Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Jelgava

For one person, living is cheaper in Jelgava: $1,079 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Jelgava
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Jelgava Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Jelgava

🇱🇻 Latvia

$1,079

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,079 in Jelgava, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Jelgava $1,079

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,644 in Jelgava, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Jelgava $1,644

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,209 in Jelgava, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Jelgava $2,209

Playa del Carmen costs about 12% more than Jelgava, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Jelgava are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Jelgava 20% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$7.74 €6.88

40.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$45.05 €40.07

-1.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$6.58 €5.85

78.72%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$3.32 €2.95

10.84%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.61 €1.43

-16.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.19 €1.06

-31.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$4.52 €4.02

-32.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.94 €3.51

25.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.22 €1.09

20.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$0.92 €0.81

141.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.48 €1.32

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$3.19 €2.84

-21.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$10.34 €9.20

-27.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$5.39 €4.79

47.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$8.79 €7.82

43.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$1.64 €1.46

69.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.84 €1.63

-22.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.46 €2.18

6.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$3.12 €2.78

-31.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.82 €0.73

146.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.95 €0.85

109.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.70 €1.51

-32.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.91 €0.81

31.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$6.69 €5.95

-36.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$7.94 €7.06

26.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.97 €1.75

-21.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.08 €1.85

27.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.94 €0.83

-43.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$28.22 €25.10

-2.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$3.38 €3.00

44.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.04 €0.92

229.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$17.93 €15.95

-69.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.90 €1.69

-23.68%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$22.6K €20.1K

-6.58%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$29.5K €26.3K

-22.07%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$186 €166

-54.17%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$18.90 €16.81

24.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$14.88 €13.24

91.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$46.18 €41.08

34.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$32.10 €28.56

-10.65%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$11.03 €9.81

-53.76%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$226 €201

-10.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$14.2K €12.6K

-72.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$49.55 €44.07

-10.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$22.28 €19.81

85.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$55.1 €48.96

32.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$113 €101

-20.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$331 €295

195.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$258 €230

44.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$587 €522

186.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$424 €378

158.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,025 €912

285.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$905 €805

578.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$1,597 €1,420

-53.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

186.25%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Jelgava: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Jelgava

$258 23.9% 30.7% $115

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Jelgava

$221 20.5% 14.5% $37

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Jelgava

$163 15.1% 18.5% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Jelgava

$220 20.4% 60.3% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Jelgava

$108 10% 3.2% $3.6

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Jelgava

$68 6.3% 5.7% $4.2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Jelgava

$41 3.8% 21.6% $11

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $331 in Jelgava. 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 117% higher in Jelgava, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $45.00 in Jelgava. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $221 in Jelgava – so Jelgava wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇻 Jelgava

🕒 Local time

04:33 4:33 AM

12:33 12:33 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

63,534

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Jelgava 9,300 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Jelgava

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 Jelgava: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 12%, 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 $1,619 in Jelgava. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Jelgava, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen and $45.00 in Jelgava. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,079 in Jelgava. That's a gap of about 12%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Jelgava, where all-in costs run around $1,079, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Jelgava it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

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