Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Jilin

For one person, living is cheaper in Jilin: $722 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Jilin
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Jilin Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Jilin

🇨🇳 China

$722

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $722 in Jilin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Jilin $722

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,195 in Jilin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Jilin $1,195

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,669 in Jilin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Jilin $1,669

Playa del Carmen costs about 67% more than Jilin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Jilin are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Jilin 47% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.05 ¥20.31

258.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$22.62 ¥151

91.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$5.17 ¥34.37

127.85%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.43 ¥22.83

11.08%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.44 ¥2.96

190.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.27 ¥1.80

188.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.09 ¥7.24

190.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.31 ¥15.39

113.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.75 ¥11.64

-19.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.61 ¥10.70

37.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$0.99 ¥6.59

43.43%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.57 ¥10.46

60.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$15.29 ¥102

-52.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.12 ¥20.73

146.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$11.08 ¥73.7

14.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.88 ¥12.51

47.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.27 ¥8.44

7.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.47 ¥9.79

73.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.29 ¥8.62

64.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$0.66 ¥4.38

193.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.02 ¥6.79

85.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.59 ¥3.96

94.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.59 ¥3.91

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$3.77 ¥25.12

14.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$10.21 ¥68.0

-2.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$0.76 ¥5.07

107.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.60 ¥10.65

66.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.34 ¥2.28

61.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$17.48 ¥116

52.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.08 ¥7.17

360.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.26 ¥1.73

1180.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$7.13 ¥47.44

-24.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.27 ¥8.43

13.39%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$19.8K ¥132.1K

4.14%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$17.6K ¥116.9K

33.62%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$61.3 ¥408

38.39%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$8.26 ¥55.0

183.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$10.67 ¥71.0

168.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$39.37 ¥262

44.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$16.99 ¥113

70.16%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$6.41 ¥42.67

-19.81%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$440 ¥2,930

-53.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$17.7K ¥117.5K

-77.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$42.55 ¥283

1.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$32.53 ¥217

27.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$76.4 ¥508

-2.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$76.0 ¥506

17.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$244 ¥1,623

301.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$163 ¥1,085

133.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$584 ¥3,884

192.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$406 ¥2,704

164.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$3,551 ¥23.6K

11.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$2,139 ¥14.2K

187.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$441 ¥2,935

66.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.36

240.77%

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 Jilin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Jilin

$163 22.6% 57.2% $218

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Jilin

$209 28.9% 18.1% $46

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Jilin

$94 13% 53.5% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Jilin

$80 11.1% 41.4% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Jilin

$102 14.2% 8.4% $9.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Jilin

$52 7.2% 22.5% $15

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Jilin

$21 2.9% 57.9% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $244 in Jilin. 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 67% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $23 in Jilin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $209 – making Jilin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Jilin

🕒 Local time

16:10 4:10 PM

05:10 5:10 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

3,623,713

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Jilin 12,070 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Jilin

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 Jilin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 67% more than Jilin, 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 $1,083 in Jilin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Jilin, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $244 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $440 in Jilin. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 22% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Jilin, where all-in costs run around $722, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Jilin 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 $722 in Jilin to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Jilin. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.