Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Narita

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

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Narita
Learn more

Narita Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Narita

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,203

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,203 in Narita.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Narita $1,203

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,912 in Narita.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Narita $1,912

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,620 in Narita.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Narita $2,620

Monthly costs are close between Playa del Carmen and Narita; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Narita 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$5.73 ¥905

90.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$41.80 ¥6,602

3.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.42 ¥698

166.52%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$3.25 ¥513

17.23%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$0.78 ¥124

64.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.73 ¥116

6.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$2.07 ¥327

53.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$3.22 ¥509

53.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.25 ¥197

12.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$1.72 ¥272

29.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$3.63 ¥574

-60.88%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$1.98 ¥313

27.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$10.31 ¥1,629

-29.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$6.13 ¥968

25.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$14.34 ¥2,265

-11.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$5.83 ¥920

-52.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$2.73 ¥432

-49.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$2.91 ¥460

-12.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$4.16 ¥657

-49.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$2.64 ¥417

-26.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$2.69 ¥424

-29.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$1.30 ¥206

-11.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.82 ¥129

43.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$3.78 ¥597

13.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$6.22 ¥982

59.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$1.79 ¥283

-11.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.09 ¥330

27.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$1.48 ¥235

-62.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$64.9 ¥10.3K

-59.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$3.25 ¥513

52.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$1.62 ¥255

105.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$20.95 ¥3,308

-74.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.03 ¥163

39.81%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$21.8K ¥3.4M

-5.15%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$16.1K ¥2.5M

45.97%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$131 ¥20.6K

-35.13%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$24.14 ¥3,812

-3.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$28.35 ¥4,477

1.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$52.3 ¥8,267

9.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$11.49 ¥1,814

-55.27%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$828 ¥130.8K

-75.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$14.8K ¥2.3M

-73.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$62.3 ¥9,833

-30.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$36.42 ¥5,751

13.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$61.0 ¥9,635

21.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$105 ¥16.6K

-14.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$540 ¥85.3K

81.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$334 ¥52.7K

14.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$901 ¥142.4K

89.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$700 ¥110.5K

53.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$3,825 ¥604.1K

3.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$2,316 ¥365.8K

165.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,258 ¥198.6K

-41.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.64

333.71%

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 Narita: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Narita

$334 27.7% 12.4% $47

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Narita

$289 24% 13.3% $34

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Narita

$121 10.1% 40.2% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Narita

$183 15.2% 33.9% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Narita

$119 9.9% 6.6% $7.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Narita

$75 6.3% 11.9% $8

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Narita

$82 6.8% 62.9% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $540 in Narita. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Narita pays 71% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $42 in Narita. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $289, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇵 Narita

🕒 Local time

08:11 8:11 AM

22:11 10:11 PM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

131,613

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.67 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.67 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Narita 12,000 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Narita

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 Narita: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

On paper, salaries run 42% lower in Playa del Carmen. 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $540 in Narita. 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 59% less than in Narita. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $828 in Narita. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Narita gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.