Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jingmen and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Jingmen: $741 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Jingmen
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Jingmen Living Index
59

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

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Jingmen

🇨🇳 China

$741

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $741 per month in Jingmen vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Jingmen $741
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $1,215 per month in Jingmen vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Jingmen $1,215
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $1,689 per month in Jingmen vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Jingmen $1,689
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Jingmen is about 39% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Jingmen and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Jingmen 45% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.08 ¥20.58

$10.76 MX$199

-71.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.61 ¥151

$43.03 MX$795

-47.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.11 ¥27.49

$11.79 MX$218

-65.14%

Cappuccino

$2.21 ¥14.76

$3.87 MX$71.4

-42.89%

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

$0.43 ¥2.90

$1.37 MX$25.29

-68.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.92

$0.84 MX$15.44

-65.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.86 ¥5.78

$3.10 MX$57.3

-72.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 ¥7.17

$5.07 MX$93.6

-78.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 ¥13.38

$1.44 MX$26.55

38.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 ¥11.94

$2.23 MX$41.23

-19.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ¥6.89

$1.47 MX$27.17

-29.93%

Eggs

$1.67 ¥11.15

$2.53 MX$46.71

-33.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.15 ¥87.9

$7.30 MX$135

80.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.69 ¥24.66

$7.86 MX$145

-53.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.68 ¥91.4

$12.79 MX$236

6.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 ¥14.73

$2.90 MX$53.6

-24.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.20 ¥8.03

$1.44 MX$26.53

-16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.41 ¥9.45

$2.55 MX$47.07

-44.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.11 ¥7.40

$2.06 MX$38.03

-46.12%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ¥5.51

$2.00 MX$36.97

-59.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 ¥5.16

$2.01 MX$37.07

-61.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.38 ¥2.52

$1.19 MX$22.02

-68.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 ¥2.89

$1.26 MX$23.23

-65.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.53 ¥43.65

$4.40 MX$81.4

48.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.67 ¥98.1

$9.59 MX$177

52.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ¥5.00

$1.59 MX$29.41

-52.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 ¥13.61

$2.81 MX$51.9

-27.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 ¥2.14

$0.57 MX$10.47

-43.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.67 ¥132

$27.82 MX$514

-29.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.47 ¥9.82

$4.98 MX$92.1

-70.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$3.50 MX$64.6

-91.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.34 ¥29.03

$5.40 MX$99.8

-19.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.07 ¥7.17

$1.47 MX$27.08

-27.21%

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

$19.7K ¥131.5K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

-6.26%

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

$16.8K ¥112.5K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

-29.63%

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

$57.6 ¥385

$84.2 MX$1,556

-31.58%

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

$7.52 ¥50.3

$23.99 MX$443

-68.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.70 ¥78.3

$29.02 MX$536

-59.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.91 ¥300

$63.0 MX$1,164

-28.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.76 ¥85.3

$29.14 MX$539

-56.21%

Cinema Ticket

$5.35 ¥35.74

$4.94 MX$91.3

8.30%

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

$375 ¥2,505

$204 MX$3,763

84.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ¥79.3K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

200.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.4 ¥363

$43.60 MX$806

24.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.37 ¥223

$43.12 MX$797

-22.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.6 ¥405

$75.8 MX$1,400

-20.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 ¥756

$88.6 MX$1,637

27.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$277 ¥1,850

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-72.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$170 ¥1,134

$374 MX$6,911

-54.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$664 ¥4,438

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-61.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$396 ¥2,648

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-64.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,203 ¥21.4K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-18.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,196 ¥14.7K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-64.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.31

11.45

-71.09%

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

Last update for Jingmen: 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.

Groceries & Markets

Jingmen

$225 30.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 15% $34

Accommodation & Living

Jingmen

$170 22.9%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 121% $204

Clothing & Footwear

Jingmen

$118 15.9%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 4% $4.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jingmen

$77 10.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 78.6% $60

Eating Out

Jingmen

$73 9.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 178% $129

Sport & Entertainment

Jingmen

$56 7.5%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 31% $17

Getting Around

Jingmen

$24 3.2%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 120% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $277 in Jingmen 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 $23.00 in Jingmen versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $258 – making Jingmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Jingmen

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

15:39 3:39 PM

02:39 2:39 AM

13 h behind Jingmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,873,687

149,923

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 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).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Jingmen Playa del Carmen 13,910 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Jingmen
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $741 in Jingmen, $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – roughly 63% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,112 per month in Jingmen 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 Jingmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $375 per month in Jingmen and $204 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 15% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Jingmen, where all-in costs run around $741, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Jingmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen 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 $741 in Jingmen to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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