Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Dargaville

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,020 in Dargaville, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
96

Cost of Living Index in Dargaville
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Dargaville Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Dargaville

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,020

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,020 in Dargaville.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Dargaville $2,020

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,978 in Dargaville.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Dargaville $2,978

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,937 in Dargaville.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Dargaville $3,937

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 40% less than in Dargaville, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Dargaville is 49% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$14.33 NZ$25.63

-25.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$68.6 NZ$123

-36.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$9.32 NZ$16.66

26.50%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$3.26 NZ$5.82

16.26%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$2.07 NZ$3.70

-37.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$1.78 NZ$3.18

-53.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$6.41 NZ$11.46

-50.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$6.42 NZ$11.48

-23.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.76 NZ$3.16

-19.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$2.00 NZ$3.57

10.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$1.77 NZ$3.16

-16.95%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$5.75 NZ$10.27

-56.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$8.29 NZ$14.82

-12.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$9.69 NZ$17.32

-17.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$14.13 NZ$25.26

-8.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$2.65 NZ$4.74

9.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$2.27 NZ$4.06

-39.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$3.06 NZ$5.48

-18.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$5.40 NZ$9.65

-62.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$2.00 NZ$3.57

1.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$1.52 NZ$2.72

25.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$2.21 NZ$3.95

-48.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$1.11 NZ$1.99

11.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$24.63 NZ$44.04

-82.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$9.31 NZ$16.65

5.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$3.01 NZ$5.38

-47.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$3.39 NZ$6.06

-18.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$1.96 NZ$3.50

-73.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$102 NZ$183

-73.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$2.30 NZ$4.12

106.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$1.83 NZ$3.27

77.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$30.03 NZ$53.7

-82.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$1.66 NZ$2.97

-7.83%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$27.9K NZ$49.9K

-23.98%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$22.5K NZ$40.2K

3.59%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$112 NZ$200

-25.41%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$28.35 NZ$50.7

-18.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$50.7 NZ$90.6

-45.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$38.51 NZ$68.9

46.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$11.32 NZ$20.25

-55.83%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$667 NZ$1,193

-68.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$16.8K NZ$30.1K

-68.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$62.4 NZ$111

-30.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$36.00 NZ$64.4

18.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$95.3 NZ$170

-23.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$113 NZ$202

-21.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$1,040 NZ$1,860

-4.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$945 NZ$1,690

-59.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$1,656 NZ$2,961

1.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$1,469 NZ$2,626

-26.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$4,827 NZ$8,630

-19.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$3,337 NZ$5,965

83.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.83

96.40%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Dargaville: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Dargaville

$945 46.8% 147% $563

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Dargaville

$321 15.9% 24.8% $64

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Dargaville

$242 12% 20.8% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Dargaville

$191 9.5% 42.2% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Dargaville

$138 6.8% 24.1% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Dargaville

$61 3% 7.9% $5.3

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Dargaville

$122 6% 141% $71

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $1,040 in Dargaville. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $69 in Dargaville for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $321 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇿 Dargaville

🕒 Local time

05:26 5:26 AM

23:26 11:26 PM

18 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

4,600

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 NZD = 0.559 USD

1 NZD = 0.499 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 NZD (1 NZD = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2 NZD (1 NZD = 0.499 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Dargaville 12,120 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Dargaville

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 Dargaville: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $2,020 in Dargaville, so Playa del Carmen is about 40% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $3,030 in Dargaville to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,040 in Dargaville. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $667 in Dargaville. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 25% higher in Dargaville. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,020 in Dargaville, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Dargaville. 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 40% less than in Dargaville. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.