Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Jiangmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Jiangmen: $513 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Jiangmen
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Jiangmen Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Jiangmen

🇨🇳 China

$513

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $513 in Jiangmen.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Jiangmen $513

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $998 in Jiangmen.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Jiangmen $998

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,483 in Jiangmen.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Jiangmen $1,483

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 136% more expensive than in Jiangmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Jiangmen 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$3.29 ¥21.97

227.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$30.07 ¥201

43.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$5.31 ¥35.49

122.03%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.30 ¥15.38

68.26%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.43 ¥2.87

218.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.31 ¥2.08

170.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$0.91 ¥6.09

240.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$1.46 ¥9.79

247.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.60 ¥10.71

-10.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.63 ¥10.89

36.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.07 ¥7.12

37.38%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.77 ¥11.86

42.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$21.48 ¥144

-66.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$2.28 ¥15.27

244.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$13.38 ¥89.5

-4.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.16 ¥14.47

34.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$0.89 ¥5.94

61.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.17 ¥7.80

117.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.43 ¥9.57

44.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.64 ¥4.28

212.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.93 ¥6.25

116.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.29 ¥1.93

310.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.55 ¥3.65

129.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$3.06 ¥20.45

43.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$12.19 ¥81.5

-21.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$0.69 ¥4.63

130.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.76 ¥11.74

59.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.44 ¥2.93

29.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.41 ¥9.41

253.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.39 ¥2.60

797.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$7.09 ¥47.43

-23.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.34 ¥8.97

9.70%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$19.8K ¥132.2K

6.12%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$16.5K ¥110.5K

44.64%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$49.45 ¥331

70.29%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$8.60 ¥57.5

178.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$12.27 ¥82.1

136.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$30.28 ¥202

107.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$4.51 ¥30.19

546.12%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$6.49 ¥43.40

-23.88%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$251 ¥1,676

-18.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$7,533 ¥50.4K

-47.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$30.21 ¥202

44.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$39.86 ¥266

8.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$72.5 ¥485

4.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$44.20 ¥296

100.43%

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

$444 ¥2,968

284.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$273 ¥1,826

305.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$6,098 ¥40.8K

-35.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,223 ¥8,178

404.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$592 ¥3,957

27.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.35

241.79%

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 Jiangmen: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Jiangmen

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Jiangmen

$230 44.9% 10.8% $28

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Jiangmen

$80 15.6% 60.3% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Jiangmen

$70 13.7% 48.8% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Jiangmen

$84 16.4% 25.6% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Jiangmen

$43 8.4% 40.6% $30

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Jiangmen

$5.1 * 1% 90.3% $47

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

Cost Breakdown

Playa del Carmen pays 27% 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 $30.00 in Jiangmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $230 per month, with Jiangmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Jiangmen

🕒 Local time

03:39 3:39 AM

16:39 4:39 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

4,448,871

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Playa del Carmen Jiangmen 14,740 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

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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 Jiangmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Jiangmen differ by about 136% in total monthly costs ($1,210 vs $513 including rent). Jiangmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 27% 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.

Childcare runs $204 in Playa del Carmen versus $251 in Jiangmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Jiangmen – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $513 in Jiangmen versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Jiangmen but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Jiangmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Jiangmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 136% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.