Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Fukuoka

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Fukuoka: $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
61

Cost of Living Index in Fukuoka
Learn more

Fukuoka Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Fukuoka

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,259

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Fukuoka 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 Fukuoka, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Fukuoka $1,259

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,001 in Fukuoka, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Fukuoka $2,001

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,743 in Fukuoka, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Fukuoka $2,743

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$7.20 ¥1,138

49.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$42.93 ¥6,783

0.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$5.84 ¥922

101.88%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$3.77 ¥596

2.65%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.03 ¥163

33.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.70 ¥111

20.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$3.79 ¥599

-18.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$2.18 ¥344

132.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.54 ¥243

-6.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.91 ¥302

16.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$6.64 ¥1,050

-77.86%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.29 ¥362

10.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$18.31 ¥2,893

-60.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$5.40 ¥853

45.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$19.00 ¥3,002

-32.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.54 ¥560

-18.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.81 ¥287

-20.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.87 ¥453

-11.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$3.36 ¥531

-38.69%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$2.15 ¥340

-6.98%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$2.59 ¥409

-22.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.02 ¥161

16.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.93 ¥147

35.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$3.79 ¥599

16.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$6.49 ¥1,025

47.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.71 ¥270

-7.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.81 ¥286

55.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.47 ¥232

-61.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$41.37 ¥6,537

-32.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$3.91 ¥618

27.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$2.09 ¥331

67.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$17.67 ¥2,792

-69.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.11 ¥175

32.43%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$21.5K ¥3.4M

-2.53%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$17.6K ¥2.8M

35.72%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$207 ¥32.8K

-59.39%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$25.04 ¥3,955

-4.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$32.65 ¥5,159

-11.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$53.8 ¥8,506

16.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$10.91 ¥1,724

-54.72%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$126 ¥19.8K

62.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$12.4K ¥2.0M

-68.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$49.44 ¥7,811

-11.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$25.89 ¥4,090

66.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$67.1 ¥10.6K

12.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$48.07 ¥7,594

84.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$486 ¥76.8K

107.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$303 ¥47.8K

23.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,233 ¥194.8K

38.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$730 ¥115.4K

51.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$6,329 ¥1.0M

-37.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$2,696 ¥425.9K

128.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$1,657 ¥261.8K

-54.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

1.97

481.22%

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 Fukuoka: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Fukuoka

$303 24% 19.1% $71

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Fukuoka

$318 25.3% 23% $60

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Fukuoka

$151 12% 25.5% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Fukuoka

$265 21.1% 93.2% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Fukuoka

$86 6.8% 24.1% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Fukuoka

$76 6% 3.8% $2.8

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Fukuoka

$62 4.9% 17.3% $9.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $486 in Fukuoka. 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 120% higher in Fukuoka, 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $43.00 in Fukuoka. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $318 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇵 Fukuoka

🕒 Local time

04:29 4:29 AM

18:29 6:29 PM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,612,392

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Fukuoka 12,800 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Fukuoka

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 Fukuoka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, $1,259 in Fukuoka – 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 $1,889 in Fukuoka. 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.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $126 in Fukuoka. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 23% more in Fukuoka, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Fukuoka at $1,259. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Fukuoka 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 Fukuoka. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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