Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ibaraki

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibaraki: $1,142 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $720 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Ibaraki
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Ibaraki Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Ibaraki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,142

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,142 in Ibaraki.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Ibaraki $1,142

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,768 in Ibaraki.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Ibaraki $1,768

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,395 in Ibaraki.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Ibaraki $2,395

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 5% more expensive than in Ibaraki, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Ibaraki 16% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$6.20 ¥977

72.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$823

$31.03 ¥4,888

41.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$221

$5.22 ¥822

125.86%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.1

$3.15 ¥496

20.32%

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

$1.30 MX$24.36

$1.15 ¥181

13.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.65

$0.79 ¥124

5.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.1

$2.65 ¥417

18.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.12 ¥491

58.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.46

$2.73 ¥429

-48.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.23

$1.57 ¥247

40.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.66

$4.10 ¥646

-64.15%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.89

$2.03 ¥319

23.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$10.34 ¥1,628

-29.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$6.54 ¥1,031

21.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$16.75 ¥2,638

-23.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.4

$3.71 ¥585

-21.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.98

$2.28 ¥359

-39.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.78

$2.95 ¥464

-15.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.12

$4.16 ¥655

-51.20%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.03

$2.47 ¥390

-18.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.74

$2.60 ¥410

-26.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.49

$1.32 ¥208

-13.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.27

$0.85 ¥134

45.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.2

$4.29 ¥676

-0.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

$6.57 ¥1,035

49.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.78

$1.86 ¥293

-14.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.6

$2.08 ¥327

32.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.67

$1.64 ¥258

-68.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$514

$57.8 ¥9,109

-52.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.4

$4.75 ¥749

0.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.0

$2.93 ¥461

10.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$25.58 ¥4,028

-78.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.70

$1.09 ¥172

40.37%

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

$21.2K MX$398.4K

$21.7K ¥3.4M

-2.28%

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

$23.3K MX$436.9K

$15.4K ¥2.4M

51.29%

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

$83.5 MX$1,568

$138 ¥21.7K

-39.32%

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

$23.19 MX$435

$24.35 ¥3,835

-4.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$519

$31.52 ¥4,964

-12.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,060

$50.6 ¥7,973

11.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$529

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.9

$12.49 ¥1,967

-59.97%

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

$207 MX$3,889

$626 ¥98.6K

-66.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.2K

$15.4K ¥2.4M

-66.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$816

$26.34 ¥4,148

64.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$799

$31.99 ¥5,039

32.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,367

$67.6 ¥10.6K

7.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,660

$81.0 ¥12.8K

9.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$403 ¥63.4K

146.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,181

$264 ¥41.6K

44.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.4K

$1,028 ¥161.9K

62.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$527 ¥83.0K

105.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.4K

$4,712 ¥742.1K

-17.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.3K

$2,384 ¥375.5K

157.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

$2,498 ¥393.4K

-66.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.21

418.10%

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 Ibaraki: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Ibaraki

$264 23.2% 30.9% $118

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Ibaraki

$301 26.4% 16.9% $44

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Ibaraki

$130 11.4% 34.9% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Ibaraki

$193 17% 44.1% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Ibaraki

$93 8.2% 16.3% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Ibaraki

$76 6.6% 13.8% $9.2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Ibaraki

$84 7.3% 66.1% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $403 in Ibaraki. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ibaraki pays about 3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $31 in Ibaraki. Groceries flip the comparison at $257 vs $301, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇵 Ibaraki

🕒 Local time

03:57 3:57 AM

17:57 5:57 PM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

287,730

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.65 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 157 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Playa del Carmen Ibaraki 12,380 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

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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 Ibaraki: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,142 in Ibaraki, so Ibaraki is about 5% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 67% 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $403 in Ibaraki. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Playa del Carmen pay roughly 14% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Ibaraki – a meal for two runs $31 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Ibaraki gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.