Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oldham and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,982 in Oldham, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

96

Cost of Living Index in Oldham
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Oldham Living Index
59

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

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Oldham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,982

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,982 in Oldham versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Oldham $1,982
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,932 in Oldham versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Oldham $2,932
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,883 in Oldham versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Oldham $3,883
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Oldham is roughly 65% 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: Oldham is 46% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.67 £14.75

$10.86 MX$201

81.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.1 £66.1

$44.21 MX$817

99.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.56 £7.17

$11.76 MX$217

-18.71%

Cappuccino

$4.79 £3.59

$3.68 MX$68.0

30.16%

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

$2.93 £2.20

$1.34 MX$24.79

118.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 £1.49

$0.82 MX$15.24

142.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.24 £5.43

$3.06 MX$56.6

136.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.74 £5.06

$4.94 MX$91.2

36.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.47 MX$27.17

-0.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 £1.27

$2.22 MX$40.95

-23.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.95 £2.21

$1.48 MX$27.32

99.32%

Eggs

$4.05 £3.04

$2.49 MX$45.99

62.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.83 £7.37

$7.52 MX$139

30.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.81 £6.61

$7.96 MX$147

10.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.54 £11.66

$12.57 MX$232

23.63%

Apples (1kg)

$3.15 £2.36

$2.78 MX$51.3

13.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.43 MX$26.37

30.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 £2.14

$2.62 MX$48.37

8.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.46 £2.59

$2.14 MX$39.49

61.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 £1.11

$2.02 MX$37.38

-26.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.99 MX$36.74

-19.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.14 MX$21.01

5.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 £0.92

$1.20 MX$22.18

2.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.63 £17.73

$4.26 MX$78.7

454.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.86 £8.15

$10.02 MX$185

8.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.76 £2.07

$1.54 MX$28.41

79.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 £2.34

$2.66 MX$49.17

17.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.61 £1.96

$0.53 MX$9.73

392.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.7 £71.8

$27.51 MX$508

247.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.21 £2.41

$4.90 MX$90.6

-34.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 £1.52

$3.43 MX$63.5

-41.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.03 £22.53

$5.38 MX$99.4

458.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 £1.59

$1.45 MX$26.76

46.21%

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

$38.2K £28.7K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

80.62%

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

$39.8K £29.8K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

72.84%

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

$251 £188

$85.4 MX$1,577

194.14%

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

$16.94 £12.71

$23.46 MX$434

-27.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.55 £30.43

$28.43 MX$525

42.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.14 £32.36

$62.2 MX$1,149

-30.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$13.18 £9.89

$5.10 MX$94.3

158.43%

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

$1,290 £968

$201 MX$3,715

541.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.7K £14.8K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

399.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 £65.3

$44.39 MX$820

96.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.43 £31.08

$41.35 MX$764

0.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.5 £70.2

$72.7 MX$1,344

28.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.3 £65.5

$89.6 MX$1,656

-2.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 £917

$979 MX$18.1K

24.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$728 £546

$373 MX$6,887

95.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,368 £1,026

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-18.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,093 £820

$1,095 MX$20.2K

-0.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,063 £3,798

$3,949 MX$73.0K

28.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,336 £2,503

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-45.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,483 £1,863

$738 MX$13.6K

236.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.82

11.45

-57.90%

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

Last update for Oldham: October 17, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Oldham

$728 36.7%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 48.8% $355

Eating Out

Oldham

$313 15.8%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 36% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oldham

$309 15.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 55.5% $171

Groceries & Markets

Oldham

$304 15.4%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 15.1% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Oldham

$139 7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 19.8% $28

Getting Around

Oldham

$119 6%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 56.7% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Oldham

$70 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 4.2% $2.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,222 in Oldham and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Oldham pays 237% 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: $88.0 in Oldham vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $304 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Oldham

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

10:54 10:54 AM

04:54 4:54 AM

6 h behind Oldham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

110,718

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 21, 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 21, 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Oldham Playa del Carmen 7,850 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Oldham
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

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

Oldham and Playa del Carmen differ by about 65% in total monthly costs ($1,982 vs $1,204 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 237% higher in Oldham, 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: $1,222 in Oldham versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 248% less than in Oldham. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,290 in Oldham versus $201 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,982 in Oldham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Oldham. 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 65% less than in Oldham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.