Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Nanchong

For one person, living is cheaper in Nanchong: $685 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Nanchong
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Nanchong Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Nanchong

🇨🇳 China

$685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $685 in Nanchong, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Nanchong $685

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,106 in Nanchong, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Nanchong $1,106

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,527 in Nanchong, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Nanchong $1,527

Playa del Carmen costs about 76% more than Nanchong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Nanchong are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Nanchong 50% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$1.77 ¥11.75

516.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$22.40 ¥149

93.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$2.91 ¥19.34

304.81%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.09 ¥13.87

82.30%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.43 ¥2.86

197.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.29 ¥1.92

168.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.18 ¥7.82

168.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$1.85 ¥12.28

166.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$2.02 ¥13.44

-30.20%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.64 ¥10.88

35.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$0.61 ¥4.03

132.79%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.16 ¥14.37

16.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$17.80 ¥118

-59.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$3.41 ¥22.67

125.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$10.11 ¥67.2

25.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.54 ¥10.26

80.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.30 ¥8.64

5.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.20 ¥8.00

112.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.27 ¥8.45

66.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.66 ¥4.42

193.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.00 ¥6.66

89.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.84 ¥5.55

36.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.61 ¥4.08

93.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$3.06 ¥20.33

40.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$9.05 ¥60.1

9.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$0.83 ¥5.49

90.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.71 ¥11.35

56.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.32 ¥2.10

71.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$17.36 ¥115

53.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.48 ¥9.84

235.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.29 ¥1.92

1048.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$2.98 ¥19.79

79.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.26 ¥8.38

14.29%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$19.2K ¥127.4K

7.78%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$17.1K ¥113.9K

36.95%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$44.65 ¥297

89.90%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$7.13 ¥47.35

228.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$7.28 ¥48.34

293.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$42.05 ¥279

35.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$13.76 ¥91.4

110.10%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$6.07 ¥40.34

-15.32%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$293 ¥1,949

-29.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$25.0K ¥166.2K

-84.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$39.28 ¥261

10.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$30.15 ¥200

37.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$66.1 ¥439

12.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$63.6 ¥422

40.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$288 ¥1,914

240.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$185 ¥1,230

105.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$614 ¥4,080

178.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$365 ¥2,427

194.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$3,027 ¥20.1K

30.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,984 ¥13.2K

210.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.34

242.81%

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 Nanchong: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Nanchong

$185 27% 51.4% $196

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Nanchong

$216 31.5% 15.4% $39

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Nanchong

$60 8.8% 70.2% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Nanchong

$59 8.6% 56.9% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Nanchong

$90 13.1% 19.8% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Nanchong

$54 7.9% 19.5% $13

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Nanchong

$22 3.1% 57.3% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $288 in Nanchong. 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 $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $22 in Nanchong. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $216 – making Nanchong the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Nanchong

🕒 Local time

05:48 5:48 AM

18:48 6:48 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

5,607,565

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Nanchong 14,130 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Nanchong

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 Nanchong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $685 in Nanchong – Nanchong comes out roughly 43% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,028 in Nanchong. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Nanchong, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $288 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $293 in Nanchong. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 18% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Nanchong, where all-in costs run around $685, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Nanchong it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $685 in Nanchong to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Nanchong is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 43% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.