Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Daytona Beach, FL and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,645 in Daytona Beach, FL, rent and utilities included – about $17,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Daytona Beach, FL
Learn more

Daytona Beach, FL Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Daytona Beach, FL

🇺🇸 United States

$2,645

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,645 in Daytona Beach, FL versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Daytona Beach, FL $2,645
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,834 in Daytona Beach, FL versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Daytona Beach, FL $3,834
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,024 in Daytona Beach, FL versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Daytona Beach, FL $5,024
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Daytona Beach, FL is roughly 118% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Daytona Beach, FL is 95% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.30 $21.30

$10.86 MX$201

96.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.6 $80.6

$44.21 MX$817

82.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.03 $12.03

$11.76 MX$217

2.30%

Cappuccino

$7.20 $7.20

$3.68 MX$68.0

95.65%

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

$3.08 $3.08

$1.34 MX$24.79

129.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 $2.38

$0.82 MX$15.24

190.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.87 $6.87

$3.06 MX$56.6

124.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.52 $6.52

$4.94 MX$91.2

31.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.47 MX$27.17

-29.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.88 $2.88

$2.22 MX$40.95

29.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 $2.51

$1.48 MX$27.32

69.59%

Eggs

$4.85 $4.85

$2.49 MX$45.99

94.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.45 $7.45

$7.52 MX$139

-0.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.36 $12.36

$7.96 MX$147

55.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.94 $12.94

$12.57 MX$232

2.94%

Apples (1kg)

$5.92 $5.92

$2.78 MX$51.3

112.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 $1.39

$1.43 MX$26.37

-2.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.13 $4.13

$2.62 MX$48.37

57.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.16 $3.16

$2.14 MX$39.49

47.66%

Potato (1kg)

$2.50 $2.50

$2.02 MX$37.38

23.76%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 $2.42

$1.99 MX$36.74

21.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 $1.37

$1.14 MX$21.01

20.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 $1.75

$1.20 MX$22.18

45.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.39 $8.39

$4.26 MX$78.7

96.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.79 $10.79

$10.02 MX$185

7.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 $2.04

$1.54 MX$28.41

32.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 $2.66

$2.66 MX$49.17

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.48 $1.48

$0.53 MX$9.73

179.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$35.44 $35.44

$27.51 MX$508

28.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.19 $25.19

$5.38 MX$99.4

368.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 $0.94

$1.45 MX$26.76

-35.17%

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

$26.3K $26.3K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

24.30%

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

$26.0K $26.0K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

13.09%

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

$142 $142

$85.4 MX$1,577

66.60%

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

$66.4 $66.4

$23.46 MX$434

182.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$78.1 $78.1

$28.43 MX$525

174.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.92 $28.92

$62.2 MX$1,149

-53.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.19 $25.19

$28.68 MX$530

-12.17%

Cinema Ticket

$13.58 $13.58

$5.10 MX$94.3

166.27%

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

$621 $621

$201 MX$3,715

209.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.3 $52.3

$44.39 MX$820

17.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 $51.8

$41.35 MX$764

25.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.9 $85.9

$72.7 MX$1,344

18.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 $113

$89.6 MX$1,656

25.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,577 $1,577

$979 MX$18.1K

60.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,424 $1,424

$373 MX$6,887

282.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,447 $2,447

$1,681 MX$31.1K

45.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,227 $2,227

$1,095 MX$20.2K

103.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,631 $2,631

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-33.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,540 $2,540

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-58.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,219 $3,219

$738 MX$13.6K

336.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.68

11.45

-41.66%

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

Last update for Daytona Beach, FL: 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

Daytona Beach, FL

$1.4K 53.9%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 73.8% $1.1K

Eating Out

Daytona Beach, FL

$362 13.7%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 44.7% $162

Groceries & Markets

Daytona Beach, FL

$338 12.8%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 23.5% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Daytona Beach, FL

$287 10.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 52.1% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Daytona Beach, FL

$136 5.2%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 18% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Daytona Beach, FL

$56 2.1%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 29.1% $16

Getting Around

Daytona Beach, FL

$41 * 1.6%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 24.9% $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 $1,577 in Daytona Beach, FL and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Daytona Beach, FL pays 327% 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: $81.0 in Daytona Beach, FL vs $43.00 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

🇺🇸 Daytona Beach, FL

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:00 6:00 AM

05:00 5:00 AM

1 h behind Daytona Beach, FL

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

64,183

149,923

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 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).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Daytona Beach, FL Playa del Carmen 1,130 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Daytona Beach, FL
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

Daytona Beach, FL vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 118% lower than in Daytona Beach, FL. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 327% higher in Daytona Beach, FL, 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: $1,577 in Daytona Beach, FL versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Daytona Beach, FL. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $81.0 in Daytona Beach, FL. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,645 in Daytona Beach, FL, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Daytona Beach, FL. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,210 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 118% less than in Daytona Beach, FL. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.