Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Houston, MO and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,699 in Houston, MO, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

132

Cost of Living Index in Houston, MO
Learn more

Houston, MO Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Houston, MO

🇺🇸 United States

$2,699

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,699 in Houston, MO versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Houston, MO $2,699
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,960 in Houston, MO versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Houston, MO $3,960
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,221 in Houston, MO versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Houston, MO $5,221
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Houston, MO is roughly 123% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Houston, MO is 100% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.08 $18.08

$10.76 MX$199

68.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.5 $77.5

$43.03 MX$795

80.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.09 $12.09

$11.79 MX$218

2.54%

Cappuccino

$5.18 $5.18

$3.87 MX$71.4

33.85%

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

$2.42 $2.42

$1.37 MX$25.29

76.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 $1.75

$0.84 MX$15.44

108.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.60 $5.60

$3.10 MX$57.3

80.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.20 $7.20

$5.07 MX$93.6

42.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 $1.24

$1.44 MX$26.55

-13.89%

White Bread (500g)

$3.80 $3.80

$2.23 MX$41.23

70.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.71 $5.71

$1.47 MX$27.17

288.44%

Eggs

$3.90 $3.90

$2.53 MX$46.71

54.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.29 $13.29

$7.30 MX$135

82.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.41 $15.41

$7.86 MX$145

96.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.59 $20.59

$12.79 MX$236

60.99%

Apples (1kg)

$8.21 $8.21

$2.90 MX$53.6

183.10%

Banana (1kg)

$2.39 $2.39

$1.44 MX$26.53

65.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.55 $5.55

$2.55 MX$47.07

117.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.26 $5.26

$2.06 MX$38.03

155.34%

Potato (1kg)

$4.32 $4.32

$2.00 MX$36.97

116.00%

Onion (1kg)

$4.96 $4.96

$2.01 MX$37.07

146.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.83 $2.83

$1.19 MX$22.02

137.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 $2.82

$1.26 MX$23.23

123.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.24 $8.24

$4.40 MX$81.4

87.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.19 $15.19

$9.59 MX$177

58.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.83 $2.83

$1.59 MX$29.41

77.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 $3.22

$2.81 MX$51.9

14.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.90 $1.90

$0.57 MX$10.47

233.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.40 $3.40

$4.98 MX$92.1

-31.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 $1.59

$3.50 MX$64.6

-54.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.87 $39.87

$5.40 MX$99.8

638.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 $1.01

$1.47 MX$27.08

-31.29%

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

$35.7K $35.7K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

70.24%

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

$24.5K $24.5K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

2.46%

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

$244 $244

$84.2 MX$1,556

189.26%

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

$68.3 $68.3

$23.99 MX$443

184.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$74.7 $74.7

$29.02 MX$536

157.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.02 $44.02

$63.0 MX$1,164

-30.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$13.93 $13.93

$4.94 MX$91.3

181.98%

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

$1,425 $1,425

$204 MX$3,763

600.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.6K $23.6K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

499.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.8 $58.8

$43.60 MX$806

34.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.41 $39.41

$43.12 MX$797

-8.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.1 $87.1

$75.8 MX$1,400

15.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 $119

$88.6 MX$1,637

34.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,347 $1,347

$1,008 MX$18.6K

33.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,292 $1,292

$374 MX$6,911

245.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,488 $2,488

$1,708 MX$31.6K

45.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,150 $2,150

$1,106 MX$20.4K

94.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,726 $2,726

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-30.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,291 $2,291

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-62.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.72

11.45

-41.31%

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

Last update for Houston, MO: October 12, 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

Houston, MO

$1.3K 47.9%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 71.1% $918

Groceries & Markets

Houston, MO

$490 18.2%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 47.3% $232

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Houston, MO

$387 14.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 64.5% $249

Eating Out

Houston, MO

$302 11.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 33.1% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Houston, MO

$137 5.1%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 17.6% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Houston, MO

$72 2.7%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 1.4% $1

Getting Around

Houston, MO

$19 * 0.7%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 177% $34

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 $1,347 in Houston, MO and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $78.0 in Houston, MO vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $490 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Houston, MO

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

02:39 2:39 AM

Same time as Houston, MO

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,304,580

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

Houston, MO Playa del Carmen 1,920 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Houston, MO
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

Houston, MO vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 123% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $4,049 in Houston, MO and $1,816 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,347 in Houston, MO versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,425 in Houston, MO versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $78.0 in Houston, MO. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,699 in Houston, MO, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Houston, MO. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Houston, MO, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 123% less than in Houston, MO. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.