Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Miguel Hidalgo

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Miguel Hidalgo: $1,204 and $1,203 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Miguel Hidalgo
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Miguel Hidalgo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Miguel Hidalgo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,203

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Miguel Hidalgo

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,203 in Miguel Hidalgo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Miguel Hidalgo $1,203

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,989 in Miguel Hidalgo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Miguel Hidalgo $1,989

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,775 in Miguel Hidalgo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Miguel Hidalgo $2,775

Playa del Carmen and Miguel Hidalgo have comparable living costs – the differences are in the details.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$10.81 MX$201

1.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$805

$83.0 MX$1,541

-47.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$8.40 MX$156

40.24%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$70.7

$3.53 MX$65.6

7.93%

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

$1.28 MX$23.81

$1.38 MX$25.71

-7.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.54

$0.98 MX$18.16

-20.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$58.8

$2.27 MX$42.07

39.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.7

$6.06 MX$113

-18.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.12

$1.57 MX$29.16

-10.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.17

$2.54 MX$47.10

-12.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.32

$1.70 MX$31.65

-16.47%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$46.85

$2.50 MX$46.35

0.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$7.93 MX$147

-8.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$9.20 MX$171

-16.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$11.20 MX$208

13.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.7

$2.73 MX$50.7

1.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.41

$1.51 MX$27.98

-9.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.37

$1.87 MX$34.65

36.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.43

$1.79 MX$33.23

18.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.00

$1.98 MX$36.69

-2.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.02

$1.86 MX$34.53

1.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.29

$1.38 MX$25.68

-16.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.89

$1.12 MX$20.77

5.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$79.8

$4.36 MX$80.9

-1.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$10.21 MX$190

-2.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.41

$1.77 MX$32.88

-10.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.60

$3.09 MX$57.3

-13.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.28

$0.63 MX$11.64

-12.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$494

$32.17 MX$597

-17.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.3

$2.49 MX$46.20

99.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$61.9

$2.04 MX$37.96

63.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.5

$9.47 MX$176

-43.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.82

$1.40 MX$26.07

2.86%

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

$20.7K MX$383.8K

$23.7K MX$440.0K

-12.77%

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

$23.5K MX$435.8K

$23.4K MX$434.1K

0.38%

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

$84.8 MX$1,575

$30.64 MX$569

176.73%

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

$23.41 MX$435

$22.21 MX$413

5.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$532

$30.43 MX$565

-5.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,059

$45.70 MX$849

24.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$537

$20.26 MX$376

42.69%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.4

$5.17 MX$96.0

-0.58%

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

$207 MX$3,836

$218 MX$4,042

-5.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$72.9K

$4,856 MX$90.2K

-19.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$805

$73.8 MX$1,371

-41.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$770

$39.52 MX$734

4.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,378

$91.1 MX$1,691

-18.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,657

$88.2 MX$1,637

1.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$586 MX$10.9K

67.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,072

$434 MX$8,054

-12.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.7K

$1,041 MX$19.3K

64.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$749 MX$13.9K

43.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.2K

$1,919 MX$35.6K

105.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.4K

$1,123 MX$20.9K

448.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.6K

$536 MX$9,958

36.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.31

1.24%

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 Miguel Hidalgo: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Miguel Hidalgo

$434 36% 13.9% $53

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Miguel Hidalgo

$264 22% 3.8% $9.6

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Miguel Hidalgo

$187 15.5% 7.6% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Miguel Hidalgo

$83 6.9% 39.1% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Miguel Hidalgo

$132 10.9% 17.8% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Miguel Hidalgo

$56 4.7% 16.8% $11

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Miguel Hidalgo

$47 3.9% 6.1% $3.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $586 in Miguel Hidalgo. 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 37% higher in Playa del Carmen. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $83 in Miguel Hidalgo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $264 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Miguel Hidalgo

🕒 Local time

03:44 3:44 AM

02:44 2:44 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

414,470

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Miguel Hidalgo 1,270 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Miguel Hidalgo

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 Miguel Hidalgo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,805 in Miguel Hidalgo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Miguel Hidalgo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $586 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $83 in Miguel Hidalgo. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Public transport costs about 17% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,203 in Miguel Hidalgo, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Miguel Hidalgo costs $1,203 versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Miguel Hidalgo. 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.