Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Baghdadi

For one person, living is cheaper in Baghdadi: $640 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Baghdadi
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Baghdadi Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Baghdadi

🇮🇶 Iraq

$640

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $640 in Baghdadi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Baghdadi $640

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $974 in Baghdadi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Baghdadi $974

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,308 in Baghdadi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Baghdadi $1,308

Playa del Carmen costs about 88% more than Baghdadi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Baghdadi are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Baghdadi 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$4.20 IQD 6,342

160.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$14.09 IQD 21.3K

207.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$6.28 IQD 9,486

87.58%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$1.93 IQD 2,917

97.41%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.39 IQD 583

228.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.22 IQD 333

254.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.57 IQD 5,399

-11.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.38 IQD 3,591

107.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.02 IQD 1,548

38.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$0.49 IQD 735

353.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$2.63 IQD 3,980

-46.01%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.81 IQD 2,740

39.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$3.90 IQD 5,896

86.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.24 IQD 4,892

137.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$8.07 IQD 12.2K

57.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$0.94 IQD 1,426

195.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$0.98 IQD 1,488

39.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$0.90 IQD 1,363

183.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$0.63 IQD 951

236.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$0.54 IQD 823

259.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.64 IQD 962

195.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.48 IQD 732

139.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.54 IQD 815

118.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$1.72 IQD 2,594

150.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$11.12 IQD 16.8K

-10.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.55 IQD 2,336

1.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.67 IQD 2,528

59.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.34 IQD 518

61.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.80 IQD 2,717

176.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.20 IQD 1,818

177.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$5.54 IQD 8,366

-3.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.54 IQD 819

166.67%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$16.4K IQD 24.7M

26.24%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$14.4K IQD 21.7M

63.11%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$85.6 IQD 129.3K

-0.91%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$11.61 IQD 17.5K

101.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$28.37 IQD 42.9K

1.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$36.26 IQD 54.8K

57.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$9.25 IQD 14.0K

-44.43%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$146 IQD 220.8K

41.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$2,812 IQD 4.2M

39.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$21.15 IQD 32.0K

104.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$21.56 IQD 32.6K

92.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$59.6 IQD 90.1K

24.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$37.21 IQD 56.2K

139.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$211 IQD 318.8K

364.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$140 IQD 211.6K

171.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$378 IQD 571.2K

351.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$313 IQD 472.2K

244.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$872 IQD 1.3M

352.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$492 IQD 743.8K

1150.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$491 IQD 741.5K

49.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.12

177.91%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Baghdadi: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Baghdadi

$140 21.9% 63.2% $241

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Baghdadi

$147 23% 42.3% $108

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Baghdadi

$101 15.7% 50.3% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Baghdadi

$126 19.6% 8.2% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Baghdadi

$63 9.8% 43.8% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Baghdadi

$55 8.6% 18.7% $13

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Baghdadi

$9.2 * 1.4% 81.8% $41

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $211 in Baghdadi. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 50% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $14 in Baghdadi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $147 – making Baghdadi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇶 Baghdadi

🕒 Local time

15:38 3:38 PM

23:38 11:38 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,682 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Baghdadi 11,940 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Baghdadi

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 Baghdadi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 88%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $960 in Baghdadi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Baghdadi, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $211 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $14 in Baghdadi. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 73% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Baghdadi, where all-in costs run around $640, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Baghdadi it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Baghdadi – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Baghdadi. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.