Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Hamilton, Canada

Name: Hamilton
Address: Hamilton, CA

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,379 in Hamilton, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 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
113

Cost of Living Index in Hamilton
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Hamilton Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Hamilton

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,379

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,379 in Hamilton.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Hamilton $2,379

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,409 in Hamilton.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Hamilton $3,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,440 in Hamilton.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Hamilton $4,440

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 49% less than in Hamilton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Hamilton is 75% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$17.79 CA$24.86

-38.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$68.9 CA$96.2

-37.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$12.21 CA$17.05

-3.52%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$3.48 CA$4.87

9.48%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$2.18 CA$3.05

-41.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$1.66 CA$2.32

-53.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$5.06 CA$7.07

-37.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$6.21 CA$8.67

-20.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.99 CA$2.77

-29.15%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$2.04 CA$2.85

8.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$3.15 CA$4.41

-54.92%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$3.39 CA$4.73

-25.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$7.90 CA$11.04

-8.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$11.46 CA$16.01

-32.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$14.97 CA$20.91

-15.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$4.06 CA$5.67

-31.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.31 CA$1.84

4.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$4.04 CA$5.64

-36.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$3.76 CA$5.26

-43.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$2.66 CA$3.71

-27.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$1.93 CA$2.70

-2.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$1.97 CA$2.76

-41.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$1.34 CA$1.87

-11.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$12.64 CA$17.66

-65.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$14.09 CA$19.68

-29.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$2.66 CA$3.71

-40.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$4.04 CA$5.64

-33.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$2.64 CA$3.69

-79.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$91.2 CA$127

-70.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$3.57 CA$4.99

39.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$1.24 CA$1.74

168.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$23.74 CA$33.17

-77.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.21 CA$1.70

19.01%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$26.1K CA$36.4K

-20.74%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$22.4K CA$31.3K

4.80%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$157 CA$219

-45.85%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$41.99 CA$58.7

-44.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$50.6 CA$70.7

-43.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$34.23 CA$47.83

66.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$17.97 CA$25.10

60.88%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$10.44 CA$14.59

-50.77%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$490 CA$684

-57.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$16.8K CA$23.4K

-76.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$49.37 CA$69.0

-12.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$31.10 CA$43.45

33.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$87.9 CA$123

-15.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$118 CA$164

-24.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,288 CA$1,800

-23.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$1,220 CA$1,704

-68.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$2,066 CA$2,887

-17.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,830 CA$2,557

-41.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$3,105 CA$4,339

26.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$2,705 CA$3,779

127.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$3,039 CA$4,246

-75.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.6

148.91%

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 Hamilton: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Hamilton

$1.2K 51.3% 220% $839

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Hamilton

$341 14.3% 33.8% $86

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Hamilton

$274 11.5% 35.3% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Hamilton

$249 10.5% 82.1% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Hamilton

$129 5.4% 15.2% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Hamilton

$55 2.3% 18.1% $12

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Hamilton

$112 4.7% 121% $61

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,288 in Hamilton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hamilton pays about 4.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $69 in Hamilton for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $341 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇦 Hamilton

🕒 Local time

19:59 7:59 PM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

519,949

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.641 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Playa del Carmen Hamilton 2,600 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
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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 Hamilton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 49% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 76% 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 $1,288 in Hamilton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $490 in Hamilton. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Hamilton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,379 in Hamilton, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Hamilton. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Hamilton, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Hamilton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.