Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and College Station, TX

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,165 in College Station, TX, rent and utilities included – about $11,500 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
104

Cost of Living Index in College Station, TX
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College Station, TX Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

College Station, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,165

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in College Station, TX

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 College Station, TX actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,165 in College Station, TX.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
College Station, TX $2,165

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,186 in College Station, TX.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
College Station, TX $3,186

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,206 in College Station, TX.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
College Station, TX $4,206

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 44% less than in College Station, TX, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, College Station, TX is 59% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$14.78 $14.78

-26.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$78.5 $78.5

-44.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$11.92 $11.92

-1.17%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$5.61 $5.61

-32.09%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$2.81 $2.81

-54.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$1.80 $1.80

-56.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$4.88 $4.88

-35.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$7.72 $7.72

-36.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$0.82 $0.82

71.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$3.31 $3.31

-32.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$3.80 $3.80

-62.63%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.90 $2.90

-13.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$12.18 $12.18

-40.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$9.34 $9.34

-17.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$13.01 $13.01

-2.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$6.32 $6.32

-56.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.56 $1.56

-12.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$6.46 $6.46

-60.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$4.78 $4.78

-55.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$3.99 $3.99

-51.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$2.97 $2.97

-36.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.83 $1.83

-37.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.86 $1.86

-36.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$9.96 $9.96

-56.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$14.17 $14.17

-29.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.77 $1.77

-10.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$3.90 $3.90

-31.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$1.03 $1.03

-46.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$45.74 $45.74

-41.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$9.98 $9.98

-50.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$1.82 $1.82

82.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$58.9 $58.9

-90.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$0.97 $0.97

48.45%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$26.7K $26.7K

-22.52%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$25.7K $25.7K

-8.79%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$179 $179

-52.53%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$39.26 $39.26

-40.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$55.7 $55.7

-48.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$24.49 $24.49

132.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$17.46 $17.46

65.58%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$10.97 $10.97

-53.14%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$740 $740

-72.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$17.9K $17.9K

-78.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$59.9 $59.9

-27.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$38.65 $38.65

7.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$84.9 $84.9

-12.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$121 $121

-26.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,267 $1,267

-22.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$986 $986

-61.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,848 $1,848

-7.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,531 $1,531

-29.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$2,392 $2,392

64.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,994 $1,994

208.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$4,377 $4,377

-83.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.57

74.28%

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 College Station, TX: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

College Station, TX

$986 45.6% 159% $605

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

College Station, TX

$374 17.3% 46.7% $119

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

College Station, TX

$280 12.9% 38.2% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

College Station, TX

$274 12.6% 99.9% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

College Station, TX

$137 6.3% 22.8% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

College Station, TX

$46 2.1% 31% $21

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

College Station, TX

$69 3.2% 36.7% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,267 in College Station, TX. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

College Station, TX pays about 6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $79 in College Station, TX for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $374 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇺🇸 College Station, TX

🕒 Local time

23:16 11:16 PM

22:16 10:16 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

120,511

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 USD = 0.896 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen College Station, TX 1,450 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
College Station, TX

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 College Station, TX: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 44% lower than in College Station, TX. 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 83% 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 $1,267 in College Station, TX. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 42% less than in College Station, TX. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $740 in College Station, TX. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,165 in College Station, TX, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in College Station, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in College Station, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.