Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Nowra NSW

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,569 in Nowra NSW, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
124

Cost of Living Index in Nowra NSW
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Nowra NSW Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Nowra NSW

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,569

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Nowra NSW

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,569 in Nowra NSW, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Nowra NSW $2,569

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,901 in Nowra NSW, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Nowra NSW $3,901

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,233 in Nowra NSW, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Nowra NSW $5,233

Playa del Carmen is about 53% cheaper than Nowra NSW, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Nowra NSW is 90% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$198

$21.35 A$30.50

-50.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$813

$86.5 A$124

-49.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$10.58 A$15.11

11.44%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.3

$4.21 A$6.01

-9.98%

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

$1.30 MX$24.09

$3.19 A$4.55

-59.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.48

$2.56 A$3.65

-67.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.4

$8.53 A$12.18

-63.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.6

$10.06 A$14.37

-50.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.16

$1.29 A$1.84

9.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.77

$3.00 A$4.28

-26.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.35

$2.61 A$3.73

-43.68%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.37

$5.21 A$7.44

-52.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$135

$12.05 A$17.21

-39.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$10.12 A$14.45

-21.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$15.16 A$21.65

-15.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.8

$3.92 A$5.59

-26.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.69

$3.24 A$4.62

-57.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.26

$3.61 A$5.16

-31.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.70

$5.33 A$7.61

-61.91%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.61

$3.06 A$4.37

-33.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.35

$2.78 A$3.97

-31.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.25

$2.39 A$3.41

-52.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.01

$1.34 A$1.92

-7.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.3

$45.03 A$64.3

-90.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$182

$14.27 A$20.37

-31.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.45

$4.66 A$6.66

-65.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.0

$5.58 A$7.97

-50.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.56

$2.70 A$3.85

-81.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$509

$90.9 A$130

-69.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.4

$4.28 A$6.11

11.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.3

$1.83 A$2.61

77.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$44.54 A$63.6

-87.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.38

$1.37 A$1.96

11.68%

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

$21.2K MX$393.9K

$27.7K A$39.6K

-23.53%

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

$23.3K MX$432.0K

$25.9K A$37.0K

-10.27%

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

$83.5 MX$1,550

$186 A$266

-55.19%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$26.65 A$38.06

-12.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$513

$57.4 A$82.0

-51.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,048

$60.5 A$86.4

-6.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$524

$17.66 A$25.22

59.63%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$92.9

$15.49 A$22.12

-67.72%

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

$207 MX$3,846

$2,524 A$3,604

-91.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.1K

$22.4K A$31.9K

-76.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$807

$76.4 A$109

-43.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$790

$57.2 A$81.7

-25.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,351

$107 A$153

-32.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,641

$131 A$188

-32.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$1,213 A$1,733

-18.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,102

$1,196 A$1,708

-68.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.1K

$2,292 A$3,273

-26.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$2,125 A$3,034

-49.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.6K

$5,462 A$7,801

-28.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.0K

$4,403 A$6,287

39.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.08

88.32%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Nowra NSW: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Nowra NSW

$1.2K 46.6% 213% $813

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Nowra NSW

$390 15.2% 51.5% $132

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Nowra NSW

$339 13.2% 69.2% $139

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Nowra NSW

$270 10.5% 101% $136

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Nowra NSW

$167 6.5% 50.6% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Nowra NSW

$91 3.6% 37.7% $25

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Nowra NSW

$115 4.5% 128% $65

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,213 in Nowra NSW. 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 in Playa del Carmen versus $87 in Nowra NSW. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $390 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇺 Nowra NSW

🕒 Local time

07:11 7:11 AM

23:11 11:11 PM

16 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

9,598

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 AUD = 0.7 USD

1 AUD = 0.625 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.7 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.625 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Playa del Carmen Nowra NSW 14,200 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Nowra NSW

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 Nowra NSW: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $2,569 in Nowra NSW – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 53% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,854 in Nowra NSW. 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $995 there versus $1,213 in Nowra NSW.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $2,569 in Nowra NSW. That makes Playa del Carmen about 53% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 70% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Nowra NSW at $2,569. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nowra NSW 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.

For expats, Playa del Carmen is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 53% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.