Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Okayama

For one person, living is cheaper in Okayama: $979 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Okayama
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Okayama Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Okayama

🇯🇵 Japan

$979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $979 in Okayama.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Okayama $979

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,575 in Okayama.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Okayama $1,575

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,171 in Okayama.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Okayama $2,171

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 23% more expensive than in Okayama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Okayama 28% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$5.97 ¥943

82.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$25.17 ¥3,976

72.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$5.04 ¥796

133.73%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$1.74 ¥275

118.97%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$0.69 ¥109

85.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.69 ¥109

13.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$1.94 ¥306

63.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$1.93 ¥305

155.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.36 ¥216

3.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$0.62 ¥97.6

258.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$4.09 ¥646

-65.28%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$1.55 ¥245

62.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$15.16 ¥2,394

-52.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$6.43 ¥1,015

19.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$17.03 ¥2,690

-25.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$5.05 ¥798

-44.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$3.10 ¥489

-55.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$5.02 ¥792

-49.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$4.38 ¥691

-51.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$2.17 ¥342

-10.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$1.93 ¥304

-2.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$1.18 ¥186

-2.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.67 ¥106

76.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$3.77 ¥596

14.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$9.29 ¥1,467

7.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$1.89 ¥298

-16.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$1.86 ¥294

43.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$1.42 ¥224

-61.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$57.3 ¥9,050

-53.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$3.20 ¥505

55.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$2.60 ¥410

28.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$21.53 ¥3,400

-75.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.00 ¥158

44.00%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$21.9K ¥3.5M

-5.70%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$15.4K ¥2.4M

52.42%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$71.5 ¥11.3K

18.54%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$13.73 ¥2,168

70.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$25.75 ¥4,066

11.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$52.2 ¥8,247

9.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$11.29 ¥1,783

-54.47%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$708 ¥111.8K

-70.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$14.5K ¥2.3M

-72.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$50.2 ¥7,930

-13.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$35.57 ¥5,618

16.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$61.0 ¥9,636

21.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$97.0 ¥15.3K

-8.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$332 ¥52.4K

195.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$190 ¥30.0K

100.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$641 ¥101.2K

166.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$430 ¥67.9K

150.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$3,651 ¥576.6K

8.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$2,539 ¥401.0K

142.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,366 ¥215.7K

-46.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.02

466.83%

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 Okayama: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Okayama

$190 19.4% 50.1% $191

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Okayama

$312 31.8% 22.4% $57

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Okayama

$103 10.5% 49.2% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Okayama

$111 11.3% 18.9% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Okayama

$110 11.2% 1.8% $2

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Okayama

$75 7.6% 11.1% $7.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Okayama

$79 8.1% 56.9% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $332 in Okayama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Okayama pays 86% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $25 in Okayama. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $312, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇵 Okayama

🕒 Local time

12:36 12:36 PM

02:36 2:36 AM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

719,474

💱 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 →

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Playa del Carmen Okayama 12,500 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

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Playa del Carmen
Okayama

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 Okayama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $979 in Okayama, so Okayama is about 19% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 46% 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 $332 in Okayama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $979 in Okayama – Okayama is about 19% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 54% less than in Okayama. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $979 in Okayama versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Okayama but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Okayama the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.