Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Oaxaca de Juarez

For one person, living is cheaper in Oaxaca de Juarez: $1,124 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $960 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Oaxaca de Juarez
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Oaxaca de Juarez Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Oaxaca de Juarez

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,124

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Oaxaca de Juarez

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 Oaxaca de Juarez actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,124 in Oaxaca de Juarez.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Oaxaca de Juarez $1,124

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,735 in Oaxaca de Juarez.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Oaxaca de Juarez $1,735

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,347 in Oaxaca de Juarez.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Oaxaca de Juarez $2,347

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 7% more expensive than in Oaxaca de Juarez, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Oaxaca de Juarez 17% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$6.41 MX$120

70.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$32.43 MX$609

33.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$7.88 MX$148

49.49%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.72 MX$51.2

40.07%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.44 MX$26.99

-11.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.80 MX$14.99

-2.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$2.38 MX$44.73

33.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.72 MX$69.9

32.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.30 MX$24.46

8.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$2.95 MX$55.5

-24.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.06 MX$19.83

33.96%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.65 MX$31.07

52.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$6.46 MX$121

12.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$5.46 MX$103

41.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$10.74 MX$202

18.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.09 MX$39.32

33.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.16 MX$21.82

18.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.84 MX$34.67

38.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$0.55 MX$10.42

285.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$2.00 MX$37.64

-3.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.91 MX$35.89

-1.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.07 MX$20.04

7.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.91 MX$17.07

29.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$4.13 MX$77.7

4.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$9.29 MX$175

7.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.44 MX$27.03

9.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.63 MX$49.47

1.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.52 MX$9.73

5.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$3.88 MX$72.9

28.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$1.93 MX$36.28

72.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$10.94 MX$206

-51.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.36 MX$25.51

5.88%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$23.8K MX$446.4K

-13.00%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$23.9K MX$449.6K

-1.91%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$59.8 MX$1,124

41.72%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$10.73 MX$202

118.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$23.45 MX$441

22.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$43.86 MX$824

30.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$5.35 MX$101

-3.93%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$419 MX$7,879

-50.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$19.3K MX$363.3K

-79.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$52.8 MX$991

-17.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$60.5 MX$1,137

-31.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$100.0 MX$1,879

-25.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$93.7 MX$1,760

-4.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$703 MX$13.2K

39.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$470 MX$8,825

-18.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,168 MX$21.9K

46.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$871 MX$16.4K

23.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.96

4.47%

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 Oaxaca de Juarez: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$470 41.8% 23.3% $89

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$216 19.2% 15.3% $39

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$136 12.1% 32.9% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$94 8.4% 31.3% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$138 12.3% 23.6% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$55 4.9% 19% $13

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$16 * 1.4% 69.1% $35

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $703 in Oaxaca de Juarez. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $32 in Oaxaca de Juarez for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $216 per month, with Oaxaca de Juarez cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Oaxaca de Juarez

🕒 Local time

23:39 11:39 PM

22:39 10:39 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

258,913

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Oaxaca de Juarez 1,090 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Oaxaca de Juarez

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 Oaxaca de Juarez: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Oaxaca de Juarez wins on cost – living expenses run 7% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Oaxaca de Juarez the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,685 in Oaxaca de Juarez to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $703 in Oaxaca de Juarez. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,124 in Oaxaca de Juarez – Oaxaca de Juarez is about 7% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Oaxaca de Juarez is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.