Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ciudad Victoria and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living costs are similar in Ciudad Victoria and in Playa del Carmen: $1,259 and $1,210 a month, rent and utilities included.

60

Cost of Living Index in Ciudad Victoria
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Ciudad Victoria Living Index
59

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

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Ciudad Victoria

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,259

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,259 per month in Ciudad Victoria vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ciudad Victoria $1,259
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $1,975 per month in Ciudad Victoria vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ciudad Victoria $1,975
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $2,691 per month in Ciudad Victoria vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ciudad Victoria $2,691
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Ciudad Victoria costs about 4% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Ciudad Victoria and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Ciudad Victoria 7% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.97 MX$258

$10.76 MX$199

29.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.17 MX$909

$43.03 MX$795

14.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.09 MX$205

$11.79 MX$218

-5.94%

Cappuccino

$4.06 MX$74.9

$3.87 MX$71.4

4.91%

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

$1.62 MX$29.99

$1.37 MX$25.29

18.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 MX$18.40

$0.84 MX$15.44

19.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.35 MX$43.51

$3.10 MX$57.3

-24.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 MX$82.0

$5.07 MX$93.6

-12.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.91 MX$35.35

$1.44 MX$26.55

32.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.84 MX$52.5

$2.23 MX$41.23

27.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.89 MX$34.86

$1.47 MX$27.17

28.57%

Eggs

$2.59 MX$47.78

$2.53 MX$46.71

2.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.01 MX$222

$7.30 MX$135

64.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.13 MX$169

$7.86 MX$145

16.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.94 MX$239

$12.79 MX$236

1.17%

Apples (1kg)

$3.27 MX$60.4

$2.90 MX$53.6

12.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 MX$29.39

$1.44 MX$26.53

10.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.13 MX$39.30

$2.55 MX$47.07

-16.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.68 MX$31.12

$2.06 MX$38.03

-18.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.27 MX$41.98

$2.00 MX$36.97

13.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.70 MX$49.96

$2.01 MX$37.07

34.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 MX$28.34

$1.19 MX$22.02

28.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.01

$1.26 MX$23.23

-0.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.92 MX$90.9

$4.40 MX$81.4

11.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.89 MX$257

$9.59 MX$177

44.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.26

$1.59 MX$29.41

23.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 MX$54.2

$2.81 MX$51.9

4.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 MX$14.01

$0.57 MX$10.47

33.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MX$30.62

$4.98 MX$92.1

-66.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.86

$3.50 MX$64.6

-67.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.75 MX$199

$5.40 MX$99.8

99.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 MX$27.78

$1.47 MX$27.08

2.04%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

0.24%

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

$24.7K MX$456.2K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

3.27%

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

$57.1 MX$1,055

$84.2 MX$1,556

-32.19%

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

$26.20 MX$484

$23.99 MX$443

9.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.86 MX$478

$29.02 MX$536

-10.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.16 MX$631

$63.0 MX$1,164

-45.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.33 MX$339

$29.14 MX$539

-37.10%

Cinema Ticket

$5.30 MX$98.0

$4.94 MX$91.3

7.29%

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

$222 MX$4,101

$204 MX$3,763

9.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K MX$212.3K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

191.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.8 MX$1,345

$43.60 MX$806

66.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.76 MX$790

$43.12 MX$797

-0.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,060

$75.8 MX$1,400

47.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,170

$88.6 MX$1,637

32.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$588 MX$10.9K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-41.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$409 MX$7,557

$374 MX$6,911

9.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,111 MX$20.5K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-34.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$679 MX$12.5K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-38.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,882 MX$34.8K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-52.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,204 MX$22.2K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-80.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

11.45

2.97%

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

Last update for Ciudad Victoria: October 13, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ciudad Victoria

$409 32.5%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 8.6% $35

Groceries & Markets

Ciudad Victoria

$305 24.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 15.4% $47

Eating Out

Ciudad Victoria

$225 17.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 10% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Ciudad Victoria

$155 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 27.1% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ciudad Victoria

$109 8.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 25.7% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Ciudad Victoria

$45 3.6%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 62.8% $28

Getting Around

Ciudad Victoria

$10 * 0.8%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 409% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $588 in Ciudad Victoria versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $49.00 in Ciudad Victoria versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $305 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Ciudad Victoria

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:19 11:19 PM

00:19 12:19 AM

1 h ahead of Ciudad Victoria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

332,100

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Ciudad Victoria Playa del Carmen 1,290 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Ciudad Victoria
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $1,259 in Ciudad Victoria, $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – roughly 4% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,888 per month in Ciudad Victoria and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,259 in Ciudad Victoria and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 4%.

Kindergarten costs $222 per month in Ciudad Victoria and $204 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Ciudad Victoria at $1,259. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ciudad Victoria it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,210 in Playa del Carmen to $1,259 in Ciudad Victoria. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Ciudad Victoria makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.