Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Oamaru

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,769 in Oamaru, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Oamaru
Learn more

Oamaru Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Oamaru

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,769

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,769 in Oamaru.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Oamaru $1,769

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,802 in Oamaru.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Oamaru $2,802

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,834 in Oamaru.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Oamaru $3,834

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 32% less than in Oamaru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 10% below, Oamaru is 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$13.87 NZ$24.53

-22.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$67.7 NZ$120

-36.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$9.18 NZ$16.23

28.43%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$3.30 NZ$5.84

17.27%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$2.33 NZ$4.12

-41.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.78 NZ$3.14

-52.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$6.58 NZ$11.63

-52.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$6.91 NZ$12.22

-26.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.67 NZ$2.94

-13.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.28 NZ$2.27

74.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.50 NZ$2.65

-2.00%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$5.48 NZ$9.70

-53.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$7.26 NZ$12.83

0.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$8.87 NZ$15.69

-11.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$13.60 NZ$24.04

-5.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.39 NZ$4.22

21.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.02 NZ$3.58

-28.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.69 NZ$4.76

-5.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$2.97 NZ$5.25

-30.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.50 NZ$2.65

33.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.33 NZ$2.35

51.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$2.06 NZ$3.64

-42.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.70 NZ$1.24

80.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$24.24 NZ$42.87

-81.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$5.44 NZ$9.63

76.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$3.37 NZ$5.96

-52.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$4.29 NZ$7.60

-34.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.49 NZ$2.64

-61.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$89.0 NZ$157

-68.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$2.55 NZ$4.52

95.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.70 NZ$3.00

105.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$27.87 NZ$49.29

-80.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.58 NZ$2.79

-6.96%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$25.2K NZ$44.6K

-16.88%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$23.9K NZ$42.2K

0.14%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$158 NZ$279

-46.66%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$19.36 NZ$34.24

23.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$45.43 NZ$80.3

-36.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$39.08 NZ$69.1

61.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$9.98 NZ$17.65

-50.50%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$668 NZ$1,181

-69.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$21.7K NZ$38.4K

-81.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$56.4 NZ$99.7

-22.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$16.83 NZ$29.77

156.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$44.83 NZ$79.3

69.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$50.3 NZ$88.9

76.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$973 NZ$1,720

3.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$790 NZ$1,398

-52.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,725 NZ$3,051

-0.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,631 NZ$2,884

-32.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$4,751 NZ$8,403

-16.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$3,236 NZ$5,724

90.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$1,926 NZ$3,405

-60.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.91

93.74%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Oamaru: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Oamaru

$790 44.7% 111% $416

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Oamaru

$274 15.5% 6.1% $16

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Oamaru

$241 13.6% 19.3% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Oamaru

$223 12.6% 62.3% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Oamaru

$76 4.3% 33% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Oamaru

$59 3.3% 19% $14

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Oamaru

$106 6% 102% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $973 in Oamaru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Oamaru pays 155% 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: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $68.0 in Oamaru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $274 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇿 Oamaru

🕒 Local time

01:09 1:09 AM

19:09 7:09 PM

18 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

13,850

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Oamaru 12,540 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Oamaru

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 Oamaru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 46% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 155% lower in Oamaru. 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: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $973 in Oamaru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Oamaru. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $68.0 in Oamaru. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,769 in Oamaru, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Oamaru. 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 Oamaru, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Oamaru 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 46% less than in Oamaru. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.