Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ongjin and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Ongjin: $711 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Ongjin
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Ongjin Living Index
59

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

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Ongjin

🇰🇵 North Korea

$711

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $711 in Ongjin versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Ongjin $711
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,113 in Ongjin versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Ongjin $1,113
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,514 in Ongjin versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Ongjin $1,514
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Ongjin costs roughly 41% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ongjin 47% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.71 $2.71

$10.76 MX$199

-74.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.81 $22.81

$43.03 MX$795

-46.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.04 $8.04

$11.79 MX$218

-31.81%

Cappuccino

$1.13 $1.13

$3.87 MX$71.4

-70.80%

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

$0.94 $0.94

$1.37 MX$25.29

-31.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 $0.99

$0.84 MX$15.44

17.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.89 $6.89

$3.10 MX$57.3

122.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 $2.17

$5.07 MX$93.6

-57.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.91 $0.91

$1.44 MX$26.55

-36.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 $1.58

$2.23 MX$41.23

-29.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.16 $2.16

$1.47 MX$27.17

46.94%

Eggs

$3.13 $3.13

$2.53 MX$46.71

23.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.47 $4.47

$7.30 MX$135

-38.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.22 $2.22

$7.86 MX$145

-71.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.64 $5.64

$12.79 MX$236

-55.90%

Apples (1kg)

$6.77 $6.77

$2.90 MX$53.6

133.45%

Banana (1kg)

$4.57 $4.57

$1.44 MX$26.53

217.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 $2.25

$2.55 MX$47.07

-11.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 $2.21

$2.06 MX$38.03

7.28%

Potato (1kg)

$3.26 $3.26

$2.00 MX$36.97

63.00%

Onion (1kg)

$3.45 $3.45

$2.01 MX$37.07

71.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.26 $2.26

$1.19 MX$22.02

89.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 $0.46

$1.26 MX$23.23

-63.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.41 $4.41

$4.40 MX$81.4

0.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.99 $7.99

$9.59 MX$177

-16.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 $1.10

$1.59 MX$29.41

-30.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 $2.21

$2.81 MX$51.9

-21.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 $0.97

$0.57 MX$10.47

70.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.70 $39.70

$27.82 MX$514

42.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.53 $1.53

$4.98 MX$92.1

-69.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.27 $2.27

$3.50 MX$64.6

-35.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.99 $39.99

$5.40 MX$99.8

640.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.70 $0.70

$1.47 MX$27.08

-52.38%

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

$22.1K $22.1K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

5.45%

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

$27.9K $27.9K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

16.63%

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

$33.24 $33.24

$84.2 MX$1,556

-60.53%

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

$11.00 $11.00

$23.99 MX$443

-54.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.10 $45.10

$29.02 MX$536

55.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.60 $41.60

$63.0 MX$1,164

-33.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.47 $14.47

$29.14 MX$539

-50.34%

Cinema Ticket

$7.63 $7.63

$4.94 MX$91.3

54.45%

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

$107 $107

$204 MX$3,763

-47.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,080 $2,080

$3,941 MX$72.8K

-47.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$22.73 $22.73

$43.60 MX$806

-47.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.97 $27.97

$43.12 MX$797

-35.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.7 $60.7

$75.8 MX$1,400

-19.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.6 $84.6

$88.6 MX$1,637

-4.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$89.7 $89.7

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-91.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$87.9 $87.9

$374 MX$6,911

-76.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,189 $2,189

$1,708 MX$31.6K

28.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$133 $133

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-87.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,663 $1,663

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-57.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,376 $1,376

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-77.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$208 $208

$754 MX$13.9K

-72.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.11

11.45

-37.90%

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

Last update for Ongjin: October 11, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ongjin

$226 31.8%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 14.3% $32

Eating Out

Ongjin

$106 14.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 91% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ongjin

$89 12.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 53.6% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Ongjin

$88 12.4%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 28.1% $25

Accommodation & Living

Ongjin

$88 12.4%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 326% $286

Sport & Entertainment

Ongjin

$57 8%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 28.2% $16

Getting Around

Ongjin

$56 8%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 7% $3.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $89.7 in Ongjin and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 263% 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: $23.00 in Ongjin vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $258 per month, with Ongjin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇵 Ongjin

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

17:42 5:42 PM

03:42 3:42 AM

14 h behind Ongjin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

152,878

149,923

💱 Currency

USD USD

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ongjin Playa del Carmen 12,670 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Ongjin
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

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

Ongjin is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 70% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 263% lower in Playa del Carmen. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $89.7 in Ongjin 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 14% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Ongjin – a meal for two runs $23.00 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $711 in Ongjin versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ongjin but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Ongjin the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Ongjin is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Ongjin 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 Ongjin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.