Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Culiacan

For one person, living is cheaper in Culiacan: $997 a month against $1,215 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Culiacan
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Culiacan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

Culiacan

🇲🇽 Mexico

$997

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,215 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $997 in Culiacan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,215
Culiacan $997

A couple spends around $2,144 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,682 in Culiacan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,144
Culiacan $1,682

A family of three spends $3,072 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,368 in Culiacan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,072
Culiacan $2,368

Playa del Carmen costs about 22% more than Culiacan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Playa del Carmen and Culiacan are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 9% lower, Culiacan 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.97 MX$201

$12.69 MX$233

-13.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.85 MX$823

$38.46 MX$706

16.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 MX$219

$8.23 MX$151

44.84%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$69.9

$4.24 MX$77.8

-10.38%

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

$1.31 MX$24.08

$1.42 MX$26.06

-7.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.72

$0.99 MX$18.13

-13.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 MX$59.0

$2.52 MX$46.27

27.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 MX$92.0

$3.80 MX$69.8

31.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$26.77

$1.73 MX$31.83

-15.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 MX$42.72

$3.21 MX$59.0

-27.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.48

$1.19 MX$21.92

21.01%

Eggs

$2.46 MX$45.20

$2.30 MX$42.18

6.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 MX$141

$7.89 MX$145

-2.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.89 MX$145

$9.48 MX$174

-16.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 MX$235

$11.23 MX$206

13.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 MX$53.6

$2.49 MX$45.74

17.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.11

$1.57 MX$28.90

-9.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 MX$47.10

$1.55 MX$28.37

65.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.24

$1.30 MX$23.82

64.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.75

$1.62 MX$29.68

20.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.55

$1.67 MX$30.60

16.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.13

$1.73 MX$31.77

-33.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.42

$1.42 MX$26.06

-14.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MX$80.3

$4.66 MX$85.6

-6.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.85 MX$181

$13.94 MX$256

-29.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.23

$1.40 MX$25.72

10.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 MX$49.86

$2.74 MX$50.3

-0.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.64

$0.70 MX$12.91

-25.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.42 MX$503

$13.87 MX$255

97.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 MX$90.2

$3.33 MX$61.2

47.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.52 MX$64.7

$1.83 MX$33.56

92.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MX$104

$10.99 MX$202

-48.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.27

$1.46 MX$26.86

5.48%

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

$21.2K MX$389.9K

$21.1K MX$386.9K

0.78%

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

$24.5K MX$449.6K

$24.5K MX$449.2K

0.09%

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

$83.6 MX$1,535

$54.7 MX$1,005

52.82%

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

$24.03 MX$441

$21.94 MX$403

9.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.33 MX$539

$27.59 MX$507

6.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 MX$1,191

$30.99 MX$569

109.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.46 MX$541

$21.93 MX$403

34.34%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$93.4

$4.52 MX$83.1

12.61%

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

$208 MX$3,813

$110 MX$2,028

88.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,045 MX$74.3K

$3,254 MX$59.7K

24.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.55 MX$818

$65.2 MX$1,197

-31.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.06 MX$772

$32.61 MX$599

28.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 MX$1,387

$94.8 MX$1,741

-20.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 MX$1,678

$102 MX$1,865

-10.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$986 MX$18.1K

$381 MX$6,993

158.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,072

$203 MX$3,721

90.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 MX$31.5K

$799 MX$14.7K

114.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,108 MX$20.4K

$532 MX$9,770

108.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,016 MX$73.7K

$2,219 MX$40.7K

80.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,247 MX$114.7K

$1,098 MX$20.2K

468.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$758 MX$13.9K

$718 MX$13.2K

5.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.4

0.44%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Last update for Culiacan: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4%

Culiacan

$203 20.5% 47.4% $183

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2%

Culiacan

$275 27.8% 5.7% $15

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6%

Culiacan

$207 20.9% 1.4% $2.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2%

Culiacan

$104 10.5% 23.9% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3%

Culiacan

$132 13.4% 16% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1%

Culiacan

$40 4% 46.6% $35

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2%

Culiacan

$29 2.9% 44% $23

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $986 in Playa del Carmen versus $381 in Culiacan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 6% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $38.00 in Culiacan. Groceries tell a different story – $260 in Playa del Carmen vs $275 in Culiacan – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Culiacan

🕒 Local time

06:44 6:44 AM

04:44 4:44 AM

2 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

808,416

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Culiacan 2,130 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Culiacan

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 Culiacan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,215 in Playa del Carmen, $997 in Culiacan – roughly 22% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,823 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,495 in Culiacan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Culiacan, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Playa del Carmen and $38.00 in Culiacan. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,215 in Playa del Carmen and $997 in Culiacan. That's a gap of about 22%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Culiacan, where all-in costs run around $997, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,215. In Culiacan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen 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 $997 in Culiacan to $1,215 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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