Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Lazaro Cardenas

For one person, living is cheaper in Lazaro Cardenas: $1,141 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $760 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Lazaro Cardenas
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Lazaro Cardenas Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Lazaro Cardenas

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,141

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Lazaro Cardenas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,141 in Lazaro Cardenas.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Lazaro Cardenas $1,141

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,839 in Lazaro Cardenas.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Lazaro Cardenas $1,839

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,537 in Lazaro Cardenas.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Lazaro Cardenas $2,537

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 6% more expensive than in Lazaro Cardenas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Lazaro Cardenas 16% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$203

$10.83 MX$203

0.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$827

$43.66 MX$817

1.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$220

$8.70 MX$163

35.17%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.9

$3.61 MX$67.6

1.94%

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

$1.34 MX$25.11

$1.42 MX$26.59

-5.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.44

$1.03 MX$19.24

-20.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$57.3

$2.51 MX$46.92

21.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$92.4

$3.99 MX$74.7

23.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.52

$1.66 MX$31.06

-11.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.47

$2.53 MX$47.41

-12.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.67

$1.67 MX$31.19

-11.38%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$46.59

$2.43 MX$45.51

2.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$141

$8.19 MX$153

-8.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$149

$8.49 MX$159

-6.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$235

$11.33 MX$212

10.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.0

$2.67 MX$49.98

4.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.71

$1.59 MX$29.74

-10.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.99

$1.90 MX$35.65

37.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.99

$1.83 MX$34.27

16.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.86

$1.93 MX$36.05

4.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$37.21

$1.80 MX$33.61

10.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.28

$1.48 MX$27.75

-22.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.46

$1.08 MX$20.23

11.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$79.7

$4.32 MX$80.8

-1.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$187

$10.32 MX$193

-2.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.77

$1.76 MX$32.88

-12.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.80

$3.20 MX$59.8

-16.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.85

$0.69 MX$12.92

-23.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$515

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$91.8

$2.53 MX$47.26

93.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$64.3

$1.92 MX$35.92

78.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$101

$11.01 MX$206

-51.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$27.10

$1.48 MX$27.62

-2.03%

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

$21.2K MX$396.0K

$21.1K MX$395.7K

0.08%

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

$23.0K MX$430.8K

$23.8K MX$445.7K

-3.33%

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

$85.4 MX$1,598

$58.7 MX$1,099

45.37%

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

$23.46 MX$439

$22.31 MX$417

5.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$532

$29.94 MX$560

-5.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,164

$34.30 MX$642

81.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$537

$20.49 MX$384

39.97%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$95.5

$5.11 MX$95.7

-0.20%

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

$201 MX$3,763

$221 MX$4,141

-9.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$73.9K

$4,553 MX$85.2K

-13.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$831

$55.3 MX$1,035

-19.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$774

$39.96 MX$748

3.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,362

$99.7 MX$1,867

-27.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,677

$90.1 MX$1,687

-0.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.3K

$602 MX$11.3K

62.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,976

$393 MX$7,352

-5.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.5K

$1,055 MX$19.8K

59.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.5K

$780 MX$14.6K

40.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.9K

$1,921 MX$36.0K

105.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$114.9K

$1,169 MX$21.9K

424.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.8K

$552 MX$10.3K

33.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.3

1.33%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Lazaro Cardenas: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Lazaro Cardenas

$393 34.4% 5.4% $20

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Lazaro Cardenas

$263 23.1% 1.8% $4.7

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Lazaro Cardenas

$186 16.3% 6.9% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Lazaro Cardenas

$111 9.7% 19.1% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Lazaro Cardenas

$128 11.3% 14.9% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Lazaro Cardenas

$45 3.9% 38.5% $28

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Lazaro Cardenas

$15 * 1.3% 71.2% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $602 in Lazaro Cardenas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 34% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $44 in Lazaro Cardenas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $263 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Lazaro Cardenas

🕒 Local time

04:16 4:16 AM

03:16 3:16 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

83,637

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Lazaro Cardenas 1,610 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Lazaro Cardenas

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 Lazaro Cardenas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lazaro Cardenas wins on cost – living expenses run 5% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Lazaro Cardenas the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 34% 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $602 in Lazaro Cardenas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $221 in Lazaro Cardenas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,141 in Lazaro Cardenas – a 6% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Lazaro Cardenas is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Lazaro Cardenas wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.