Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kawasaki and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,476 in Kawasaki, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

71

Cost of Living Index in Kawasaki
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Kawasaki Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Kawasaki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,476

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,476 per month in Kawasaki vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Kawasaki $1,476
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,239 per month in Kawasaki vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Kawasaki $2,239
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,003 per month in Kawasaki vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Kawasaki $3,003
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Kawasaki costs about 23% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Kawasaki sits 8% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.43 ¥1,171

$10.92 MX$205

-31.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.97 ¥5,981

$43.37 MX$814

-12.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.99 ¥785

$11.78 MX$221

-57.64%

Cappuccino

$2.59 ¥407

$3.81 MX$71.5

-32.02%

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

$1.57 ¥248

$1.28 MX$24.07

22.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 ¥144

$0.78 MX$14.70

16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.23 ¥508

$3.17 MX$59.5

1.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 ¥493

$4.93 MX$92.7

-36.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ¥238

$1.41 MX$26.40

7.09%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 ¥246

$2.22 MX$41.62

-29.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.21 ¥663

$1.42 MX$26.61

196.48%

Eggs

$2.15 ¥339

$2.52 MX$47.36

-14.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.44 ¥1,802

$7.26 MX$136

57.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.72 ¥1,058

$7.70 MX$144

-12.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.41 ¥2,585

$12.69 MX$238

29.31%

Apples (1kg)

$6.02 ¥949

$2.78 MX$52.3

116.55%

Banana (1kg)

$2.85 ¥449

$1.37 MX$25.68

108.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.99 ¥785

$2.55 MX$47.89

95.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.18 ¥816

$2.12 MX$39.86

144.34%

Potato (1kg)

$3.40 ¥535

$1.94 MX$36.39

75.26%

Onion (1kg)

$3.09 ¥486

$1.89 MX$35.41

63.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ¥188

$1.15 MX$21.53

3.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 ¥122

$1.18 MX$22.13

-33.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.97 ¥625

$4.30 MX$80.6

-7.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.29 ¥1,463

$9.95 MX$187

-6.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.39 ¥377

$1.58 MX$29.73

51.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 ¥417

$2.67 MX$50.1

-0.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.92 ¥303

$0.55 MX$10.39

249.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.5 ¥7,948

$26.62 MX$500

89.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.10 ¥488

$4.97 MX$93.3

-37.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.20 ¥504

$3.33 MX$62.5

-3.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.58 ¥2,926

$5.36 MX$101

246.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.07 ¥168

$1.44 MX$27.11

-25.69%

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

$22.1K ¥3.5M

$20.7K MX$388.0K

7.02%

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

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$23.5K MX$440.5K

-34.56%

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

$129 ¥20.2K

$84.8 MX$1,592

51.57%

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

$23.08 ¥3,635

$23.41 MX$439

-1.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.16 ¥4,908

$28.66 MX$538

8.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.8 ¥8,790

$57.1 MX$1,071

-2.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.47 ¥1,019

$28.91 MX$543

-77.62%

Cinema Ticket

$12.62 ¥1,989

$5.14 MX$96.5

145.53%

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

$695 ¥109.5K

$207 MX$3,878

236.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.9K ¥2.3M

$3,927 MX$73.7K

279.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.2 ¥8,065

$43.35 MX$814

18.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.12 ¥5,217

$41.44 MX$778

-20.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.4 ¥10.5K

$74.2 MX$1,393

-10.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.4 ¥11.1K

$89.3 MX$1,676

-21.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$771 ¥121.5K

$980 MX$18.4K

-21.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$565 ¥89.0K

$381 MX$7,150

48.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,281 ¥201.7K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-25.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ¥158.5K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-6.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,670 ¥735.7K

$3,943 MX$74.0K

18.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,220 ¥507.3K

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-47.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,608 ¥410.7K

$735 MX$13.8K

255.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.02

11.45

-82.36%

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

Last update for Kawasaki: 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

Kawasaki

$565 38.3%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 32.6% $184

Groceries & Markets

Kawasaki

$333 22.5%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 23.4% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kawasaki

$183 12.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 25.1% $46

Eating Out

Kawasaki

$138 9.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 46.9% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Kawasaki

$99 6.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 12.3% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Kawasaki

$81 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 16.9% $14

Getting Around

Kawasaki

$77 5.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 34.7% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $771 in Kawasaki versus $980 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.

Salaries in Kawasaki are about 3.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38 in Kawasaki versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $333 in Kawasaki vs $255 in Playa del Carmen – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Kawasaki

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:33 4:33 AM

14:33 2:33 PM

14 h behind Kawasaki

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,538,262

149,923

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Kawasaki Playa del Carmen 12,060 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Kawasaki
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

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

Kawasaki costs about 23% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,214 per month in Kawasaki and $1,806 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 Kawasaki, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $771 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38 in Kawasaki and $43 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,476 in Kawasaki and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 18% cheaper.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,204 versus $1,476 in Kawasaki. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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