Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Aliso Viejo, CA

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,964 in Aliso Viejo, CA, rent and utilities included – about $33,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
194

Cost of Living Index in Aliso Viejo, CA
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Aliso Viejo, CA Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Aliso Viejo, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$3,964

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Aliso Viejo, CA

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Playa del Carmen and in Aliso Viejo, CA actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,964 in Aliso Viejo, CA.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Aliso Viejo, CA $3,964

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $6,003 in Aliso Viejo, CA.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Aliso Viejo, CA $6,003

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $8,043 in Aliso Viejo, CA.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Aliso Viejo, CA $8,043

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 70% less than in Aliso Viejo, CA, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Aliso Viejo, CA is 193% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$24.73 $24.73

-56.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$98.4 $98.4

-55.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$14.32 $14.32

-17.88%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$5.91 $5.91

-37.73%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$3.51 $3.51

-61.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$2.80 $2.80

-70.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$8.22 $8.22

-62.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$9.94 $9.94

-50.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.15 $1.15

27.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$4.77 $4.77

-53.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$4.72 $4.72

-68.64%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$5.08 $5.08

-50.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$11.33 $11.33

-33.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$16.09 $16.09

-50.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$17.67 $17.67

-28.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$5.50 $5.50

-49.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.73 $1.73

-17.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$4.68 $4.68

-44.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$6.62 $6.62

-67.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$3.61 $3.61

-44.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$2.81 $2.81

-29.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$2.20 $2.20

-48.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$2.43 $2.43

-50.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$11.92 $11.92

-64.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$15.26 $15.26

-34.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.81 $1.81

-14.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.11 $3.11

-14.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$3.07 $3.07

-82.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$4.47 $4.47

9.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.91 $1.91

79.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$32.04 $32.04

-83.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.59 $1.59

-8.81%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$35.0K $35.0K

-39.53%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$27.0K $27.0K

-14.80%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$212 $212

-59.70%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$71.5 $71.5

-67.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$71.3 $71.3

-60.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$38.84 $38.84

60.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$17.19 $17.19

-70.33%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$1,698 $1,698

-88.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$31.8K $31.8K

-87.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$72.5 $72.5

-38.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$65.1 $65.1

-36.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$116 $116

-37.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$169 $169

-47.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$2,908 $2,908

-66.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$2,466 $2,466

-84.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$4,191 $4,191

-59.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$4,644 $4,644

-76.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$7,007 $7,007

-43.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$6,500 $6,500

-5.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$7,985 $7,985

-90.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.86

66.91%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Aliso Viejo, CA: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Aliso Viejo, CA

$2.5K 62.2% 562% $2.1K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Aliso Viejo, CA

$456 11.5% 76.4% $197

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Aliso Viejo, CA

$398 10% 98.8% $198

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Aliso Viejo, CA

$355 8.9% 158% $217

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Aliso Viejo, CA

$190 4.8% 70.6% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Aliso Viejo, CA

$73 1.9% 1.1% $0.8

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Aliso Viejo, CA

$26 * 0.7% 49.1% $25

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 $979 in Playa del Carmen and $2,908 in Aliso Viejo, CA. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aliso Viejo, CA pays 983% 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: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $98.0 in Aliso Viejo, CA for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $456 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇺🇸 Aliso Viejo, CA

🕒 Local time

02:37 2:37 AM

00:37 12:37 AM

2 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

41,489

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

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

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Aliso Viejo, CA 3,340 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Aliso Viejo, CA

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

Playa del Carmen vs Aliso Viejo, CA: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Aliso Viejo, CA differ by about 229% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $3,964 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 983% lower in Aliso Viejo, CA. 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: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,908 in Aliso Viejo, CA. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 76% higher in Aliso Viejo, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $3,964 in Aliso Viejo, CA – a 229% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,964 in Aliso Viejo, CA, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Aliso Viejo, CA. 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.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Aliso Viejo, CA 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 Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 229% less than in Aliso Viejo, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.