Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Jerash

For one person, living is cheaper in Jerash: $742 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,210
/mo nomad
Jerash
🇯🇴 Jordan
$742
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $742 in Jerash.

  • Playa del Carmen $1,210
  • Jerash $742

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,161 in Jerash.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,113
  • Jerash $1,161

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,581 in Jerash.

  • Playa del Carmen $3,016
  • Jerash $1,581

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 63% more expensive than in Jerash, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Jerash 45% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Jerash
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.76 MX$199
$5.63 JOD 3.98
91.12%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$43.03 MX$795
$42.29 JOD 29.94
1.75%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.79 MX$218
$4.97 JOD 3.52
137.22%
Cappuccino
$3.87 MX$71.4
$2.18 JOD 1.54
77.52%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.37 MX$25.29
$0.40 JOD 0.28
242.50%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.84 MX$15.44
$0.33 JOD 0.24
154.55%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.10 MX$57.3
$8.56 JOD 6.06
-63.79%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.07 MX$93.6
$11.08 JOD 7.84
-54.24%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Jerash
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.44 MX$26.55
$1.40 JOD 0.99
2.86%
White Bread (500g)
$2.23 MX$41.23
$0.68 JOD 0.48
227.94%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.47 MX$27.17
$1.44 JOD 1.02
2.08%
Eggs
$2.53 MX$46.71
$1.71 JOD 1.21
47.95%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.30 MX$135
$5.06 JOD 3.58
44.27%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.86 MX$145
$4.30 JOD 3.05
82.79%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.79 MX$236
$10.08 JOD 7.14
26.88%
Apples (1kg)
$2.90 MX$53.6
$1.72 JOD 1.22
68.60%
Banana (1kg)
$1.44 MX$26.53
$1.21 JOD 0.86
19.01%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.55 MX$47.07
$1.44 JOD 1.02
77.08%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.06 MX$38.03
$0.49 JOD 0.35
320.41%
Potato (1kg)
$2.00 MX$36.97
$0.68 JOD 0.48
194.12%
Onion (1kg)
$2.01 MX$37.07
$0.72 JOD 0.51
179.17%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.19 MX$22.02
$0.49 JOD 0.35
142.86%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.26 MX$23.23
$0.48 JOD 0.34
162.50%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.40 MX$81.4
$3.77 JOD 2.67
16.71%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.59 MX$177
$20.93 JOD 14.82
-54.18%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.59 MX$29.41
$4.86 JOD 3.44
-67.28%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.81 MX$51.9
$5.13 JOD 3.63
-45.22%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Jerash
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.57 MX$10.47
$1.38 JOD 0.98
-58.70%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.82 MX$514
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.98 MX$92.1
$0.63 JOD 0.45
690.48%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.50 MX$64.6
$1.39 JOD 0.98
151.80%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.40 MX$99.8
$6.97 JOD 4.93
-22.53%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.47 MX$27.08
$1.09 JOD 0.77
34.86%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.0K MX$387.8K
$35.7K JOD 25.3K
-41.22%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.9K MX$441.8K
$34.6K JOD 24.5K
-30.84%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Jerash
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.2 MX$1,556
$130 JOD 92.3
-35.40%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.99 MX$443
$15.91 JOD 11.27
50.79%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$29.02 MX$536
$32.25 JOD 22.83
-10.02%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Jerash
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$63.0 MX$1,164
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$29.14 MX$539
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$4.94 MX$91.3
$11.08 JOD 7.84
-55.42%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Jerash
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$204 MX$3,763
$478 JOD 339
-57.43%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$3,941 MX$72.8K
$9,577 JOD 6,780
-58.85%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Jerash
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$43.60 MX$806
$64.2 JOD 45.45
-32.09%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$43.12 MX$797
$82.7 JOD 58.6
-47.86%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$75.8 MX$1,400
$128 JOD 90.5
-40.70%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.6 MX$1,637
$85.3 JOD 60.4
3.81%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Jerash
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,008 MX$18.6K
-
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$374 MX$6,911
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,708 MX$31.6K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,106 MX$20.4K
-
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,944 MX$72.9K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,169 MX$114.0K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Jerash
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$754 MX$13.9K
$368 JOD 260
105.03%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
6.81
68.14%

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 Jerash: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$374
Jerash
- * 100%
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$258
Jerash
$212 18% $46
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$202
Jerash
$154 23.9% $48
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$137
Jerash
$179 30.1% $41
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$113
Jerash
$162 43.4% $49
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$73
Jerash
$22 * 69.6% $51
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$53
Jerash
$13 * 75.1% $39

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

Cost Breakdown

Playa del Carmen pays 105% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $42.00 in Jerash for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $212 per month, with Jerash cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇯🇴 Jerash
🕒 Local time
08:31 8:31 AM
16:31 4:31 PM
8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
27,046
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

JOD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Jordanian Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.708 JOD (1 JOD = 1.41 USD). 1 EUR = 0.796 JOD (1 JOD = 1.26 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Jerash 11,570 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Jerash

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 Jerash: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Playa del Carmen or Jerash?
Jerash wins on cost – living expenses run 63% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Jerash the obvious pick if budget is a priority.
Are salaries higher in Playa del Carmen or in Jerash?
Average pay runs 105% higher in Playa del Carmen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
Are groceries more expensive in Playa del Carmen or in Jerash?
Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
How much does it cost to live in Playa del Carmen compared to Jerash?
All in, you'll spend $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $742 in Jerash – a 63% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Can you live on $1,000/month in Playa del Carmen or in Jerash?
At $742 in Jerash versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Jerash but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Jerash the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Playa del Carmen or Jerash?
Both work as nomad bases, but Jerash delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $742 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Jerash hard to pass up.
How safe is Playa del Carmen compared to Jerash?
Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Jerash are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is more affordable for expats?
Expats usually find Jerash gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Playa del Carmen vs other spots: cost of living compared

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