Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Brookings, SD

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,639 in Brookings, SD, rent and utilities included – about $17,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
125

Cost of Living Index in Brookings, SD
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Brookings, SD Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Brookings, SD

🇺🇸 United States

$2,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Brookings, SD

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,639 in Brookings, SD, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Brookings, SD $2,639

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,597 in Brookings, SD, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Brookings, SD $3,597

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,556 in Brookings, SD, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Brookings, SD $4,556

Playa del Carmen is about 54% cheaper than Brookings, SD, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Brookings, SD is 95% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$17.36 $17.36

-38.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$39.21 $39.21

11.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$11.52 $11.52

2.34%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$4.52 $4.52

-16.15%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$2.46 $2.46

-47.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$2.01 $2.01

-58.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$5.85 $5.85

-46.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$6.81 $6.81

-27.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.89 $0.89

58.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$3.68 $3.68

-40.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$6.44 $6.44

-77.17%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$3.52 $3.52

-28.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$10.38 $10.38

-29.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$13.66 $13.66

-41.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$12.99 $12.99

-1.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$5.72 $5.72

-49.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.81 $1.81

-23.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$6.61 $6.61

-62.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$5.07 $5.07

-59.96%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$4.46 $4.46

-54.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$4.27 $4.27

-55.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$2.28 $2.28

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$2.03 $2.03

-38.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$12.84 $12.84

-66.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$12.05 $12.05

-18.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$2.89 $2.89

-44.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$5.81 $5.81

-52.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$4.90 $4.90

-2.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.67 $1.67

94.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$23.75 $23.75

-77.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.04 $1.04

47.12%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$29.6K $29.6K

-28.24%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$25.9K $25.9K

-10.16%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$184 $184

-54.72%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$57.3 $57.3

-59.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$69.4 $69.4

-60.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$12.03 $12.03

-58.44%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$1,316 $1,316

-84.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$36.7K $36.7K

-85.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$42.51 $42.51

2.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$34.79 $34.79

22.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$88.7 $88.7

-17.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$105 $105

-15.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$1,715 $1,715

-42.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$1,459 $1,459

-73.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$2,051 $2,051

-18.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$2,107 $2,107

-48.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$2,339 $2,339

67.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$2,374 $2,374

158.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.5

108.18%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Brookings, SD: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Brookings, SD

$1.5K 55.3% 282% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Brookings, SD

$421 16% 63.5% $163

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Brookings, SD

$288 10.9% 44% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Brookings, SD

$311 11.8% 132% $177

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Brookings, SD

$122 4.6% 9.5% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Brookings, SD

$24 * 0.9% 63.8% $42

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Brookings, SD

$13 * 0.5% 73.8% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,715 in Brookings, SD. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $39 in Brookings, SD. Groceries tell a different story – $257 in Playa del Carmen vs $421 in Brookings, SD – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇺🇸 Brookings, SD

🕒 Local time

12:36 12:36 PM

11:36 11:36 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

18,802

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.86 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Brookings, SD 2,780 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Brookings, SD

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 Brookings, SD: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brookings, SD costs about 119% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,958 in Brookings, SD. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $995 there versus $1,715 in Brookings, SD.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $39 in Brookings, SD. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 63% more in Brookings, SD, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Brookings, SD at $2,639. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Brookings, SD it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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