Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Norfolk and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,351 in Norfolk, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Norfolk
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Norfolk Living Index
59

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

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Norfolk

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,351

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,351 in Norfolk versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Norfolk $2,351
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,303 in Norfolk versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Norfolk $3,303
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,255 in Norfolk versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Norfolk $4,255
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Norfolk is roughly 94% 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: Norfolk is 74% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.96 £16.47

$10.76 MX$199

104.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.6 £55.2

$43.03 MX$795

71.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.31 £8.48

$11.79 MX$218

-4.07%

Cappuccino

$4.89 £3.67

$3.87 MX$71.4

26.36%

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

$2.80 £2.10

$1.37 MX$25.29

104.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 £1.21

$0.84 MX$15.44

92.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.66 £5.00

$3.10 MX$57.3

114.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.24 £3.93

$5.07 MX$93.6

3.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.44 MX$26.55

15.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 £1.15

$2.23 MX$41.23

-31.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.15 £1.61

$1.47 MX$27.17

46.26%

Eggs

$4.43 £3.33

$2.53 MX$46.71

75.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.78 £7.34

$7.30 MX$135

33.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.70 £6.53

$7.86 MX$145

10.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.67 £11.01

$12.79 MX$236

14.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 £2.14

$2.90 MX$53.6

-1.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.44 MX$26.53

5.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 £2.20

$2.55 MX$47.07

14.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.52 £3.39

$2.06 MX$38.03

119.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 £1.16

$2.00 MX$36.97

-22.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 £1.12

$2.01 MX$37.07

-25.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 £0.86

$1.19 MX$22.02

-3.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.26 MX$23.23

39.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.56 £17.68

$4.40 MX$81.4

435.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.58 £7.94

$9.59 MX$177

10.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.15 £2.36

$1.59 MX$29.41

98.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 £2.33

$2.81 MX$51.9

10.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.69 £2.02

$0.57 MX$10.47

371.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.6 £71.8

$27.82 MX$514

243.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.93 £2.95

$4.98 MX$92.1

-21.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.35 £1.01

$3.50 MX$64.6

-61.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.83 £14.13

$5.40 MX$99.8

248.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.01 £1.51

$1.47 MX$27.08

36.73%

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

$38.3K £28.7K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

82.38%

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

$40.2K £30.2K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

68.15%

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

$313 £235

$84.2 MX$1,556

272.27%

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

$20.07 £15.06

$23.99 MX$443

-16.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.75 £34.32

$29.02 MX$536

57.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.42 £34.08

$63.0 MX$1,164

-27.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$11.98 £8.99

$4.94 MX$91.3

142.51%

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

$1,260 £945

$204 MX$3,763

518.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K £9,220

$3,941 MX$72.8K

211.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$115 £86.4

$43.60 MX$806

164.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.1 £37.55

$43.12 MX$797

16.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 £84.6

$75.8 MX$1,400

48.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 £78.9

$88.6 MX$1,637

18.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,105 £829

$1,008 MX$18.6K

9.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$974 £731

$374 MX$6,911

160.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,579 £1,185

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-7.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,347 £1,010

$1,106 MX$20.4K

21.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,002 £3,753

$3,944 MX$72.9K

26.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,908 £2,932

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-36.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,332 £1,749

$754 MX$13.9K

209.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

11.45

-55.98%

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

Last update for Norfolk: October 13, 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

Norfolk

$974 41.4%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 61.6% $600

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Norfolk

$379 16.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 63.8% $242

Eating Out

Norfolk

$330 14%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 38.6% $127

Groceries & Markets

Norfolk

$309 13.2%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 16.4% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Norfolk

$172 7.3%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 34.5% $59

Getting Around

Norfolk

$117 5%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 55.1% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Norfolk

$69 3%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 5% $3.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,105 in Norfolk and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Norfolk pays 209% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $74.0 in Norfolk vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $309 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Norfolk

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

18:12 6:12 PM

12:12 12:12 PM

6 h behind Norfolk

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,256

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

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Between locations

Norfolk Playa del Carmen 8,070 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Norfolk
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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

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

Norfolk and Playa del Carmen differ by about 94% in total monthly costs ($2,351 vs $1,210 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 209% higher in Norfolk, 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: $1,105 in Norfolk versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,351 per month in Norfolk versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 94% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 244% less than in Norfolk. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,351 in Norfolk, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Norfolk. 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.

Safety-wise, Norfolk and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 94% less than in Norfolk. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.