Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pachuca and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Pachuca: $886 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Pachuca
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Pachuca Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Pachuca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$886

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $886 in Pachuca versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Pachuca $886
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,483 in Pachuca versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Pachuca $1,483
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,079 in Pachuca versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Pachuca $2,079
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Pachuca costs roughly 27% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Pachuca 34% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.80 MX$88.8

$10.76 MX$199

-55.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.48 MX$489

$43.03 MX$795

-38.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.03 MX$148

$11.79 MX$218

-31.89%

Cappuccino

$3.09 MX$57.0

$3.87 MX$71.4

-20.16%

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

$1.16 MX$21.50

$1.37 MX$25.29

-15.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.16

$0.84 MX$15.44

-2.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.61 MX$29.79

$3.10 MX$57.3

-48.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.36 MX$62.2

$5.07 MX$93.6

-33.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 MX$29.20

$1.44 MX$26.55

9.72%

White Bread (500g)

$2.54 MX$46.99

$2.23 MX$41.23

13.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.89 MX$34.93

$1.47 MX$27.17

28.57%

Eggs

$2.72 MX$50.4

$2.53 MX$46.71

7.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.22 MX$133

$7.30 MX$135

-1.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.74 MX$87.5

$7.86 MX$145

-39.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.44 MX$138

$12.79 MX$236

-41.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.08 MX$38.53

$2.90 MX$53.6

-28.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.29 MX$23.82

$1.44 MX$26.53

-10.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.10

$2.55 MX$47.07

-40.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.62 MX$29.91

$2.06 MX$38.03

-21.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 MX$28.33

$2.00 MX$36.97

-23.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.34 MX$24.70

$2.01 MX$37.07

-33.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 MX$17.14

$1.19 MX$22.02

-21.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 MX$17.46

$1.26 MX$23.23

-25.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.33 MX$80.0

$4.40 MX$81.4

-1.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.19 MX$151

$9.59 MX$177

-14.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 MX$25.71

$1.59 MX$29.41

-12.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 MX$46.08

$2.81 MX$51.9

-11.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.52

$0.57 MX$10.47

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.85 MX$496

$27.82 MX$514

-3.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.63 MX$48.55

$4.98 MX$92.1

-47.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.62 MX$48.34

$3.50 MX$64.6

-25.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.11 MX$205

$5.40 MX$99.8

105.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 MX$25.51

$1.47 MX$27.08

-6.12%

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

$21.4K MX$395.5K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

1.98%

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

$23.5K MX$433.6K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

-1.86%

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

$47.05 MX$869

$84.2 MX$1,556

-44.13%

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

$19.21 MX$355

$23.99 MX$443

-19.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.45 MX$415

$29.02 MX$536

-22.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.51 MX$434

$63.0 MX$1,164

-62.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 MX$203

$29.14 MX$539

-62.29%

Cinema Ticket

$4.30 MX$79.4

$4.94 MX$91.3

-12.96%

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

$165 MX$3,049

$204 MX$3,763

-18.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,599 MX$48.0K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

-34.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.2 MX$983

$43.60 MX$806

22.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.32 MX$745

$43.12 MX$797

-6.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.8 MX$1,751

$75.8 MX$1,400

25.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.4 MX$1,430

$88.6 MX$1,637

-12.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$400 MX$7,386

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-60.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$269 MX$4,963

$374 MX$6,911

-28.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$603 MX$11.1K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-64.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$688 MX$12.7K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-37.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$728 MX$13.5K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-81.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$638 MX$11.8K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-89.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 MX$12.2K

$754 MX$13.9K

-12.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.8

11.45

-5.68%

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

Last update for Pachuca: 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

Pachuca

$269 30.3%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 39.2% $105

Groceries & Markets

Pachuca

$210 23.7%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 22.9% $48

Eating Out

Pachuca

$122 13.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 65.4% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Pachuca

$120 13.5%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 5.5% $6.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pachuca

$89 10%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 54.7% $49

Getting Around

Pachuca

$45 5.1%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 17.2% $7.7

Sport & Entertainment

Pachuca

$32 3.6%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 127% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $400 in Pachuca and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 14% 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: $26.00 in Pachuca vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $258 per month, with Pachuca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Pachuca

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

00:29 12:29 AM

01:29 1:29 AM

1 h ahead of Pachuca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

297,848

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

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Between locations

Pachuca Playa del Carmen 1,220 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Pachuca
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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

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

Pachuca is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. The 37% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 14% 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: $400 in Pachuca versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $165 in Pachuca versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $886 in Pachuca versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Pachuca but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Pachuca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Pachuca 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, Pachuca 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 Pachuca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.