Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kingston and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,668 in Kingston, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Kingston
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Kingston Living Index
59

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

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Kingston

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,668

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,668 in Kingston versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Kingston $1,668
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,812 in Kingston versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Kingston $2,812
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,955 in Kingston versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Kingston $3,955
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Kingston is roughly 38% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kingston is 24% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.29 JMD 2,099

$10.76 MX$199

23.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.8 JMD 11.7K

$43.03 MX$795

71.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.14 JMD 1,285

$11.79 MX$218

-30.96%

Cappuccino

$5.45 JMD 861

$3.87 MX$71.4

40.83%

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

$1.14 JMD 180

$1.37 MX$25.29

-16.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 JMD 115

$0.84 MX$15.44

-14.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 JMD 341

$3.10 MX$57.3

-30.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 JMD 491

$5.07 MX$93.6

-38.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.19 JMD 661

$1.44 MX$26.55

190.97%

White Bread (500g)

$3.78 JMD 598

$2.23 MX$41.23

69.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 JMD 254

$1.47 MX$27.17

9.52%

Eggs

$3.48 JMD 550

$2.53 MX$46.71

37.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.40 JMD 1,801

$7.30 MX$135

56.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.35 JMD 1,003

$7.86 MX$145

-19.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.40 JMD 1,644

$12.79 MX$236

-18.69%

Apples (1kg)

$6.05 JMD 957

$2.90 MX$53.6

108.62%

Banana (1kg)

$3.82 JMD 604

$1.44 MX$26.53

165.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.25 JMD 1,146

$2.55 MX$47.07

184.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.06 JMD 484

$2.06 MX$38.03

48.54%

Potato (1kg)

$3.21 JMD 506

$2.00 MX$36.97

60.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.62 JMD 415

$2.01 MX$37.07

30.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.13 JMD 494

$1.19 MX$22.02

163.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 JMD 228

$1.26 MX$23.23

14.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.48 JMD 1,498

$4.40 MX$81.4

115.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.36 JMD 1,795

$9.59 MX$177

18.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.86 JMD 453

$1.59 MX$29.41

79.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.88 JMD 613

$2.81 MX$51.9

38.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 JMD 119

$0.57 MX$10.47

31.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.27 JMD 5,888

$27.82 MX$514

33.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 JMD 192

$4.98 MX$92.1

-75.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.20 JMD 505

$3.50 MX$64.6

-8.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.31 JMD 996

$5.40 MX$99.8

16.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 JMD 219

$1.47 MX$27.08

-5.44%

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

$44.3K JMD 7.0M

$21.0K MX$387.8K

111.05%

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

$32.8K JMD 5.2M

$23.9K MX$441.8K

37.12%

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

$167 JMD 26.4K

$84.2 MX$1,556

98.09%

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

$29.86 JMD 4,717

$23.99 MX$443

24.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.4 JMD 8,443

$29.02 MX$536

84.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.9 JMD 9,787

$63.0 MX$1,164

-1.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.61 JMD 2,782

$29.14 MX$539

-39.57%

Cinema Ticket

$13.15 JMD 2,078

$4.94 MX$91.3

166.19%

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

$359 JMD 56.7K

$204 MX$3,763

76.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,382 JMD 1.3M

$3,941 MX$72.8K

112.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.75 JMD 3,752

$43.60 MX$806

-45.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.13 JMD 4,918

$43.12 MX$797

-27.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.9 JMD 12.2K

$75.8 MX$1,400

1.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 JMD 15.9K

$88.6 MX$1,637

13.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$975 JMD 154.0K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-3.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$563 JMD 89.0K

$374 MX$6,911

50.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,142 JMD 338.5K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

25.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,421 JMD 224.6K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

28.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,876 JMD 454.4K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-27.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,044 JMD 323.0K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-66.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 JMD 116.1K

$754 MX$13.9K

-2.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

11.45

-17.47%

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

Last update for Kingston: October 10, 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

Kingston

$563 33.8%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 33.6% $189

Groceries & Markets

Kingston

$384 23%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 32.7% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kingston

$250 15%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 45.1% $113

Eating Out

Kingston

$221 13.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 8.3% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Kingston

$105 6.3%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 8.1% $8.5

Sport & Entertainment

Kingston

$88 5.3%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 17.4% $15

Getting Around

Kingston

$57 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 8.6% $4.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $975 in Kingston and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $74.0 in Kingston vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Kingston

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:28 12:28 PM

Same time as Kingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

660,000 Capital

149,923

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kingston Playa del Carmen 1,120 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Kingston
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 38% lower than in Kingston. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 3% lower in Playa del Carmen. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $975 in Kingston versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $359 in Kingston versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 49% higher in Kingston. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,668 in Kingston, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Kingston. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,210 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 38% less than in Kingston. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.