Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Liaocheng

For one person, living is cheaper in Liaocheng: $647 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Liaocheng
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Liaocheng Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Liaocheng

🇨🇳 China

$647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $647 in Liaocheng, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Liaocheng $647

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,026 in Liaocheng, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Liaocheng $1,026

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,405 in Liaocheng, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Liaocheng $1,405

Playa del Carmen costs about 87% more than Liaocheng, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Liaocheng are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Liaocheng 52% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$2.55 ¥17.07

321.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$13.54 ¥90.5

217.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$4.80 ¥32.08

145.62%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$1.88 ¥12.58

105.85%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.39 ¥2.63

251.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.21 ¥1.40

300.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$0.84 ¥5.63

269.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$1.96 ¥13.12

158.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.50 ¥10.00

-4.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.41 ¥9.41

58.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$0.87 ¥5.80

68.97%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.06 ¥7.08

138.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$11.70 ¥78.2

-37.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$2.93 ¥19.56

168.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$11.02 ¥73.7

16.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$1.45 ¥9.72

100.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.00 ¥6.71

44.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.37 ¥9.17

86.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.13 ¥7.56

82.30%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.59 ¥3.93

238.98%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.69 ¥4.59

191.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.57 ¥3.81

108.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.59 ¥3.93

113.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$2.25 ¥15.06

95.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$10.16 ¥67.9

-5.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$0.72 ¥4.80

120.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.32 ¥8.83

112.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.31 ¥2.08

83.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$16.46 ¥110

69.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.21 ¥8.09

311.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.27 ¥1.81

1196.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$4.39 ¥29.35

23.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.09 ¥7.30

34.86%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$19.3K ¥129.0K

8.73%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$14.8K ¥99.0K

61.46%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$45.46 ¥304

85.24%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$6.08 ¥40.64

294.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$5.02 ¥33.59

478.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$41.58 ¥278

51.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$14.82 ¥99.1

96.63%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$4.49 ¥30.05

10.02%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$213 ¥1,427

-4.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$20.1K ¥134.3K

-80.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$33.89 ¥227

28.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$29.46 ¥197

46.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$71.9 ¥481

5.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$59.6 ¥399

48.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$281 ¥1,876

259.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$181 ¥1,209

106.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$546 ¥3,647

213.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$369 ¥2,470

199.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$3,489 ¥23.3K

13.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,314 ¥8,788

369.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$572 ¥3,826

31.80%

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 10, 2026

Last update for Liaocheng: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Liaocheng

$181 28% 51.7% $193

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Liaocheng

$183 28.3% 29.2% $75

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Liaocheng

$68 10.5% 66.4% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Liaocheng

$57 8.8% 58.8% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Liaocheng

$88 13.6% 22.4% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Liaocheng

$51 7.8% 30.6% $22

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Liaocheng

$20 3.1% 61.4% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $281 in Liaocheng. 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 32% 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $14.00 in Liaocheng. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $183 – making Liaocheng the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Liaocheng

🕒 Local time

03:43 3:43 AM

16:43 4:43 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,230,000

💱 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 Liaocheng 13,220 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Liaocheng

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 Liaocheng: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 87%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $970 in Liaocheng. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 69% less in Liaocheng. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $213 in Liaocheng. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Liaocheng, where all-in costs run around $647, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Liaocheng it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Liaocheng – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Liaocheng. 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.