Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ciudad Obregon

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Ciudad Obregon: $1,204 and $1,183 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Ciudad Obregon
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Ciudad Obregon Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Ciudad Obregon

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,183

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Ciudad Obregon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,183 in Ciudad Obregon.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Ciudad Obregon $1,183

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,868 in Ciudad Obregon.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Ciudad Obregon $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,553 in Ciudad Obregon.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Ciudad Obregon $2,553

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 2% more expensive than in Ciudad Obregon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Ciudad Obregon 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$10.31 MX$191

5.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$48.41 MX$895

-8.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$8.32 MX$154

41.35%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$3.94 MX$72.7

-6.60%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.24 MX$22.87

8.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.13 MX$20.93

-27.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.56 MX$47.31

19.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$4.33 MX$80.1

14.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.57 MX$29.02

-6.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$2.57 MX$47.49

-13.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.73 MX$32.05

-14.45%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.39 MX$44.10

4.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$8.27 MX$153

-9.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$8.07 MX$149

-1.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$11.24 MX$208

11.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.65 MX$48.92

4.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.49 MX$27.48

-4.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.85 MX$34.15

41.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.78 MX$32.82

20.22%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$2.01 MX$37.20

0.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.74 MX$32.07

14.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.47 MX$27.18

-22.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.11 MX$20.57

8.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$4.25 MX$78.6

0.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$11.44 MX$211

-12.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.70 MX$31.39

-9.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.09 MX$57.1

-13.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.68 MX$12.48

-22.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$2.53 MX$46.69

93.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.67 MX$30.81

105.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$9.65 MX$178

-44.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.35 MX$25.00

7.41%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$25.9K MX$478.2K

-18.24%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$25.4K MX$469.7K

-9.45%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$65.9 MX$1,218

29.55%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$19.30 MX$357

21.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$28.95 MX$535

-1.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$33.67 MX$622

84.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$20.00 MX$370

43.40%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$5.07 MX$93.7

0.59%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$215 MX$3,980

-6.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$4,644 MX$85.8K

-15.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$53.4 MX$987

-16.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$40.86 MX$755

1.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$101 MX$1,862

-27.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$89.8 MX$1,659

-0.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$684 MX$12.6K

43.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$436 MX$8,053

-14.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,160 MX$21.4K

44.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$786 MX$14.5K

39.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,931 MX$35.7K

104.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,120 MX$20.7K

447.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$1,189 MX$22.0K

-37.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.3

1.33%

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 Ciudad Obregon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Ciudad Obregon

$436 36.9% 16.9% $63

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Ciudad Obregon

$261 22.1% 1.2% $3.1

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Ciudad Obregon

$186 15.7% 7.3% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Ciudad Obregon

$114 9.7% 16.8% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Ciudad Obregon

$128 10.8% 14.8% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Ciudad Obregon

$44 3.7% 39.5% $29

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Ciudad Obregon

$14 * 1.2% 73.8% $38

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $684 in Ciudad Obregon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ciudad Obregon pays 61% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $48.00 in Ciudad Obregon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $261 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Ciudad Obregon

🕒 Local time

22:39 10:39 PM

20:39 8:39 PM

2 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

329,404

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ciudad Obregon 2,440 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ciudad Obregon

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 Ciudad Obregon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ciudad Obregon wins on cost – living expenses run 2% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ciudad Obregon the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 61% lower in Ciudad Obregon. 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 $684 in Ciudad Obregon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $215 in Ciudad Obregon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ciudad Obregon – a meal for two runs $48.00 versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,183 in Ciudad Obregon versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ciudad Obregon but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Ciudad Obregon the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ciudad Obregon delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,183 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ciudad Obregon hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Ciudad Obregon are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Ciudad Obregon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.