Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Nagoya

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,373 in Nagoya, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Nagoya
Learn more

Nagoya Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Nagoya

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,373

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,373 in Nagoya.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Nagoya $1,373

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,176 in Nagoya.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Nagoya $2,176

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,979 in Nagoya.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Nagoya $2,979

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 12% less than in Nagoya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Nagoya is 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$8.56 ¥1,353

26.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$31.66 ¥5,001

39.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$5.12 ¥809

129.69%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.59 ¥410

42.08%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.26 ¥199

6.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.88 ¥140

-6.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$3.16 ¥500

-3.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.22 ¥508

53.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.57 ¥247

-6.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.49 ¥236

48.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$4.08 ¥645

-63.73%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.19 ¥345

13.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$15.51 ¥2,450

-51.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$7.03 ¥1,110

13.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$16.86 ¥2,664

-25.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$8.24 ¥1,302

-66.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$3.05 ¥482

-53.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$5.10 ¥805

-48.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$7.96 ¥1,257

-73.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$4.11 ¥650

-50.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$4.65 ¥735

-57.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.16 ¥183

-1.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.90 ¥142

33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$3.95 ¥623

7.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$9.24 ¥1,460

8.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$2.51 ¥397

-38.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.15 ¥340

23.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$1.48 ¥233

-64.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$118 ¥18.6K

-76.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$3.21 ¥507

52.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$2.83 ¥446

21.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$16.07 ¥2,539

-66.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.10 ¥173

31.82%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$21.6K ¥3.4M

-2.14%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$15.4K ¥2.4M

49.10%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$115 ¥18.1K

-25.56%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$23.43 ¥3,702

0.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$30.91 ¥4,883

-8.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$50.4 ¥7,959

23.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$13.78 ¥2,177

108.13%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$12.68 ¥2,003

-59.78%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$573 ¥90.5K

-64.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$14.9K ¥2.4M

-73.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$50.2 ¥7,922

-11.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$35.45 ¥5,601

16.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$60.4 ¥9,543

20.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$97.1 ¥15.3K

-7.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$523 ¥82.7K

87.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$352 ¥55.7K

5.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,228 ¥194.0K

36.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$744 ¥117.5K

47.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$2,026 ¥320.1K

94.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,039 ¥164.1K

490.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$1,871 ¥295.6K

-60.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.02

466.83%

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 Nagoya: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Nagoya

$352 25.7% 5.5% $20

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Nagoya

$380 27.7% 47.1% $122

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Nagoya

$146 10.6% 27.2% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Nagoya

$169 12.3% 23.2% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Nagoya

$109 8% 2% $2.2

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Nagoya

$76 5.5% 4.6% $3.3

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Nagoya

$141 10.3% 173% $89

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $523 in Nagoya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nagoya pays 154% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $32.00 in Nagoya. Groceries flip the comparison at $258 vs $380, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇵 Nagoya

🕒 Local time

05:08 5:08 AM

19:08 7:08 PM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

2,236,000

💱 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 23, 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 23, 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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Playa del Carmen Nagoya 12,270 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

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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 Nagoya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and utilities. The 14% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 154% lower in Nagoya. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $523 in Nagoya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 329% less than in Nagoya. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $573 in Nagoya. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,373 in Nagoya, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Nagoya. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Nagoya, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Nagoya 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 Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Nagoya. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.