$2.12 MX$39.67

40.57%

Potato (1kg)

$3.30 JMD 520

$1.94 MX$36.22

70.10%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 JMD 430

$1.89 MX$35.24

44.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.01 JMD 475

$1.15 MX$21.42

161.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 JMD 237

$1.18 MX$22.03

27.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.25 JMD 1,458

$4.30 MX$80.3

115.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.53 JMD 1,818

$9.95 MX$186

15.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 JMD 438

$1.58 MX$29.59

75.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 JMD 625

$2.67 MX$49.91

48.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.34

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$497

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 JMD 201

$4.97 MX$92.9

-74.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.20 JMD 504

$3.33 MX$62.2

-3.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.41 JMD 1,011

$5.36 MX$100

19.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 JMD 221

$1.44 MX$26.98

-2.78%

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

$43.3K JMD 6.8M

$20.7K MX$386.2K

109.62%

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

$32.3K JMD 5.1M

$23.5K MX$438.5K

37.70%

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

$166 JMD 26.1K

$84.8 MX$1,584

95.21%

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

$29.39 JMD 4,635

$23.41 MX$437

25.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.0 JMD 8,201

$28.66 MX$535

81.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,066

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

Cinema Ticket

$13.12 JMD 2,070

$5.14 MX$96.0

155.25%

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

$368 JMD 58.0K

$207 MX$3,860

78.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,266 JMD 1.3M

$3,927 MX$73.4K

110.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.60 JMD 3,722

$43.35 MX$810

-45.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.02 JMD 4,891

$41.44 MX$774

-25.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.3 JMD 12.0K

$74.2 MX$1,386

2.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 JMD 16.3K

$89.3 MX$1,668

15.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

11.45

-17.47%

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

Last update for Cave Valley: 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.

Groceries & Markets

Cave Valley

$386 38.4%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 33.9% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cave Valley

$247 24.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 44.6% $110

Eating Out

Cave Valley

$222 22.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 8.8% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Cave Valley

$105 10.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 6.1% $6.4

Sport & Entertainment

Cave Valley

$26 * 2.6%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 157% $41

Getting Around

Cave Valley

$17 * 1.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 192% $33

Accommodation & Living

Cave Valley

- * 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

Dining out: $74 in Cave Valley vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $386 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Cave Valley

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

10:49 10:49 AM

Same time as Cave Valley

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cave Valley Playa del Carmen 960 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cave Valley
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

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

Cave Valley and Playa del Carmen differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,003 vs $1,204 including rent). Cave Valley is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,505 in Cave Valley 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.

Shoppers in Playa del Carmen pay roughly 34% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,003 per month in Cave Valley versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Cave Valley 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.