Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Owen Sound and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,042 in Owen Sound, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

99

Cost of Living Index in Owen Sound
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Owen Sound Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Owen Sound

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,042

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,042 in Owen Sound versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Owen Sound $2,042
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,127 in Owen Sound versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Owen Sound $3,127
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,212 in Owen Sound versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Owen Sound $4,212
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Owen Sound is roughly 70% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Owen Sound is 50% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.32 CA$20.09

$10.92 MX$204

31.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.61 CA$66.8

$43.37 MX$808

9.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.19 CA$12.90

$11.78 MX$220

-21.99%

Cappuccino

$3.58 CA$5.02

$3.81 MX$71.0

-6.04%

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

$2.12 CA$2.98

$1.28 MX$23.90

65.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 CA$2.46

$0.78 MX$14.59

124.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.33 CA$6.07

$3.17 MX$59.0

36.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.76 CA$8.09

$4.93 MX$92.0

16.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.43 CA$3.41

$1.41 MX$26.22

72.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.75 CA$3.87

$2.22 MX$41.33

23.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.51 CA$4.93

$1.42 MX$26.42

147.18%

Eggs

$4.36 CA$6.12

$2.52 MX$47.03

73.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.87 CA$13.85

$7.26 MX$135

35.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.08 CA$22.57

$7.70 MX$143

108.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.97 CA$33.64

$12.69 MX$237

88.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.36 CA$4.72

$2.78 MX$51.9

20.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 CA$2.60

$1.37 MX$25.50

35.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.25 CA$4.56

$2.55 MX$47.55

27.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.84 CA$3.98

$2.12 MX$39.58

33.96%

Potato (1kg)

$2.39 CA$3.35

$1.94 MX$36.13

23.20%

Onion (1kg)

$2.63 CA$3.69

$1.89 MX$35.16

39.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.18 CA$3.06

$1.15 MX$21.37

89.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 CA$1.79

$1.18 MX$21.98

8.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.67 CA$19.19

$4.30 MX$80.1

217.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.75 CA$19.30

$9.95 MX$185

38.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.58 CA$6.43

$1.58 MX$29.52

189.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.88 CA$6.85

$2.67 MX$49.79

82.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.10 CA$2.95

$0.55 MX$10.31

281.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$62.0 CA$87.0

$26.62 MX$496

132.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 CA$6.37

$4.97 MX$92.6

-8.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.08 CA$35.19

$5.36 MX$99.8

367.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 CA$1.57

$1.44 MX$26.92

-22.22%

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

$26.8K CA$37.6K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

29.64%

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

$21.7K CA$30.5K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

-7.31%

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

$89.7 CA$126

$84.8 MX$1,581

5.80%

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

$29.11 CA$40.85

$23.41 MX$436

24.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.43 CA$66.6

$28.66 MX$534

65.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$116 CA$162

$57.1 MX$1,063

102.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$41.66 CA$58.5

$28.91 MX$539

44.10%

Cinema Ticket

$7.77 CA$10.91

$5.14 MX$95.8

51.17%

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

$478 CA$672

$207 MX$3,851

131.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,258 CA$10.2K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

84.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.42 CA$49.71

$43.35 MX$808

-18.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.63 CA$38.78

$41.44 MX$772

-33.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.9 CA$122

$74.2 MX$1,383

17.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 CA$151

$89.3 MX$1,664

20.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 CA$1,882

$980 MX$18.3K

36.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$903 CA$1,268

$381 MX$7,099

137.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,200 CA$3,087

$1,708 MX$31.8K

28.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,634 CA$2,293

$1,075 MX$20.0K

52.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,971 CA$4,169

$735 MX$13.7K

304.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.26

11.45

-54.06%

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

Last update for Owen Sound: 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.

Accommodation & Living

Owen Sound

$903 44.2%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 57.8% $523

Groceries & Markets

Owen Sound

$417 20.4%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 38.9% $162

Eating Out

Owen Sound

$234 11.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 13.4% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Owen Sound

$166 8.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 17.7% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Owen Sound

$131 6.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 48.6% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Owen Sound

$116 5.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 3.7% $4.3

Getting Around

Owen Sound

$75 * 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 32.7% $24

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 $1,341 in Owen Sound and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Owen Sound pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Owen Sound vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $417 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Owen Sound

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

20:15 8:15 PM

19:15 7:15 PM

1 h behind Owen Sound

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,341

149,923

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.64 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.64 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Owen Sound Playa del Carmen 2,720 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Owen Sound
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 41% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Owen Sound is about 4 times higher, 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: $1,341 in Owen Sound versus $980 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 $43 versus $48 in Owen Sound. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,042 per month in Owen Sound versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 41% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,042 in Owen Sound, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Owen Sound. 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 41% less than in Owen Sound. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.