Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Nueva Ecija

For one person, living is cheaper in Nueva Ecija: $517 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 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
25

Cost of Living Index in Nueva Ecija
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Nueva Ecija Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Nueva Ecija

🇵🇭 Philippines

$517

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Nueva Ecija

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $517 in Nueva Ecija, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Nueva Ecija $517

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $912 in Nueva Ecija, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Nueva Ecija $912

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,307 in Nueva Ecija, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Nueva Ecija $1,307

Playa del Carmen costs about 133% more than Nueva Ecija, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Nueva Ecija are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Nueva Ecija 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.85 ₱246

183.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$16.14 ₱1,031

168.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$2.72 ₱174

333.09%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$1.43 ₱91.4

166.43%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.55 ₱35.33

132.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.30 ₱19.45

160.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$0.94 ₱60.2

237.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$1.55 ₱98.9

218.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.60 ₱102

-11.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$0.94 ₱60.0

136.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$0.92 ₱59.0

54.35%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.57 ₱100

60.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$4.89 ₱313

48.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.29 ₱210

134.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$5.70 ₱364

122.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.18 ₱139

27.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$0.69 ₱44.00

98.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.69 ₱108

50.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.05 ₱67.2

101.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.73 ₱110

12.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.77 ₱113

6.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.64 ₱40.93

79.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.41 ₱26.51

187.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$2.25 ₱144

91.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$4.23 ₱270

135.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$0.90 ₱57.5

75.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.97 ₱126

35.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.28 ₱18.06

96.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$5.35 ₱342

397.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.73 ₱46.80

580.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.14 ₱8.77

2278.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$1.03 ₱65.9

420.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.85 ₱54.5

69.41%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$15.8K ₱1.0M

30.87%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

23.71%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$78.6 ₱5,019

7.93%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$17.26 ₱1,103

35.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$18.13 ₱1,158

58.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$31.13 ₱1,989

83.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$4.65 ₱297

521.72%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.32 ₱276

18.98%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$133 ₱8,488

55.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$10.9K ₱694.7K

-63.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$28.55 ₱1,824

51.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$19.54 ₱1,248

112.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$70.5 ₱4,501

5.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$53.9 ₱3,443

65.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$113 ₱7,241

764.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$66.9 ₱4,272

469.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$174 ₱11.1K

880.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$348 ₱22.2K

208.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$2,619 ₱167.4K

50.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,200 ₱76.7K

413.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$184 ₱11.8K

299.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.75

69.63%

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 Nueva Ecija: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Nueva Ecija

$67 12.9% 82.4% $314

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Nueva Ecija

$144 27.8% 43.6% $111

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Nueva Ecija

$67 13% 66.7% $135

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Nueva Ecija

$114 22% 16.7% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Nueva Ecija

$78 15% 30.5% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Nueva Ecija

$40 7.7% 40.9% $28

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Nueva Ecija

$7.9 1.5% 84.4% $43

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $113 in Nueva Ecija. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $16 in Nueva Ecija. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $144 – making Nueva Ecija the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 Nueva Ecija

🕒 Local time

18:14 6:14 PM

07:14 7:14 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

64,610

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.13 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Nueva Ecija 14,960 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Nueva Ecija

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 Nueva Ecija: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 133% more than Nueva Ecija, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $776 in Nueva Ecija. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Nueva Ecija, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $113 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $16 in Nueva Ecija. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $517 in Nueva Ecija. That makes Nueva Ecija about 57% cheaper.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Nueva Ecija, where all-in costs run around $517, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Nueva Ecija it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

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