Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Jiaxing

For one person, living is cheaper in Jiaxing: $637 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Jiaxing
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Jiaxing Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Jiaxing

🇨🇳 China

$637

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $637 in Jiaxing, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Jiaxing $637

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,073 in Jiaxing, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Jiaxing $1,073

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,509 in Jiaxing, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Jiaxing $1,509

Playa del Carmen costs about 89% more than Jiaxing, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Jiaxing are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Jiaxing 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$3.02 ¥20.07

261.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$22.92 ¥152

89.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.45 ¥29.61

164.72%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$3.13 ¥20.82

21.73%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$0.49 ¥3.25

161.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.31 ¥2.09

151.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$0.72 ¥4.76

340.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.18 ¥14.53

126.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.90 ¥12.66

-25.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$2.01 ¥13.39

10.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$0.57 ¥3.82

149.12%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$1.91 ¥12.74

31.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$7.68 ¥51.1

-5.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$3.34 ¥22.21

130.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$7.57 ¥50.4

67.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.60 ¥10.68

73.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.15 ¥7.65

19.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$1.01 ¥6.71

152.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$0.64 ¥4.27

231.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$0.57 ¥3.82

240.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$0.80 ¥5.32

136.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$0.51 ¥3.42

125.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.59 ¥3.90

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$5.32 ¥35.39

-19.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$11.91 ¥79.3

-16.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$0.73 ¥4.88

116.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$1.37 ¥9.10

94.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$0.23 ¥1.53

139.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$16.82 ¥112

58.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$1.17 ¥7.80

324.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$0.42 ¥2.81

692.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$7.45 ¥49.56

-28.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.26 ¥8.38

14.29%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$19.4K ¥129.4K

6.27%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$19.0K ¥126.4K

23.56%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$36.89 ¥245

129.85%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$11.70 ¥77.9

100.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$5.10 ¥33.91

461.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$37.89 ¥252

50.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$7.48 ¥49.74

286.50%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$5.28 ¥35.13

-2.65%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$431 ¥2,866

-52.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$13.0K ¥86.2K

-69.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$35.02 ¥233

23.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$21.81 ¥145

90.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$63.5 ¥422

16.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$45.49 ¥303

96.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$282 ¥1,874

247.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$177 ¥1,178

115.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$774 ¥5,148

120.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$444 ¥2,952

142.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$3,887 ¥25.9K

1.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$2,072 ¥13.8K

197.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$736 ¥4,898

-0.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.13

265.81%

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 Jiaxing: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Jiaxing

$177 27.8% 53.5% $204

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Jiaxing

$176 27.7% 30.8% $78

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Jiaxing

$86 13.5% 57.4% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Jiaxing

$54 8.4% 60.8% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Jiaxing

$75 11.7% 33.2% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Jiaxing

$48 7.6% 28% $19

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Jiaxing

$21 3.3% 58.3% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $282 in Jiaxing. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $23 in Jiaxing. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $176 – making Jiaxing the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Jiaxing

🕒 Local time

14:19 2:19 PM

03:19 3:19 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

3,563,700

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.43 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Jiaxing 13,580 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Jiaxing

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 Jiaxing: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 89% more than Jiaxing, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $956 in Jiaxing. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Jiaxing, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $282 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 37% less in Jiaxing. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $431 in Jiaxing. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Jiaxing, where all-in costs run around $637, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Jiaxing it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $637 in Jiaxing to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Jiaxing is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 47% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.