Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ellicott City, MD

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,488 in Ellicott City, MD, rent and utilities included – about $27,400 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
167

Cost of Living Index in Ellicott City, MD
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Ellicott City, MD Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Ellicott City, MD

🇺🇸 United States

$3,488

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Ellicott City, MD

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 Ellicott City, MD actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,488 in Ellicott City, MD, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Ellicott City, MD $3,488

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,646 in Ellicott City, MD, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Ellicott City, MD $4,646

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,804 in Ellicott City, MD, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Ellicott City, MD $5,804

Playa del Carmen is about 65% cheaper than Ellicott City, MD, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Ellicott City, MD is 156% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$18.21 $18.21

-40.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$95.6 $95.6

-54.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$10.87 $10.87

8.37%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$5.40 $5.40

-29.44%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$3.35 $3.35

-61.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$2.63 $2.63

-70.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$6.97 $6.97

-54.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$8.07 $8.07

-38.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.17 $1.17

20.51%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$4.11 $4.11

-45.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$3.81 $3.81

-62.73%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$4.58 $4.58

-44.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$16.91 $16.91

-57.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$13.00 $13.00

-40.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$18.52 $18.52

-31.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$6.17 $6.17

-54.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.59 $1.59

-13.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$4.13 $4.13

-38.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$4.08 $4.08

-48.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$2.23 $2.23

-13.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$2.67 $2.67

-29.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$2.35 $2.35

-51.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$2.23 $2.23

-47.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$13.49 $13.49

-68.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$15.37 $15.37

-35.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.68 $2.68

-41.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$3.14 $3.14

-14.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.78 $1.78

179.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.34 $1.34

148.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$24.13 $24.13

-77.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.94 $0.94

53.19%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$23.1K $23.1K

-10.39%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$24.1K $24.1K

-2.68%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$208 $208

-59.29%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$49.91 $49.91

-53.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$79.9 $79.9

-64.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$112 $112

-48.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$14.57 $14.57

-64.72%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$1,921 $1,921

-89.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$34.9K $34.9K

-88.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$52.5 $52.5

-17.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$56.7 $56.7

-26.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$93.5 $93.5

-20.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$112 $112

-20.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$2,498 $2,498

-60.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$2,107 $2,107

-81.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$3,056 $3,056

-44.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$2,695 $2,695

-60.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$2,635 $2,635

133.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$5,000 $5,000

-85.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.79

68.63%

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 Ellicott City, MD: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Ellicott City, MD

$2.1K 60.4% 453% $1.7K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Ellicott City, MD

$433 12.4% 70.1% $179

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Ellicott City, MD

$318 9.1% 57.2% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Ellicott City, MD

$338 9.7% 147% $201

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Ellicott City, MD

$142 4.1% 26.7% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Ellicott City, MD

$141 4% 109% $74

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Ellicott City, MD

$8.5 * 0.2% 83.2% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,498 in Ellicott City, MD. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Ellicott City, MD are about 6.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $96 in Ellicott City, MD. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $433 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇺🇸 Ellicott City, MD

🕒 Local time

16:39 4:39 PM

17:39 5:39 PM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

65,834

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ellicott City, MD 2,290 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ellicott City, MD

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 Ellicott City, MD: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Ellicott City, MD is pricier by about 190%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $5,232 in Ellicott City, MD. 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $2,498 in Ellicott City, MD.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $3,488 in Ellicott City, MD. That makes Playa del Carmen about 65% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,921 in Ellicott City, MD. 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 $1,204, than in Ellicott City, MD at $3,488. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ellicott City, MD it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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