Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Jingmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Jingmen: $741 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Jingmen
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Jingmen Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Jingmen

🇨🇳 China

$741

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $741 in Jingmen, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Jingmen $741

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,215 in Jingmen, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Jingmen $1,215

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,689 in Jingmen, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Jingmen $1,689

Playa del Carmen costs about 63% more than Jingmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Jingmen are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Jingmen 45% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$3.08 ¥20.58

249.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$22.61 ¥151

90.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$4.11 ¥27.49

186.86%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.21 ¥14.76

75.11%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.43 ¥2.90

218.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.29 ¥1.92

189.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$0.86 ¥5.78

260.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$1.07 ¥7.17

373.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$2.00 ¥13.38

-28.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.79 ¥11.94

24.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.03 ¥6.89

42.72%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.67 ¥11.15

51.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$13.15 ¥87.9

-44.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$3.69 ¥24.66

113.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$13.68 ¥91.4

-6.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.20 ¥14.73

31.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.20 ¥8.03

20.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.41 ¥9.45

80.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.11 ¥7.40

85.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.82 ¥5.51

143.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.77 ¥5.16

161.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.38 ¥2.52

213.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.43 ¥2.89

193.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$6.53 ¥43.65

-32.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$14.67 ¥98.1

-34.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$0.75 ¥5.00

112.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.04 ¥13.61

37.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.32 ¥2.14

78.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$19.67 ¥132

41.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.47 ¥9.82

238.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.29 ¥1.91

1106.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$4.34 ¥29.03

24.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.07 ¥7.17

37.38%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$19.7K ¥131.5K

6.68%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$16.8K ¥112.5K

42.11%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$57.6 ¥385

46.15%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$7.52 ¥50.3

219.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$11.70 ¥78.3

148.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$44.91 ¥300

40.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$12.76 ¥85.3

128.37%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$5.35 ¥35.74

-7.66%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$375 ¥2,505

-45.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$11.9K ¥79.3K

-66.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$54.4 ¥363

-19.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$33.37 ¥223

29.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$60.6 ¥405

25.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$113 ¥756

-21.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$277 ¥1,850

264.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$170 ¥1,134

120.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$664 ¥4,438

157.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$396 ¥2,648

179.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$3,203 ¥21.4K

23.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$2,196 ¥14.7K

180.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.31

245.92%

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 Jingmen: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Jingmen

$170 22.9% 54.7% $204

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Jingmen

$225 30.3% 13% $34

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Jingmen

$73 9.8% 64% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Jingmen

$77 10.4% 44% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Jingmen

$118 15.9% 4.1% $4.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Jingmen

$56 7.5% 23.7% $17

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Jingmen

$24 3.2% 54.6% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $277 in Jingmen. 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $23.00 in Jingmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $225 – making Jingmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Jingmen

🕒 Local time

03:42 3:42 AM

16:42 4:42 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

2,873,687

💱 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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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Jingmen 13,910 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Jingmen

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 Jingmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, $741 in Jingmen – roughly 63% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,112 in Jingmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $375 in Jingmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 15% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Jingmen, where all-in costs run around $741, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Jingmen 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 $741 in Jingmen to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Jingmen. 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.