Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ciudad Victoria

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Ciudad Victoria: $1,210 and $1,259 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Ciudad Victoria
Learn more

Ciudad Victoria Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Ciudad Victoria

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,259

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,259 in Ciudad Victoria, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Ciudad Victoria $1,259

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,975 in Ciudad Victoria, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Ciudad Victoria $1,975

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,691 in Ciudad Victoria, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Ciudad Victoria $2,691

Playa del Carmen is about 4% cheaper than Ciudad Victoria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Ciudad Victoria are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Ciudad Victoria 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$13.97 MX$258

-22.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$49.17 MX$909

-12.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$11.09 MX$205

6.31%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$4.06 MX$74.9

-4.68%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.62 MX$29.99

-15.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.00 MX$18.40

-16.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$2.35 MX$43.51

31.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$4.44 MX$82.0

14.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.91 MX$35.35

-24.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$2.84 MX$52.5

-21.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.89 MX$34.86

-22.22%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.59 MX$47.78

-2.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$12.01 MX$222

-39.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$9.13 MX$169

-13.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$12.94 MX$239

-1.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.27 MX$60.4

-11.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.59 MX$29.39

-9.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.13 MX$39.30

19.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.68 MX$31.12

22.62%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$2.27 MX$41.98

-11.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$2.70 MX$49.96

-25.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.53 MX$28.34

-22.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$1.25 MX$23.01

0.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$4.92 MX$90.9

-10.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$13.89 MX$257

-30.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.96 MX$36.26

-18.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.93 MX$54.2

-4.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.76 MX$14.01

-25.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.66 MX$30.62

200.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.13 MX$20.86

209.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$10.75 MX$199

-49.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.50 MX$27.78

-2.00%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

-0.23%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$24.7K MX$456.2K

-3.17%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$57.1 MX$1,055

47.48%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$26.20 MX$484

-8.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$25.86 MX$478

12.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$34.16 MX$631

84.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$18.33 MX$339

58.97%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$5.30 MX$98.0

-6.79%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$222 MX$4,101

-8.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$11.5K MX$212.3K

-65.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$72.8 MX$1,345

-40.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$42.76 MX$790

0.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$111 MX$2,060

-32.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$117 MX$2,170

-24.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$588 MX$10.9K

71.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$409 MX$7,557

-8.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,111 MX$20.5K

53.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$679 MX$12.5K

62.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$1,882 MX$34.8K

109.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,204 MX$22.2K

412.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.79

-2.88%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Ciudad Victoria: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Ciudad Victoria

$409 32.5% 9.4% $35

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Ciudad Victoria

$305 24.3% 18.2% $47

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Ciudad Victoria

$225 17.9% 11.2% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Ciudad Victoria

$109 8.7% 20.4% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Ciudad Victoria

$155 12.3% 37.2% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Ciudad Victoria

$45 3.6% 38.6% $28

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Ciudad Victoria

$10 * 0.8% 80.3% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $588 in Ciudad Victoria. 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $49.00 in Ciudad Victoria. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $305 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Ciudad Victoria

🕒 Local time

01:04 1:04 AM

00:04 12:04 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

332,100

💱 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 Victoria 1,290 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ciudad Victoria

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 Victoria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, $1,259 in Ciudad Victoria – roughly 4% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,888 in Ciudad Victoria. 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $1,259 in Ciudad Victoria. That's a gap of about 4%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $222 in Ciudad Victoria. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Ciudad Victoria at $1,259. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ciudad Victoria it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,210 in Playa del Carmen to $1,259 in Ciudad Victoria. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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