Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Northam and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,572 in Northam, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Northam
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Northam Living Index
57

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

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Northam

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,572

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,572 in Northam versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Northam $2,572
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,691 in Northam versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Northam $3,691
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,809 in Northam versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Northam $4,809
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Northam is roughly 114% 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: Northam is 90% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.68 A$29.84

$10.67 MX$200

93.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.9 A$122

$43.80 MX$823

93.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.94 A$15.78

$11.79 MX$221

-7.21%

Cappuccino

$4.48 A$6.46

$3.79 MX$71.1

18.21%

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

$2.90 A$4.18

$1.30 MX$24.36

123.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 A$3.17

$0.83 MX$15.65

165.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.45 A$12.18

$3.15 MX$59.1

168.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.16 A$11.77

$4.93 MX$92.7

65.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.76 A$2.55

$1.41 MX$26.46

24.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.60 A$3.75

$2.20 MX$41.23

18.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 A$2.85

$1.47 MX$27.66

34.69%

Eggs

$4.69 A$6.76

$2.50 MX$46.89

87.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.47 A$9.33

$7.29 MX$137

-11.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.09 A$13.12

$7.95 MX$149

14.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.20 A$20.48

$12.86 MX$242

10.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.76 A$3.99

$2.90 MX$54.4

-4.83%

Banana (1kg)

$3.21 A$4.64

$1.38 MX$25.98

132.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 A$5.05

$2.49 MX$46.78

40.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.92 A$7.10

$2.03 MX$38.12

142.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.93 A$4.23

$2.02 MX$38.03

45.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 A$2.75

$1.90 MX$35.74

0.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.31 A$3.33

$1.14 MX$21.49

102.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 A$0.98

$1.24 MX$23.27

-45.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$42.81 A$61.8

$4.27 MX$80.2

902.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.44 A$4.97

$9.81 MX$184

-64.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.37 A$6.31

$1.59 MX$29.78

174.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 A$4.82

$2.75 MX$51.6

21.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.78 A$4.01

$0.51 MX$9.67

445.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.4 A$123

$27.39 MX$514

211.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.56 A$5.13

$4.76 MX$89.4

-25.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.45 A$2.10

$3.25 MX$61.0

-55.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.13 A$59.3

$5.39 MX$101

663.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.02

$1.53 MX$28.70

-8.50%

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

$30.3K A$43.7K

$21.2K MX$398.4K

42.88%

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

$27.3K A$39.4K

$23.3K MX$436.9K

17.52%

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

$209 A$302

$83.5 MX$1,568

150.41%

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

$24.31 A$35.07

$23.19 MX$435

4.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.0 A$93.7

$27.61 MX$519

135.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.0 A$79.3

$56.4 MX$1,060

-2.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.47 A$25.21

$28.19 MX$529

-38.03%

Cinema Ticket

$17.29 A$24.95

$5.00 MX$93.9

245.80%

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

$2,334 A$3,367

$207 MX$3,889

1027.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.4K A$33.7K

$5,231 MX$98.2K

347.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.5 A$110

$43.45 MX$816

75.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 A$89.8

$42.54 MX$799

46.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$123 A$178

$72.8 MX$1,367

69.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 A$235

$88.4 MX$1,660

83.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,401 A$2,020

$995 MX$18.7K

40.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,240 A$1,788

$382 MX$7,181

224.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,249 A$3,244

$1,674 MX$31.4K

34.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,820 A$2,625

$1,081 MX$20.3K

68.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,898 A$8,508

$3,909 MX$73.4K

50.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,898 A$7,066

$6,138 MX$115.3K

-20.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.96

11.45

-47.95%

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

Last update for Northam: November 1, 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

Northam

$1.2K 48.2%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 69.2% $857

Eating Out

Northam

$331 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 39.5% $131

Groceries & Markets

Northam

$315 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 18.3% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Northam

$298 11.6%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 55% $164

Clothing & Footwear

Northam

$191 7.4%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 41.8% $80

Getting Around

Northam

$107 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 53% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Northam

$90 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 25.8% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,401 in Northam and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85 in Northam vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $315 vs $257 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Northam

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

19:24 7:24 PM

06:24 6:24 AM

13 h behind Northam

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.693 USD

1 AUD = 0.617 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.693 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.617 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Northam Playa del Carmen 17,350 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Northam
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 53% lower than in Northam. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $3,858 in Northam and $1,804 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,401 in Northam versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $44 versus $85 in Northam. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,572 per month in Northam versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 53% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,572 in Northam, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Northam. 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Northam. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.