Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Chilliwack

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,320 in Chilliwack, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 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
113

Cost of Living Index in Chilliwack
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Chilliwack Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Chilliwack

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,320

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,320 in Chilliwack.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Chilliwack $2,320

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,412 in Chilliwack.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Chilliwack $3,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,504 in Chilliwack.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Chilliwack $4,504

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 48% less than in Chilliwack, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Chilliwack is 71% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$14.02 CA$19.82

-22.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$52.6 CA$74.3

-15.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$8.69 CA$12.29

35.33%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$4.41 CA$6.23

-16.55%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.95 CA$2.75

-31.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.49 CA$2.11

-44.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$4.95 CA$7.00

-38.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$5.54 CA$7.83

-10.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.09 CA$2.96

-29.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$2.98 CA$4.22

-25.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$4.46 CA$6.30

-66.82%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$4.22 CA$5.96

-41.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$20.66 CA$29.21

-63.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$14.06 CA$19.87

-43.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$20.16 CA$28.51

-37.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$5.63 CA$7.97

-50.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.33 CA$1.88

7.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$4.14 CA$5.86

-36.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$5.43 CA$7.67

-60.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$4.78 CA$6.76

-57.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$3.11 CA$4.39

-36.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$3.17 CA$4.49

-64.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$2.47 CA$3.49

-51.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$11.94 CA$16.87

-64.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$14.04 CA$19.85

-28.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$4.54 CA$6.42

-66.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$5.03 CA$7.11

-47.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$2.00 CA$2.83

-73.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$33.16 CA$46.87

-17.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$2.95 CA$4.17

66.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$2.33 CA$3.29

47.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.25 CA$1.76

16.00%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$27.2K CA$38.4K

-22.10%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$19.9K CA$28.1K

15.74%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$166 CA$234

-48.49%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$54.4 CA$76.9

-56.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$70.1 CA$99.1

-59.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$41.17 CA$58.2

51.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$17.82 CA$25.19

60.94%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$12.14 CA$17.16

-57.99%

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

$201 MX$3,715

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$11.9K CA$16.8K

-66.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$60.2 CA$85.2

-26.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$31.87 CA$45.05

29.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$103 CA$145

-29.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$211 CA$298

-57.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$1,136 CA$1,605

-13.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$1,004 CA$1,419

-62.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$2,042 CA$2,886

-17.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$1,646 CA$2,326

-33.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$3,321 CA$4,695

18.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$3,333 CA$4,711

84.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$3,075 CA$4,348

-76.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.71

143.10%

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 Chilliwack: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Chilliwack

$1K 43.3% 169% $631

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Chilliwack

$482 20.8% 86.5% $223

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Chilliwack

$241 10.4% 20.2% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Chilliwack

$290 12.5% 112% $153

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Chilliwack

$183 7.9% 63.5% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Chilliwack

$65 2.8% 9.6% $7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Chilliwack

$56 2.4% 7.8% $4.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $1,136 in Chilliwack. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chilliwack pays 317% 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 $53.0 in Chilliwack for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $482 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇦 Chilliwack

🕒 Local time

00:07 12:07 AM

22:07 10:07 PM

2 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

83,788

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Chilliwack 4,420 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Chilliwack

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 Chilliwack: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 93% lower than in Chilliwack. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 317% lower in Chilliwack. 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 $1,136 in Chilliwack. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $53.0 in Chilliwack. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 21% less than in Chilliwack. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,320 in Chilliwack, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Chilliwack. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,204 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 93% less than in Chilliwack. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.