Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Juneau, AK and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,150 in Juneau, AK, rent and utilities included – about $23,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

153

Cost of Living Index in Juneau, AK
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Juneau, AK Living Index
58

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

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Juneau, AK

🇺🇸 United States

$3,150

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,150 in Juneau, AK versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Juneau, AK $3,150
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,821 in Juneau, AK versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Juneau, AK $4,821
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,492 in Juneau, AK versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Juneau, AK $6,492
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Juneau, AK is roughly 162% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Juneau, AK is 131% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.63 $16.63

$10.92 MX$205

52.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.6 $88.6

$43.37 MX$813

104.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.93 $15.93

$11.78 MX$221

35.23%

Cappuccino

$6.81 $6.81

$3.81 MX$71.4

78.74%

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

$2.78 $2.78

$1.28 MX$24.03

117.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 $2.19

$0.78 MX$14.67

180.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.95 $6.95

$3.17 MX$59.3

119.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 $7.13

$4.93 MX$92.5

44.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.41 MX$26.35

2.84%

White Bread (500g)

$7.63 $7.63

$2.22 MX$41.54

243.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.81 $4.81

$1.42 MX$26.56

238.73%

Eggs

$5.49 $5.49

$2.52 MX$47.27

117.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.45 $22.45

$7.26 MX$136

209.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.38 $15.38

$7.70 MX$144

99.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.72 $18.72

$12.69 MX$238

47.52%

Apples (1kg)

$6.62 $6.62

$2.78 MX$52.2

138.13%

Banana (1kg)

$3.70 $3.70

$1.37 MX$25.64

170.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.81 $4.81

$2.55 MX$47.80

88.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.68 $5.68

$2.12 MX$39.78

167.92%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 $3.03

$1.94 MX$36.32

56.19%

Onion (1kg)

$4.39 $4.39

$1.89 MX$35.34

132.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.81 $2.81

$1.15 MX$21.49

144.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 $2.64

$1.18 MX$22.09

123.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.78 $14.78

$4.30 MX$80.5

243.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.11 $17.11

$9.95 MX$186

71.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 $2.58

$1.58 MX$29.67

63.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 $3.24

$2.67 MX$50.1

21.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.06 $2.06

$0.55 MX$10.37

274.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.77 $39.77

$26.62 MX$499

49.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 $1.21

$1.44 MX$27.06

-15.97%

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

$23.8K $23.8K

$20.7K MX$387.3K

15.19%

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

$32.6K $32.6K

$23.5K MX$439.7K

38.97%

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

$380 $380

$84.8 MX$1,589

348.71%

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

$75.3 $75.3

$23.41 MX$439

221.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$110 $110

$28.66 MX$537

283.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$132 $132

$57.1 MX$1,069

130.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

Cinema Ticket

$14.75 $14.75

$5.14 MX$96.3

186.96%

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

$1,586 $1,586

$207 MX$3,871

667.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.0 $60.0

$43.35 MX$812

38.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.62 $45.62

$41.44 MX$777

10.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.0 $86.0

$74.2 MX$1,390

15.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$148 $148

$89.3 MX$1,672

66.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,644 $1,644

$980 MX$18.4K

67.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 $1,341

$381 MX$7,136

252.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,029 $3,029

$1,708 MX$32.0K

77.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,724 $2,724

$1,075 MX$20.1K

153.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,481 $3,481

$3,943 MX$73.9K

-11.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,529 $3,529

$6,158 MX$115.4K

-42.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,023 $4,023

$735 MX$13.8K

447.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.56

11.45

-42.71%

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

Last update for Juneau, AK: October 27, 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

Juneau, AK

$1.3K 42.6%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 71.6% $961

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Juneau, AK

$566 18%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 75.8% $429

Groceries & Markets

Juneau, AK

$550 17.5%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 53.7% $295

Eating Out

Juneau, AK

$331 10.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 38.9% $129

Sport & Entertainment

Juneau, AK

$161 5.1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 58.2% $94

Clothing & Footwear

Juneau, AK

$153 4.9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 27% $41

Getting Around

Juneau, AK

$48 * 1.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 5.1% $2.5

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 $1,644 in Juneau, AK and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Juneau, AK pays about 5.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $89 in Juneau, AK vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $550 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Juneau, AK

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:07 6:07 AM

10:07 10:07 AM

4 h ahead of Juneau, AK

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

31,000

149,923

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 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 November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Juneau, AK Playa del Carmen 5,640 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Juneau, AK
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

Juneau, AK vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 62% lower than in Juneau, AK. 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 in Juneau, AK is about 5.5 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: $1,644 in Juneau, AK versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $3,150 per month in Juneau, AK versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 62% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 33% less than in Juneau, AK. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,150 in Juneau, AK, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Juneau, AK. 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 62% less than in Juneau, AK. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.