Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ibaraki and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibaraki: $1,142 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $720 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

54

Cost of Living Index in Ibaraki
Learn more

Ibaraki Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Ibaraki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,142

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,142 in Ibaraki versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Ibaraki $1,142
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,768 in Ibaraki versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Ibaraki $1,768
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,395 in Ibaraki versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Ibaraki $2,395
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Ibaraki costs roughly 5% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ibaraki 16% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.20 ¥977

$10.67 MX$200

-41.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.03 ¥4,888

$43.80 MX$823

-29.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.22 ¥822

$11.79 MX$221

-55.73%

Cappuccino

$3.15 ¥496

$3.79 MX$71.1

-16.89%

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

$1.15 ¥181

$1.30 MX$24.36

-11.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.79 ¥124

$0.83 MX$15.65

-4.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 ¥417

$3.15 MX$59.1

-15.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 ¥491

$4.93 MX$92.7

-36.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.73 ¥429

$1.41 MX$26.46

93.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 ¥247

$2.20 MX$41.23

-28.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.10 ¥646

$1.47 MX$27.66

178.91%

Eggs

$2.03 ¥319

$2.50 MX$46.89

-18.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.34 ¥1,628

$7.29 MX$137

41.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.54 ¥1,031

$7.95 MX$149

-17.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 ¥2,638

$12.86 MX$242

30.25%

Apples (1kg)

$3.71 ¥585

$2.90 MX$54.4

27.93%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 ¥359

$1.38 MX$25.98

65.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.95 ¥464

$2.49 MX$46.78

18.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.16 ¥655

$2.03 MX$38.12

104.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 ¥390

$2.02 MX$38.03

22.28%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 ¥410

$1.90 MX$35.74

36.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 ¥208

$1.14 MX$21.49

15.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 ¥134

$1.24 MX$23.27

-31.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ¥676

$4.27 MX$80.2

0.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 ¥1,035

$9.81 MX$184

-33.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 ¥293

$1.59 MX$29.78

16.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 ¥327

$2.75 MX$51.6

-24.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 ¥258

$0.51 MX$9.67

221.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$57.8 ¥9,109

$27.39 MX$514

111.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.75 ¥749

$4.76 MX$89.4

-0.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.93 ¥461

$3.25 MX$61.0

-9.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.58 ¥4,028

$5.39 MX$101

374.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ¥172

$1.53 MX$28.70

-28.76%

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

$21.7K ¥3.4M

$21.2K MX$398.4K

2.34%

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

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$23.3K MX$436.9K

-33.90%

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

$138 ¥21.7K

$83.5 MX$1,568

64.81%

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

$24.35 ¥3,835

$23.19 MX$435

5.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.52 ¥4,964

$27.61 MX$519

14.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.6 ¥7,973

$56.4 MX$1,060

-10.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$529

Cinema Ticket

$12.49 ¥1,967

$5.00 MX$93.9

149.80%

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

$626 ¥98.6K

$207 MX$3,889

202.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$5,231 MX$98.2K

195.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.34 ¥4,148

$43.45 MX$816

-39.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.99 ¥5,039

$42.54 MX$799

-24.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.6 ¥10.6K

$72.8 MX$1,367

-7.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.0 ¥12.8K

$88.4 MX$1,660

-8.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$403 ¥63.4K

$995 MX$18.7K

-59.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$264 ¥41.6K

$382 MX$7,181

-30.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 ¥161.9K

$1,674 MX$31.4K

-38.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 ¥83.0K

$1,081 MX$20.3K

-51.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,712 ¥742.1K

$3,909 MX$73.4K

20.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,384 ¥375.5K

$6,138 MX$115.3K

-61.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,498 ¥393.4K

$832 MX$15.6K

200.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.21

11.45

-80.70%

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

Last update for Ibaraki: October 31, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ibaraki

$301 26.4%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 14.5% $44

Accommodation & Living

Ibaraki

$264 23.2%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 44.7% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ibaraki

$193 17%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 30.6% $59

Eating Out

Ibaraki

$130 11.4%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 53.7% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Ibaraki

$93 8.2%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 19.5% $18

Getting Around

Ibaraki

$84 7.3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 39.8% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Ibaraki

$76 6.6%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 12.1% $9.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $403 in Ibaraki and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ibaraki pays about 3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31 in Ibaraki vs $44 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $301 vs $257, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Ibaraki

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

16:03 4:03 PM

02:03 2:03 AM

14 h behind Ibaraki

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

287,730

149,923

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.66 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 157 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.66 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.08 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ibaraki Playa del Carmen 12,380 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Ibaraki
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,142 in Ibaraki and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, so Ibaraki is about 5% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Ibaraki is about 3 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: $403 in Ibaraki versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Playa del Carmen pay roughly 14% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Ibaraki – a meal for two runs $31 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Ibaraki gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.