Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cabo Rojo

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,236 in Cabo Rojo, rent and utilities included – about $410 less a year. The total is higher in Cabo Rojo despite lower rent and utilities.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Cabo Rojo
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Cabo Rojo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Cabo Rojo

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,236

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Cabo Rojo

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,236 in Cabo Rojo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Cabo Rojo $1,236

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,948 in Cabo Rojo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Cabo Rojo $1,948

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,659 in Cabo Rojo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Cabo Rojo $2,659

Playa del Carmen is about 3% cheaper than Cabo Rojo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Cabo Rojo are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Cabo Rojo 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$10.02 $10.02

6.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$83.4 $83.4

-47.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$8.79 $8.79

34.13%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.63 $3.63

4.41%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.85 $1.85

-29.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$1.50 $1.50

-44.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.53 $1.53

105.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$3.45 $3.45

42.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.14 $2.14

-34.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$3.58 $3.58

-38.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$2.45 $2.45

-40.00%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$7.37 $7.37

-66.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$12.35 $12.35

-40.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$9.86 $9.86

-19.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$13.20 $13.20

-2.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$5.03 $5.03

-42.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$2.63 $2.63

-47.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$4.88 $4.88

-48.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$4.78 $4.78

-57.53%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$3.89 $3.89

-48.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$3.85 $3.85

-50.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$3.39 $3.39

-66.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$1.59 $1.59

-22.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$12.02 $12.02

-64.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$15.43 $15.43

-36.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$3.12 $3.12

-49.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$4.03 $4.03

-31.76%

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

$2.53 $2.53

88.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.52 $1.52

113.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$42.46 $42.46

-87.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$0.77 $0.77

98.70%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$34.1K $34.1K

-37.82%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$27.7K $27.7K

-16.11%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$325 $325

-74.34%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$65.7 $65.7

-64.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$70.3 $70.3

-60.71%

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

$10.69 $10.69

-53.23%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$816 $816

-74.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$12.3K $12.3K

-57.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$55.6 $55.6

-21.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$62.1 $62.1

-31.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$108 $108

-32.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$112 $112

-21.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$4,260 $4,260

-80.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.55

74.81%

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 Cabo Rojo: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Cabo Rojo

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Cabo Rojo

$413 33.4% 60.6% $156

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Cabo Rojo

$178 14.4% 11% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Cabo Rojo

$461 37.3% 244% $327

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Cabo Rojo

$152 12.3% 36.8% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Cabo Rojo

$21 * 1.7% 67.8% $45

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Cabo Rojo

$10 * 0.8% 80% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries in Cabo Rojo are about 5.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $83 in Cabo Rojo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $413 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇷 Cabo Rojo

🕒 Local time

23:06 11:06 PM

00:06 12:06 AM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

50,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 USD = 0.888 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.13 USD (1 USD = 0.888 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Cabo Rojo 2,110 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Cabo Rojo

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 Cabo Rojo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cabo Rojo costs about 3% 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 $1,855 in Cabo Rojo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,236 in Cabo Rojo. That makes Playa del Carmen about 3% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $816 in Cabo Rojo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,236 in Cabo Rojo, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,236 in Cabo Rojo. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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