Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Bedford, MA and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,774 in New Bedford, MA, rent and utilities included – about $18,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

132

Cost of Living Index in New Bedford, MA
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New Bedford, MA Living Index
57

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

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New Bedford, MA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,774

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,774 per month in New Bedford, MA vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

New Bedford, MA $2,774
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $3,848 per month in New Bedford, MA vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

New Bedford, MA $3,848
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $4,921 per month in New Bedford, MA vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

New Bedford, MA $4,921
Playa del Carmen $2,962

New Bedford, MA costs about 131% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

New Bedford, MA sits 105% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.61 $19.61

$10.67 MX$199

83.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.5 $60.5

$43.80 MX$815

38.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.83 $5.83

$11.79 MX$219

-50.55%

Cappuccino

$3.89 $3.89

$3.79 MX$70.5

2.64%

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

$2.26 $2.26

$1.30 MX$24.14

73.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 $1.29

$0.83 MX$15.51

55.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.97 $5.97

$3.15 MX$58.6

89.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 $3.91

$4.93 MX$91.8

-20.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 $1.05

$1.41 MX$26.22

-25.53%

White Bread (500g)

$4.48 $4.48

$2.20 MX$40.86

103.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$16.29 $16.29

$1.47 MX$27.40

1008.16%

Eggs

$6.47 $6.47

$2.50 MX$46.46

158.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.42 $10.42

$7.29 MX$136

42.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.47 $10.47

$7.95 MX$148

31.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.43 $19.43

$12.86 MX$239

51.09%

Apples (1kg)

$5.44 $5.44

$2.90 MX$53.9

87.59%

Banana (1kg)

$4.31 $4.31

$1.38 MX$25.74

212.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.33 $3.33

$2.49 MX$46.35

33.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.15 $3.15

$2.03 MX$37.77

55.17%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 $2.24

$2.02 MX$37.68

10.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.39 $2.39

$1.90 MX$35.42

25.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.63 $2.63

$1.14 MX$21.30

130.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 $2.82

$1.24 MX$23.05

127.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.74 $12.74

$4.27 MX$79.5

198.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.07 $17.07

$9.81 MX$183

74.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 $1.81

$1.59 MX$29.51

13.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 $2.75

$2.75 MX$51.1

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 $3.71

$4.76 MX$88.6

-22.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.19 $2.19

$3.25 MX$60.5

-32.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$48.09 $48.09

$5.39 MX$100

792.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 $1.08

$1.53 MX$28.44

-29.41%

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

$27.3K $27.3K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

28.81%

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

$26.3K $26.3K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

13.01%

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

$196 $196

$83.5 MX$1,554

134.44%

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

$37.66 $37.66

$23.19 MX$431

62.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$61.1 $61.1

$27.61 MX$514

121.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.22 $29.22

$56.4 MX$1,050

-48.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$12.30 $12.30

$5.00 MX$93.1

146.00%

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

$2,163 $2,163

$207 MX$3,854

944.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$34.0K $34.0K

$5,231 MX$97.3K

550.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.99 $37.99

$43.45 MX$809

-12.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.41 $16.41

$42.54 MX$792

-61.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.8 $98.8

$72.8 MX$1,354

35.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,798 $1,798

$995 MX$18.5K

80.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 $1,594

$382 MX$7,116

316.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,647 $2,647

$1,674 MX$31.2K

58.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,369 $2,369

$1,081 MX$20.1K

119.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,565 $4,565

$832 MX$15.5K

448.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.42

11.45

-52.66%

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

Last update for New Bedford, MA: October 31, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

New Bedford, MA

$1.6K 57.5%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 76% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

New Bedford, MA

$475 17.1%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 45.8% $218

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Bedford, MA

$294 10.6%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 54.4% $160

Eating Out

New Bedford, MA

$273 9.8%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 26.6% $73

Clothing & Footwear

New Bedford, MA

$69 * 2.5%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 61.4% $42

Sport & Entertainment

New Bedford, MA

$54 1.9%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 23.4% $13

Getting Around

New Bedford, MA

$15 * 0.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 245% $36

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,798 in New Bedford, MA versus $995 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 New Bedford, MA are about 5.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60 in New Bedford, MA versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $475 vs $257 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇸 New Bedford, MA

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

05:31 5:31 AM

Same time as New Bedford, MA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

92,538

149,923

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 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 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

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New Bedford, MA Playa del Carmen 2,790 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

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New Bedford, MA
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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

New Bedford, MA vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,774 in New Bedford, MA, $1,202 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 57% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,161 per month in New Bedford, MA and $1,804 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 Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $995 there versus $1,798 in New Bedford, MA.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60 in New Bedford, MA and $44 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 85% more in New Bedford, MA, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in New Bedford, MA at $2,774. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in New Bedford, MA it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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