Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Livingston and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,109 in Livingston, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Livingston
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Livingston Living Index
58

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

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Livingston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,109

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,109 in Livingston versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Livingston $2,109
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,288 in Livingston versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Livingston $3,288
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,467 in Livingston versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Livingston $4,467
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Livingston is roughly 75% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Livingston is 55% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.94 £14.90

$10.92 MX$205

82.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$100 £75.0

$43.37 MX$815

131.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.45 £7.81

$11.78 MX$221

-11.29%

Cappuccino

$5.24 £3.91

$3.81 MX$71.6

37.53%

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

$2.72 £2.03

$1.28 MX$24.10

112.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 £1.69

$0.78 MX$14.71

189.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.77 £5.06

$3.17 MX$59.5

113.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.70 £5.00

$4.93 MX$92.7

35.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.41 MX$26.43

1.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 £1.45

$2.22 MX$41.66

-12.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.22 £1.66

$1.42 MX$26.64

56.34%

Eggs

$3.66 £2.74

$2.52 MX$47.41

45.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.00 £6.72

$7.26 MX$137

23.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.86 £6.62

$7.70 MX$145

15.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.53 £10.86

$12.69 MX$239

14.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 £2.17

$2.78 MX$52.3

4.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 £1.36

$1.37 MX$25.71

32.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 £2.14

$2.55 MX$47.94

12.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.41 £2.55

$2.12 MX$39.90

60.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.94 MX$36.43

-11.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.89 MX$35.44

-26.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.15 MX$21.55

5.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.18 MX$22.16

32.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.78 £15.52

$4.30 MX$80.7

383.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.81 £8.08

$9.95 MX$187

8.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.06 £2.29

$1.58 MX$29.76

93.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.42

$2.67 MX$50.2

20.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.49 £2.61

$0.55 MX$10.40

534.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.2 £71.1

$26.62 MX$500

257.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.29 £3.95

$4.97 MX$93.4

6.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 £1.21

$3.33 MX$62.6

-51.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.76 £20.74

$5.36 MX$101

417.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.44 MX$27.14

43.75%

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

$38.8K £29.0K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

87.66%

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

$40.0K £29.9K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

70.30%

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

$321 £240

$84.8 MX$1,594

278.85%

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

$16.94 £12.66

$23.41 MX$440

-27.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.06 £30.68

$28.66 MX$539

43.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.04 £34.40

$57.1 MX$1,072

-19.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$10.51 £7.85

$5.14 MX$96.6

104.47%

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

$1,245 £930

$207 MX$3,882

502.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.5K £13.1K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

346.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.2 £68.9

$43.35 MX$815

112.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.80 £35.71

$41.44 MX$779

15.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 £81.0

$74.2 MX$1,394

46.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.1 £71.8

$89.3 MX$1,677

7.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$852 £636

$980 MX$18.4K

-13.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$763 £570

$381 MX$7,157

100.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,930 £1,442

$1,708 MX$32.1K

13.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,502 £1,122

$1,075 MX$20.2K

39.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,998 £3,734

$3,943 MX$74.1K

26.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,861 £2,884

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-37.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,972 £2,967

$735 MX$13.8K

440.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.15

11.45

-55.02%

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

Last update for Livingston: October 24, 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

Livingston

$763 36.2%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 50.1% $382

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Livingston

$379 18%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 63.9% $242

Eating Out

Livingston

$321 15.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 36.9% $119

Groceries & Markets

Livingston

$301 14.3%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 15.4% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Livingston

$155 7.4%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 27.9% $43

Getting Around

Livingston

$123 5.8%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 58.8% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Livingston

$67 3.2%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 0.4% $0.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $852 in Livingston and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Livingston pays about 5.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $100 in Livingston vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $301 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Livingston

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

02:07 2:07 AM

21:07 9:07 PM

5 h behind Livingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

56,840

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Livingston Playa del Carmen 7,730 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Livingston
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 43% lower than in Livingston. 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 Livingston is about 5.4 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: $852 in Livingston versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,245 in Livingston versus $207 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 18% higher in Livingston. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,109 in Livingston, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Livingston. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Livingston on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.