Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Okayama and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Okayama: $979 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Okayama
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Okayama Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Okayama

🇯🇵 Japan

$979

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $979 in Okayama versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Okayama $979
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,575 in Okayama versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Okayama $1,575
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,171 in Okayama versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Okayama $2,171
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Okayama costs roughly 19% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Okayama 28% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.97 ¥942

$10.92 MX$205

-45.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.17 ¥3,969

$43.37 MX$815

-41.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.04 ¥795

$11.78 MX$221

-57.22%

Cappuccino

$1.74 ¥274

$3.81 MX$71.6

-54.33%

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

$0.69 ¥109

$1.28 MX$24.10

-46.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 ¥109

$0.78 MX$14.71

-11.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.94 ¥305

$3.17 MX$59.5

-38.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 ¥305

$4.93 MX$92.7

-60.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 ¥215

$1.41 MX$26.43

-3.55%

White Bread (500g)

$0.62 ¥97.5

$2.22 MX$41.66

-72.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.09 ¥645

$1.42 MX$26.64

188.03%

Eggs

$1.55 ¥244

$2.52 MX$47.41

-38.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.16 ¥2,390

$7.26 MX$137

108.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.43 ¥1,013

$7.70 MX$145

-16.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.03 ¥2,686

$12.69 MX$239

34.20%

Apples (1kg)

$5.05 ¥796

$2.78 MX$52.3

81.65%

Banana (1kg)

$3.10 ¥489

$1.37 MX$25.71

126.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.02 ¥791

$2.55 MX$47.94

96.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.38 ¥690

$2.12 MX$39.90

106.60%

Potato (1kg)

$2.17 ¥342

$1.94 MX$36.43

11.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 ¥304

$1.89 MX$35.44

2.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 ¥186

$1.15 MX$21.55

2.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ¥105

$1.18 MX$22.16

-43.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 ¥595

$4.30 MX$80.7

-12.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.29 ¥1,465

$9.95 MX$187

-6.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 ¥297

$1.58 MX$29.76

19.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 ¥293

$2.67 MX$50.2

-30.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.42 ¥224

$0.55 MX$10.40

158.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$57.3 ¥9,036

$26.62 MX$500

115.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 ¥504

$4.97 MX$93.4

-35.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.60 ¥409

$3.33 MX$62.6

-21.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.53 ¥3,394

$5.36 MX$101

301.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 ¥158

$1.44 MX$27.14

-30.56%

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

$21.9K ¥3.5M

$20.7K MX$388.4K

6.05%

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

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$23.5K MX$441.0K

-34.39%

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

$71.5 ¥11.3K

$84.8 MX$1,594

-15.64%

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

$13.73 ¥2,165

$23.41 MX$440

-41.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.75 ¥4,060

$28.66 MX$539

-10.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ¥8,234

$57.1 MX$1,072

-8.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$11.29 ¥1,781

$5.14 MX$96.6

119.65%

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

$708 ¥111.6K

$207 MX$3,882

242.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.5K ¥2.3M

$3,927 MX$73.8K

268.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.2 ¥7,918

$43.35 MX$815

15.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.57 ¥5,609

$41.44 MX$779

-14.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.0 ¥9,620

$74.2 MX$1,394

-17.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.0 ¥15.3K

$89.3 MX$1,677

8.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$332 ¥52.3K

$980 MX$18.4K

-66.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$190 ¥29.9K

$381 MX$7,157

-50.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$641 ¥101.0K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-62.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$430 ¥67.8K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-60.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,651 ¥575.7K

$3,943 MX$74.1K

-7.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,539 ¥400.3K

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-58.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,366 ¥215.4K

$735 MX$13.8K

85.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.02

11.45

-82.36%

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

Last update for Okayama: October 25, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Okayama

$312 31.8%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 18.3% $57

Accommodation & Living

Okayama

$190 19.4%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 101% $191

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Okayama

$111 11.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 23.3% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Okayama

$110 11.2%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 1.8% $2

Eating Out

Okayama

$103 10.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 96.8% $100

Getting Around

Okayama

$79 8.1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 36.3% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Okayama

$75 7.6%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 10% $7.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $332 in Okayama and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Okayama pays 86% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $25 in Okayama vs $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $312 vs $255, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Okayama

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

15:52 3:52 PM

01:52 1:52 AM

14 h behind Okayama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

719,474

149,923

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 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 JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Okayama Playa del Carmen 12,500 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Okayama
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $979 in Okayama and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Okayama is about 19% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 86% higher in Okayama, 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: $332 in Okayama versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $979 per month in Okayama versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Okayama is about 19% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 54% less than in Okayama. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $979 in Okayama versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Okayama but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Okayama 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.