Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hamar and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,461 in Hamar, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Hamar
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Hamar Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Hamar

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,461

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,461 in Hamar versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Hamar $2,461
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,857 in Hamar versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Hamar $3,857
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,253 in Hamar versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Hamar $5,253
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Hamar is roughly 104% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hamar is 81% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.67 NOK 200

$10.92 MX$205

98.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$129 NOK 1,191

$43.37 MX$815

198.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.21 NOK 149

$11.78 MX$221

37.61%

Cappuccino

$5.89 NOK 54.3

$3.81 MX$71.6

54.59%

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

$4.52 NOK 41.67

$1.28 MX$24.10

253.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 NOK 31.23

$0.78 MX$14.71

334.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.04 NOK 111

$3.17 MX$59.5

279.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.70 NOK 80.2

$4.93 MX$92.7

76.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.56 NOK 23.60

$1.41 MX$26.43

81.56%

White Bread (500g)

$3.10 NOK 28.60

$2.22 MX$41.66

39.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 NOK 19.32

$1.42 MX$26.64

47.89%

Eggs

$6.23 NOK 57.5

$2.52 MX$47.41

147.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.12 NOK 102

$7.26 MX$137

53.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.62 NOK 116

$7.70 MX$145

63.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.47 NOK 290

$12.69 MX$239

147.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.36 NOK 30.98

$2.78 MX$52.3

20.86%

Banana (1kg)

$2.77 NOK 25.55

$1.37 MX$25.71

102.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 NOK 28.43

$2.55 MX$47.94

20.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.17 NOK 56.9

$2.12 MX$39.90

191.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.50 NOK 23.08

$1.94 MX$36.43

28.87%

Onion (1kg)

$2.61 NOK 24.08

$1.89 MX$35.44

38.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.19 NOK 20.23

$1.15 MX$21.55

90.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 NOK 18.51

$1.18 MX$22.16

70.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.50 NOK 180

$4.30 MX$80.7

353.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.93 NOK 156

$9.95 MX$187

70.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.55 NOK 32.77

$1.58 MX$29.76

124.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 NOK 40.37

$2.67 MX$50.2

64.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.66 NOK 42.91

$0.55 MX$10.40

747.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$69.2 NOK 638

$26.62 MX$500

159.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$12.31 NOK 113

$4.97 MX$93.4

147.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 NOK 17.80

$3.33 MX$62.6

-42.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$72.8 NOK 671

$5.36 MX$101

1258.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.39 NOK 22.02

$1.44 MX$27.14

65.97%

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

$49.6K NOK 457.0K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

139.94%

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

$46.3K NOK 426.5K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

97.22%

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

$230 NOK 2,120

$84.8 MX$1,594

171.31%

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

$34.38 NOK 317

$23.41 MX$440

46.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.1 NOK 507

$28.66 MX$539

92.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$59.1 NOK 545

$57.1 MX$1,072

3.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.46 NOK 272

$28.91 MX$543

1.90%

Cinema Ticket

$20.16 NOK 186

$5.14 MX$96.6

292.22%

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

$217 NOK 1,997

$207 MX$3,882

4.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K NOK 148.0K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

308.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 NOK 960

$43.35 MX$815

140.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.5 NOK 557

$41.44 MX$779

45.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 NOK 1,254

$74.2 MX$1,394

83.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 NOK 975

$89.3 MX$1,677

18.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,270 NOK 11.7K

$980 MX$18.4K

29.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$884 NOK 8,149

$381 MX$7,157

132.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,595 NOK 14.7K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-6.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,517 NOK 14.0K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

41.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,359 NOK 40.2K

$3,943 MX$74.1K

10.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,609 NOK 33.3K

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-41.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,415 NOK 40.7K

$735 MX$13.8K

501.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

11.45

-56.86%

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

Last update for Hamar: 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.

Accommodation & Living

Hamar

$884 35.9%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 56.9% $503

Groceries & Markets

Hamar

$463 18.8%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 45% $209

Eating Out

Hamar

$402 16.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 49.6% $200

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hamar

$319 13%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 57.2% $183

Clothing & Footwear

Hamar

$183 7.4%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 38.9% $71

Getting Around

Hamar

$110 4.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 54% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Hamar

$99 4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 32.3% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,270 in Hamar and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hamar pays about 6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $129 in Hamar vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $463 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Hamar

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

02:25 2:25 AM

20:25 8:25 PM

6 h behind Hamar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

33,059

149,923

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.85 USD

100 NOK = 9.72 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.22 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.29 NOK (100 NOK = 9.72 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Hamar Playa del Carmen 8,440 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Hamar
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,461 in Hamar and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Hamar is about 6 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: $1,270 in Hamar versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 82% higher in Hamar. 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 versus $129 in Hamar. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,461 in Hamar, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Hamar. 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 51% less than in Hamar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.