Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Monclova

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Monclova: $1,204 and $1,157 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Monclova
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Monclova Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monclova

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,157

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,157 in Monclova.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Monclova $1,157

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,871 in Monclova.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Monclova $1,871

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,585 in Monclova.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Monclova $2,585

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 4% more expensive than in Monclova, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Monclova 15% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$6.40 MX$118

69.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$38.09 MX$704

16.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$11.07 MX$204

6.23%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$4.03 MX$74.4

-8.68%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.41 MX$25.98

-4.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.78 MX$14.48

5.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.15 MX$39.68

42.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.38 MX$62.5

46.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.90 MX$35.16

-22.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$2.96 MX$54.7

-25.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.92 MX$35.49

-22.92%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.45 MX$45.23

1.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$11.96 MX$221

-37.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$9.08 MX$168

-12.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$12.75 MX$236

-1.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$3.31 MX$61.1

-16.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.54 MX$28.43

-7.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.15 MX$39.76

21.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.47 MX$45.56

-13.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$2.25 MX$41.51

-10.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$2.68 MX$49.56

-25.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.47 MX$27.25

-22.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.23 MX$22.76

-2.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$4.86 MX$89.9

-12.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$13.68 MX$253

-26.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.90 MX$35.05

-18.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.89 MX$53.4

-7.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.64 MX$11.86

-17.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$1.61 MX$29.70

204.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.13 MX$20.86

203.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$11.17 MX$206

-51.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.57 MX$29.08

-7.64%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$21.0K MX$387.6K

0.88%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$25.1K MX$464.7K

-8.46%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$48.78 MX$901

74.99%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$25.95 MX$479

-9.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$24.40 MX$451

16.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$34.05 MX$629

82.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$20.41 MX$377

40.52%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$5.21 MX$96.3

-2.11%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$219 MX$4,054

-8.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$4,581 MX$84.6K

-13.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$71.2 MX$1,316

-37.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$41.29 MX$763

0.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$113 MX$2,087

-35.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$117 MX$2,160

-23.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$616 MX$11.4K

58.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$382 MX$7,068

-2.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,056 MX$19.5K

59.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$781 MX$14.4K

40.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,899 MX$35.1K

107.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,148 MX$21.2K

434.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

14.50%

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 Monclova: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Monclova

$382 33.1% 2.6% $9.7

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Monclova

$308 26.6% 19.1% $49

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Monclova

$159 13.7% 20.6% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Monclova

$99 8.6% 27.8% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Monclova

$154 13.3% 38% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Monclova

$44 3.8% 38.6% $28

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Monclova

$9.8 * 0.9% 81% $42

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 $616 in Monclova. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $38.00 in Monclova. Groceries flip the comparison at $258 vs $308, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Monclova

🕒 Local time

08:57 8:57 AM

07:57 7:57 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

237,169

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Monclova 1,620 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Monclova

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 Monclova: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monclova wins on cost – living expenses run 4% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Monclova the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,735 in Monclova to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $616 in Monclova. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $219 in Monclova. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Monclova – a meal for two runs $38.00 versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,157 in Monclova versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Monclova but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Monclova the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Monclova delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,157 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Monclova hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Monclova are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Monclova gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.