Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Perth Amboy, NJ and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,684 in Perth Amboy, NJ, rent and utilities included – about $17,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Perth Amboy, NJ
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Perth Amboy, NJ Living Index
59

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

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Perth Amboy, NJ

🇺🇸 United States

$2,684

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,684 in Perth Amboy, NJ versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Perth Amboy, NJ $2,684
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,774 in Perth Amboy, NJ versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Perth Amboy, NJ $3,774
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,865 in Perth Amboy, NJ versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Perth Amboy, NJ $4,865
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Perth Amboy, NJ is roughly 123% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Perth Amboy, NJ is 98% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.32 $19.32

$10.86 MX$201

77.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.5 $78.5

$44.21 MX$817

77.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.14 $13.14

$11.76 MX$217

11.73%

Cappuccino

$6.28 $6.28

$3.68 MX$68.0

70.65%

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

$2.52 $2.52

$1.34 MX$24.79

88.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 $1.51

$0.82 MX$15.24

84.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.90 $8.90

$3.06 MX$56.6

190.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 $7.13

$4.94 MX$91.2

44.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.47 MX$27.17

-22.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 $2.23

$2.22 MX$40.95

0.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$6.16 $6.16

$1.48 MX$27.32

316.22%

Eggs

$2.93 $2.93

$2.49 MX$45.99

17.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.68 $13.68

$7.52 MX$139

81.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 $10.45

$7.96 MX$147

31.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.90 $19.90

$12.57 MX$232

58.31%

Apples (1kg)

$5.96 $5.96

$2.78 MX$51.3

114.39%

Banana (1kg)

$3.51 $3.51

$1.43 MX$26.37

145.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.33 $4.33

$2.62 MX$48.37

65.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.22 $5.22

$2.14 MX$39.49

143.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 $1.40

$2.02 MX$37.38

-30.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.40 $1.40

$1.99 MX$36.74

-29.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 $1.46

$1.14 MX$21.01

28.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.99 $2.99

$1.20 MX$22.18

149.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.80 $14.80

$4.26 MX$78.7

247.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.21 $12.21

$10.02 MX$185

21.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 $1.84

$1.54 MX$28.41

19.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.62 $3.62

$2.66 MX$49.17

36.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.81 $1.81

$0.53 MX$9.73

241.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.04 $3.04

$4.90 MX$90.6

-37.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.11 $2.11

$3.43 MX$63.5

-38.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.43 $42.43

$5.38 MX$99.4

688.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.45 MX$26.76

-28.28%

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

$27.7K $27.7K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

31.01%

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

$25.5K $25.5K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

10.88%

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

$170 $170

$85.4 MX$1,577

99.57%

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

$24.07 $24.07

$23.46 MX$434

2.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.71 $49.71

$28.43 MX$525

74.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.11 $41.11

$62.2 MX$1,149

-33.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$17.68 $17.68

$5.10 MX$94.3

246.67%

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

$2,026 $2,026

$201 MX$3,715

907.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.2K $16.2K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

310.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.62 $33.62

$44.39 MX$820

-24.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.44 $40.44

$41.35 MX$764

-2.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.1 $77.1

$72.7 MX$1,344

6.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.4 $96.4

$89.6 MX$1,656

7.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,617 $1,617

$979 MX$18.1K

65.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,480 $1,480

$373 MX$6,887

297.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,211 $2,211

$1,681 MX$31.1K

31.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,137 $2,137

$1,095 MX$20.2K

95.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,753 $2,753

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-30.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,425 $2,425

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-60.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,323 $3,323

$738 MX$13.6K

350.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.8

11.45

-40.61%

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

Last update for Perth Amboy, NJ: October 18, 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

Perth Amboy, NJ

$1.5K 55.1%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 74.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Perth Amboy, NJ

$407 15.2%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 36.5% $149

Eating Out

Perth Amboy, NJ

$344 12.8%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 41.8% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Perth Amboy, NJ

$244 9.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 43.8% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Perth Amboy, NJ

$111 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 0.2% $0.2

Sport & Entertainment

Perth Amboy, NJ

$76 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 5.3% $4.1

Getting Around

Perth Amboy, NJ

$21 * 0.8%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 148% $31

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 $1,617 in Perth Amboy, NJ and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Perth Amboy, NJ pays 351% 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: $78.0 in Perth Amboy, NJ vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $407 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Perth Amboy, NJ

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:40 11:40 PM

22:40 10:40 PM

1 h behind Perth Amboy, NJ

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

48,607

149,923

💱 Currency

United States Dollar 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 – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 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

Perth Amboy, NJ Playa del Carmen 2,520 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Perth Amboy, NJ
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

Perth Amboy, NJ vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 123% lower than in Perth Amboy, NJ. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 351% higher in Perth Amboy, NJ, 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: $1,617 in Perth Amboy, NJ versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,026 in Perth Amboy, NJ versus $201 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $78.0 in Perth Amboy, NJ. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,684 in Perth Amboy, NJ, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Perth Amboy, NJ. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,204 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 123% less than in Perth Amboy, NJ. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.