Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cedar City, UT and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,279 in Cedar City, UT, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

111

Cost of Living Index in Cedar City, UT
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Cedar City, UT Living Index
58

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

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Cedar City, UT

🇺🇸 United States

$2,279

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,279 in Cedar City, UT versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Cedar City, UT $2,279
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,568 in Cedar City, UT versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Cedar City, UT $3,568
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,858 in Cedar City, UT versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Cedar City, UT $4,858
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Cedar City, UT is roughly 89% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cedar City, UT is 67% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.83 $23.83

$10.92 MX$204

118.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.6 $80.6

$43.37 MX$808

85.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.84 $14.84

$11.78 MX$220

25.98%

Cappuccino

$6.41 $6.41

$3.81 MX$71.0

68.24%

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

$4.73 $4.73

$1.28 MX$23.90

269.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 $3.05

$0.78 MX$14.59

291.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.03 $6.03

$3.17 MX$59.0

90.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.95 $10.95

$4.93 MX$92.0

122.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.08 $1.08

$1.41 MX$26.22

-23.40%

White Bread (500g)

$3.55 $3.55

$2.22 MX$41.33

59.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.29 $4.29

$1.42 MX$26.42

202.11%

Eggs

$3.71 $3.71

$2.52 MX$47.03

47.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.44 $18.44

$7.26 MX$135

153.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.63 $15.63

$7.70 MX$143

102.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.08 $18.08

$12.69 MX$237

42.47%

Apples (1kg)

$8.01 $8.01

$2.78 MX$51.9

188.13%

Banana (1kg)

$2.34 $2.34

$1.37 MX$25.50

70.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.86 $7.86

$2.55 MX$47.55

208.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.75 $3.75

$2.12 MX$39.58

76.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 $1.69

$1.94 MX$36.13

-12.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.38 $2.38

$1.89 MX$35.16

25.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.25 $2.25

$1.15 MX$21.37

95.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.25 $2.25

$1.18 MX$21.98

90.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.78 $12.78

$4.30 MX$80.1

197.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.69 $21.69

$9.95 MX$185

117.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 $1.87

$1.58 MX$29.52

18.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.69 $4.69

$2.67 MX$49.79

75.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.11 $5.11

$0.55 MX$10.31

829.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.21 $40.21

$26.62 MX$496

51.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.89 $0.89

$1.44 MX$26.92

-38.19%

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

$36.9K $36.9K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

78.62%

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

$25.0K $25.0K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

6.36%

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

$173 $173

$84.8 MX$1,581

103.67%

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

$32.82 $32.82

$23.41 MX$436

40.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.3 $57.3

$28.66 MX$534

99.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.9 $55.9

$57.1 MX$1,063

-1.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$11.54 $11.54

$5.14 MX$95.8

124.51%

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

$207 MX$3,851

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.8 $57.8

$43.35 MX$808

33.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 $50.7

$41.44 MX$772

22.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.9 $99.9

$74.2 MX$1,383

34.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 $151

$89.3 MX$1,664

69.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 $1,061

$980 MX$18.3K

8.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$842 $842

$381 MX$7,099

120.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,898 $1,898

$1,708 MX$31.8K

11.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,620 $1,620

$1,075 MX$20.0K

50.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,693 $2,693

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-31.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,653 $2,653

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-56.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,495 $3,495

$735 MX$13.7K

375.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.19

11.45

-37.21%

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

Last update for Cedar City, UT: 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.

Accommodation & Living

Cedar City, UT

$842 36.9%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 54.7% $461

Groceries & Markets

Cedar City, UT

$478 21%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 46.7% $223

Eating Out

Cedar City, UT

$395 17.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 48.8% $193

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cedar City, UT

$263 11.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 47.9% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Cedar City, UT

$162 7.1%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 31% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Cedar City, UT

$79 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 14.8% $12

Getting Around

Cedar City, UT

$61 * 2.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 16.8% $10

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,061 in Cedar City, UT and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cedar City, UT pays about 4.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $81 in Cedar City, UT vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $478 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Cedar City, UT

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

16:22 4:22 PM

17:22 5:22 PM

1 h ahead of Cedar City, UT

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

28,857

149,923

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Cedar City, UT Playa del Carmen 3,140 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cedar City, UT
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

Cedar City, UT vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 47% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Cedar City, UT is about 4.8 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: $1,061 in Cedar City, UT versus $980 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 $43 versus $81 in Cedar City, UT. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 34% less than in Cedar City, UT. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,279 in Cedar City, UT, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Cedar City, UT. 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 47% less than in Cedar City, UT. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.