Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Athens, OH

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,669 in Athens, OH, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 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
80

Cost of Living Index in Athens, OH
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Athens, OH Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Athens, OH

🇺🇸 United States

$1,669

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Athens, OH

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,669 in Athens, OH.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Athens, OH $1,669

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,495 in Athens, OH.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Athens, OH $2,495

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,320 in Athens, OH.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Athens, OH $3,320

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 28% less than in Athens, OH, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Athens, OH is 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$14.74 $14.74

-26.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$49.20 $49.20

-10.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$10.18 $10.18

15.52%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$4.98 $4.98

-26.10%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$2.25 $2.25

-40.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.41 $1.41

-41.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$4.93 $4.93

-37.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$7.03 $7.03

-29.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$0.69 $0.69

113.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$2.06 $2.06

7.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$3.01 $3.01

-50.83%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$4.25 $4.25

-41.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$12.64 $12.64

-40.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$8.63 $8.63

-7.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$16.20 $16.20

-22.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$3.60 $3.60

-22.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$0.96 $0.96

48.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.79 $2.79

-6.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.96 $2.96

-27.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.69 $1.69

19.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$2.18 $2.18

-8.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.66 $1.66

-31.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.92 $1.92

-37.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$9.09 $9.09

-53.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$14.83 $14.83

-32.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$2.14 $2.14

-28.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.10 $3.10

-14.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$1.02 $1.02

-48.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$3.86 $3.86

26.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.27 $1.27

170.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$25.15 $25.15

-78.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$0.87 $0.87

66.67%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$36.3K $36.3K

-41.67%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$26.1K $26.1K

-11.76%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$150 $150

-42.98%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$29.86 $29.86

-21.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$48.41 $48.41

-41.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$11.85 $11.85

-56.96%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$1,476 $1,476

-86.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$19.5K $19.5K

-79.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$46.08 $46.08

-3.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$45.56 $45.56

-9.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$65.4 $65.4

11.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$108 $108

-17.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$1,313 $1,313

-25.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$701 $701

-46.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,471 $1,471

14.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$1,216 $1,216

-9.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,644 $1,644

140.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,650 $1,650

271.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$3,377 $3,377

-78.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.59

73.75%

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 Athens, OH: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Athens, OH

$701 42% 87.9% $328

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Athens, OH

$322 19.3% 24.5% $63

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Athens, OH

$262 15.7% 30.7% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Athens, OH

$228 13.7% 66.1% $91

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Athens, OH

$119 7.2% 6.8% $7.6

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Athens, OH

$24 * 1.4% 67.3% $49

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Athens, OH

$14 * 0.9% 72.4% $37

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 $1,313 in Athens, OH. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens, OH pays 358% 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 $49.00 in Athens, OH for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $322 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇺🇸 Athens, OH

🕒 Local time

05:52 5:52 AM

06:52 6:52 AM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

115,452

💱 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 20, 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 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Athens, OH 2,130 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Athens, OH

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 Athens, OH: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 39% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 358% lower in Athens, OH. 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 $1,313 in Athens, OH. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Athens, OH. 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 $1,669 in Athens, OH – a 39% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,669 in Athens, OH, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Athens, OH. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Athens, OH, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Athens, OH. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.