Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oaxaca de Juarez and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living costs are similar in Oaxaca de Juarez and in Playa del Carmen: $1,154 and $1,210 a month, rent and utilities included.

56

Cost of Living Index in Oaxaca de Juarez
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Oaxaca de Juarez Living Index
59

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

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Oaxaca de Juarez

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,154

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,154 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Oaxaca de Juarez $1,154
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,781 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Oaxaca de Juarez $1,781
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,408 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Oaxaca de Juarez $2,408
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Oaxaca de Juarez costs roughly 5% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Oaxaca de Juarez 15% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.48 MX$120

$10.76 MX$199

-39.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.81 MX$606

$43.03 MX$795

-23.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.33 MX$154

$11.79 MX$218

-29.35%

Cappuccino

$2.82 MX$52.1

$3.87 MX$71.4

-27.13%

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

$1.51 MX$27.83

$1.37 MX$25.29

10.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.79 MX$14.59

$0.84 MX$15.44

-5.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 MX$45.90

$3.10 MX$57.3

-20.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.79 MX$70.0

$5.07 MX$93.6

-25.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 MX$24.59

$1.44 MX$26.55

-7.64%

White Bread (500g)

$3.13 MX$57.8

$2.23 MX$41.23

40.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.12 MX$20.62

$1.47 MX$27.17

-23.81%

Eggs

$1.74 MX$32.21

$2.53 MX$46.71

-31.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.44 MX$119

$7.30 MX$135

-11.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.49 MX$101

$7.86 MX$145

-30.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.27 MX$208

$12.79 MX$236

-11.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.46

$2.90 MX$53.6

-26.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 MX$22.80

$1.44 MX$26.53

-14.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.14

$2.55 MX$47.07

-25.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.53 MX$9.81

$2.06 MX$38.03

-74.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.18

$2.00 MX$36.97

0.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$2.01 MX$37.07

-0.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 MX$20.58

$1.19 MX$22.02

-6.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 MX$17.46

$1.26 MX$23.23

-25.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.24 MX$78.3

$4.40 MX$81.4

-3.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.40 MX$174

$9.59 MX$177

-1.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 MX$27.11

$1.59 MX$29.41

-7.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 MX$48.64

$2.81 MX$51.9

-6.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.81

$0.57 MX$10.47

-7.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.89 MX$71.9

$4.98 MX$92.1

-21.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.95 MX$36.12

$3.50 MX$64.6

-44.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.89 MX$201

$5.40 MX$99.8

101.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 MX$25.17

$1.47 MX$27.08

-7.48%

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

$21.4K MX$396.0K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

2.11%

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

$24.4K MX$450.4K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

1.96%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$84.2 MX$1,556

-25.76%

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

$11.03 MX$204

$23.99 MX$443

-54.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.19 MX$447

$29.02 MX$536

-16.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.34 MX$819

$63.0 MX$1,164

-29.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.58 MX$103

$4.94 MX$91.3

12.96%

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

$422 MX$7,795

$204 MX$3,763

107.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K MX$369.3K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

407.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 MX$988

$43.60 MX$806

22.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.6 MX$1,138

$43.12 MX$797

42.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 MX$1,887

$75.8 MX$1,400

34.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.3 MX$1,816

$88.6 MX$1,637

10.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$696 MX$12.9K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-30.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$481 MX$8,885

$374 MX$6,911

28.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 MX$22.3K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-29.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$892 MX$16.5K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-19.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.96

11.45

-4.28%

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

Last update for Oaxaca de Juarez: October 12, 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

Oaxaca de Juarez

$481 41.7%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 22.2% $107

Groceries & Markets

Oaxaca de Juarez

$222 19.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 16.3% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Oaxaca de Juarez

$142 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 20.4% $29

Eating Out

Oaxaca de Juarez

$140 12.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 44.6% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oaxaca de Juarez

$98 8.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 40.4% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Oaxaca de Juarez

$56 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 31.3% $17

Getting Around

Oaxaca de Juarez

$16 * 1.4%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 233% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $696 in Oaxaca de Juarez and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $33.00 in Oaxaca de Juarez vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $258 per month, with Oaxaca de Juarez cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Oaxaca de Juarez

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

01:54 1:54 AM

02:54 2:54 AM

1 h ahead of Oaxaca de Juarez

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

258,913

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Oaxaca de Juarez Playa del Carmen 1,090 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Oaxaca de Juarez
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

Oaxaca de Juarez vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Oaxaca de Juarez wins on cost – living expenses run 5% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Oaxaca de Juarez the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,731 in Oaxaca de Juarez and $1,816 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: $696 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,154 per month in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 5% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,154 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Oaxaca de Juarez but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Oaxaca de Juarez the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Oaxaca de Juarez delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,154 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Oaxaca de Juarez hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Oaxaca de Juarez 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 Oaxaca de Juarez gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.