Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Nago, Okinawa

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Nago, Okinawa: $1,204 and $1,231 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Nago, Okinawa
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Nago, Okinawa Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Nago, Okinawa

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,231

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Nago, Okinawa

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,231 in Nago, Okinawa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Nago, Okinawa $1,231

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,923 in Nago, Okinawa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Nago, Okinawa $1,923

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,614 in Nago, Okinawa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Nago, Okinawa $2,614

Playa del Carmen is about 2% cheaper than Nago, Okinawa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Nago, Okinawa are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Nago, Okinawa 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$6.82 ¥1,077

59.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$35.35 ¥5,586

25.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$5.68 ¥898

107.04%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$3.03 ¥479

21.45%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.10 ¥173

21.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.76 ¥121

7.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.10 ¥332

45.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.05 ¥482

61.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.52 ¥239

-3.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.64 ¥259

35.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$4.67 ¥738

-68.31%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.28 ¥361

9.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$10.13 ¥1,601

-25.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$6.15 ¥971

29.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$15.49 ¥2,448

-18.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$5.36 ¥847

-48.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$2.55 ¥402

-43.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$4.13 ¥652

-36.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$4.53 ¥716

-52.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$3.24 ¥511

-37.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$2.56 ¥404

-22.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.38 ¥217

-17.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.88 ¥140

36.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$4.26 ¥674

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$6.50 ¥1,027

54.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.91 ¥302

-19.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.37 ¥375

12.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$1.58 ¥250

-66.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$56.0 ¥8,840

-50.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$3.43 ¥542

42.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$2.87 ¥454

19.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$21.07 ¥3,329

-74.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.23 ¥194

17.89%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$23.5K ¥3.7M

-9.95%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$16.9K ¥2.7M

36.55%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$139 ¥21.9K

-38.44%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$27.18 ¥4,294

-13.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$34.51 ¥5,452

-17.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$57.1 ¥9,012

9.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$13.97 ¥2,207

105.30%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$13.04 ¥2,061

-60.89%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$285 ¥45.0K

-29.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$13.5K ¥2.1M

-70.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$43.95 ¥6,944

1.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$28.96 ¥4,575

42.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$59.0 ¥9,328

23.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$92.2 ¥14.6K

-2.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$461 ¥72.8K

112.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$328 ¥51.9K

13.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$878 ¥138.6K

91.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$659 ¥104.1K

66.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$2,826 ¥446.5K

39.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,726 ¥272.6K

255.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

1.81

532.60%

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 Nago, Okinawa: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Nago, Okinawa

$328 26.7% 11.9% $44

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Nago, Okinawa

$306 24.9% 18.6% $48

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Nago, Okinawa

$132 10.7% 34.1% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Nago, Okinawa

$200 16.3% 46% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Nago, Okinawa

$101 8.2% 9.6% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Nago, Okinawa

$83 6.8% 14.8% $11

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Nago, Okinawa

$80 6.5% 54.9% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $461 in Nago, Okinawa. 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 $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $35.00 in Nago, Okinawa. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $306 in Nago, Okinawa – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇵 Nago, Okinawa

🕒 Local time

08:26 8:26 AM

22:26 10:26 PM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

63,554

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, 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).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Nago, Okinawa 13,550 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Nago, Okinawa

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 Nago, Okinawa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Nago, Okinawa is pricier by about 2%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,847 in Nago, Okinawa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 103% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $285 in Nago, Okinawa. 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 Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Nago, Okinawa at $1,231. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nago, Okinawa it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Nago, Okinawa makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.