Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Celaya

For one person, living is cheaper in Celaya: $903 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Celaya
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Celaya Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Celaya

🇲🇽 Mexico

$903

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $903 in Celaya.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Celaya $903

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,423 in Celaya.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Celaya $1,423

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,944 in Celaya.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Celaya $1,944

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 33% more expensive than in Celaya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Celaya 34% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$12.40 MX$233

-11.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$43.66 MX$820

-0.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$6.98 MX$131

68.77%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$3.18 MX$59.7

19.81%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.17 MX$22.02

9.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$1.09 MX$20.52

-28.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$2.11 MX$39.70

50.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.14 MX$59.0

57.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.42 MX$26.60

-0.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$2.13 MX$40.11

4.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.50 MX$28.17

-5.33%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.16 MX$40.66

16.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$7.94 MX$149

-8.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$8.13 MX$153

-5.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$11.44 MX$215

10.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.17 MX$40.82

28.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.07 MX$20.05

28.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.45 MX$27.34

75.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.07 MX$20.08

98.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.57 MX$29.58

23.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.37 MX$25.69

37.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.01 MX$19.03

13.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.77 MX$14.56

53.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$4.26 MX$80.0

0.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$8.56 MX$161

16.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.77 MX$33.35

-10.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$3.35 MX$63.1

-20.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.62 MX$11.61

-11.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$27.20 MX$511

-2.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.23 MX$23.06

304.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$1.07 MX$20.20

211.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$10.98 MX$206

-51.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.45 MX$27.29

-0.69%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$23.9K MX$449.7K

-13.64%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$23.6K MX$442.6K

-0.36%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$35.91 MX$675

136.12%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$18.80 MX$353

24.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$18.77 MX$353

52.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$31.68 MX$595

80.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$27.10 MX$509

6.68%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$4.88 MX$91.7

5.33%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$213 MX$3,999

-2.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$2,823 MX$53.1K

39.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$53.2 MX$1,001

-18.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$38.46 MX$723

7.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$101 MX$1,896

-26.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$70.5 MX$1,326

26.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$247 MX$4,635

297.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$219 MX$4,109

74.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$376 MX$7,064

354.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$278 MX$5,226

286.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$806 MX$15.1K

-8.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.2

2.23%

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 Celaya: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Celaya

$219 24.2% 42.6% $162

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Celaya

$231 25.6% 9.4% $24

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Celaya

$184 20.4% 9% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Celaya

$73 8.1% 46.3% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Celaya

$118 13.1% 6% $6.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Celaya

$41 4.6% 38.5% $26

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Celaya

$36 4% 28.1% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $247 in Celaya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Celaya pays 10% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $44 in Celaya. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $231, with Celaya cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Celaya

🕒 Local time

21:35 9:35 PM

20:35 8:35 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

378,143

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Celaya 1,430 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Celaya

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 Celaya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $903 in Celaya, so Celaya is about 25% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 9% lower in Playa del Carmen. 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $247 in Celaya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $213 in Celaya. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $903 in Celaya – Celaya is about 25% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $903 in Celaya versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Celaya but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Celaya the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.