Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Anshan

For one person, living is cheaper in Anshan: $626 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Anshan
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Anshan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Anshan

🇨🇳 China

$626

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Anshan

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 Anshan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $626 in Anshan.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Anshan $626

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,011 in Anshan.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Anshan $1,011

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,396 in Anshan.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Anshan $1,396

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 92% more expensive than in Anshan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Anshan 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$2.94 ¥19.67

269.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$18.46 ¥123

139.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$4.59 ¥30.70

156.21%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.49 ¥16.65

47.79%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$0.36 ¥2.38

272.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.21 ¥1.40

290.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$0.73 ¥4.89

319.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$1.61 ¥10.79

206.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.77 ¥11.80

-16.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.26 ¥8.42

76.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$0.39 ¥2.59

279.49%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$1.06 ¥7.07

134.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$9.06 ¥60.6

-17.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$1.83 ¥12.24

334.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$8.93 ¥59.7

40.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$1.02 ¥6.83

172.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.17 ¥7.80

22.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.17 ¥7.83

123.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.19 ¥7.95

79.83%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.31 ¥2.08

551.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.92 ¥6.14

116.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.29 ¥1.93

293.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.44 ¥2.92

172.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$3.78 ¥25.28

12.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$7.39 ¥49.42

35.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$0.72 ¥4.79

113.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$1.09 ¥7.29

144.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.29 ¥1.92

82.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$18.04 ¥121

52.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$1.03 ¥6.90

375.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.14 ¥0.90

2350.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$2.93 ¥19.59

83.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.05 ¥7.05

38.10%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$19.5K ¥130.4K

8.51%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$15.1K ¥101.2K

52.06%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$29.47 ¥197

189.65%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$7.37 ¥49.28

218.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$14.66 ¥98.0

93.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$41.48 ¥277

49.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$14.78 ¥98.9

94.05%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$5.93 ¥39.63

-14.00%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$226 ¥1,514

-11.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$21.4K ¥143.1K

-81.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$36.77 ¥246

20.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$32.89 ¥220

25.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$60.6 ¥405

19.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$69.9 ¥468

28.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$295 ¥1,971

232.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$182 ¥1,217

104.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$629 ¥4,209

167.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$377 ¥2,518

190.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$3,509 ¥23.5K

12.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,923 ¥12.9K

219.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$926 ¥6,194

-20.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

472.50%

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 Anshan: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Anshan

$182 29.1% 51.2% $191

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Anshan

$152 24.2% 41.3% $107

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Anshan

$76 12.2% 61.9% $124

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Anshan

$52 8.2% 62.5% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Anshan

$90 14.4% 19.3% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Anshan

$53 8.5% 26.3% $19

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Anshan

$21 3.3% 59.6% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $295 in Anshan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Anshan pays 26% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $18.00 in Anshan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $152 per month, with Anshan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Anshan

🕒 Local time

06:38 6:38 AM

19:38 7:38 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,543,696

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Anshan 12,480 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Anshan

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 Anshan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Anshan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 92% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 26% lower in Anshan. 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 $295 in Anshan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Anshan – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $626 in Anshan – a 92% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $626 in Anshan versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Anshan but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Anshan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Anshan 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.

Expats usually find Anshan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 92% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.