Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Port St Lucie, FL

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,870 in Port St Lucie, FL, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Port St Lucie, FL, United States
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,204
/mo nomad
Port St Lucie, FL
🇺🇸 United States
$2,870
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Port St Lucie, FL

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 Port St Lucie, FL actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,870 in Port St Lucie, FL, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $1,204
  • Port St Lucie, FL $2,870

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,018 in Port St Lucie, FL, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,082
  • Port St Lucie, FL $4,018

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,166 in Port St Lucie, FL, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,959
  • Port St Lucie, FL $5,166

Playa del Carmen is about 58% cheaper than Port St Lucie, FL, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Port St Lucie, FL is 111% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Port St Lucie, FL
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.92 MX$205
$21.36 $21.36
-48.88%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$43.37 MX$814
$79.3 $79.3
-45.31%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.78 MX$221
$11.34 $11.34
3.88%
Cappuccino
$3.81 MX$71.5
$4.28 $4.28
-10.98%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.28 MX$24.07
$3.04 $3.04
-57.89%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.78 MX$14.70
$2.30 $2.30
-66.09%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.17 MX$59.5
$6.03 $6.03
-47.43%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.93 MX$92.7
$7.92 $7.92
-37.75%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Port St Lucie, FL
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.41 MX$26.40
$1.09 $1.09
29.36%
White Bread (500g)
$2.22 MX$41.62
$3.88 $3.88
-42.78%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.42 MX$26.61
$4.41 $4.41
-67.80%
Eggs
$2.52 MX$47.36
$3.34 $3.34
-24.55%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.26 MX$136
$12.24 $12.24
-40.69%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.70 MX$144
$10.72 $10.72
-28.17%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.69 MX$238
$16.62 $16.62
-23.65%
Apples (1kg)
$2.78 MX$52.3
$4.15 $4.15
-33.01%
Banana (1kg)
$1.37 MX$25.68
$1.77 $1.77
-22.60%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.55 MX$47.89
$2.03 $2.03
25.62%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.12 MX$39.86
$2.68 $2.68
-20.90%
Potato (1kg)
$1.94 MX$36.39
$1.96 $1.96
-1.02%
Onion (1kg)
$1.89 MX$35.41
$2.43 $2.43
-22.22%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 MX$21.53
$2.47 $2.47
-53.44%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.18 MX$22.13
$2.36 $2.36
-50.00%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.30 MX$80.6
$9.11 $9.11
-52.80%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.95 MX$187
$14.77 $14.77
-32.63%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.58 MX$29.73
$1.69 $1.69
-6.51%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.67 MX$50.1
$3.61 $3.61
-26.04%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Port St Lucie, FL
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.55 MX$10.39
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.62 MX$500
$45.81 $45.81
-41.89%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.97 MX$93.3
$2.94 $2.94
69.05%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.33 MX$62.5
$1.93 $1.93
72.54%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.36 MX$101
$30.35 $30.35
-82.34%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.44 MX$27.11
$0.92 $0.92
56.52%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$20.7K MX$388.0K
$36.5K $36.5K
-43.31%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.5K MX$440.5K
$26.4K $26.4K
-10.97%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Port St Lucie, FL
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.8 MX$1,592
$202 $202
-57.99%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.41 MX$439
$64.4 $64.4
-63.67%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$28.66 MX$538
$77.5 $77.5
-63.01%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Port St Lucie, FL
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$57.1 MX$1,071
$38.87 $38.87
46.77%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$28.91 MX$543
$20.08 $20.08
43.97%
Cinema Ticket
$5.14 MX$96.5
$16.28 $16.28
-68.43%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Port St Lucie, FL
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$207 MX$3,878
$1,636 $1,636
-87.38%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$3,927 MX$73.7K
$21.3K $21.3K
-81.60%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Port St Lucie, FL
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$43.35 MX$814
$53.0 $53.0
-18.16%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$41.44 MX$778
$38.64 $38.64
7.25%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$74.2 MX$1,393
$93.5 $93.5
-20.65%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$89.3 MX$1,676
$84.9 $84.9
5.11%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Port St Lucie, FL
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$980 MX$18.4K
$1,824 $1,824
-46.28%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$381 MX$7,150
$1,583 $1,583
-75.94%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,708 MX$32.1K
$2,765 $2,765
-38.23%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,075 MX$20.2K
$2,322 $2,322
-53.69%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,943 MX$74.0K
$2,898 $2,898
36.04%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,158 MX$115.6K
$2,378 $2,378
158.94%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Port St Lucie, FL
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$735 MX$13.8K
$3,826 $3,826
-80.80%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
6.38
79.47%

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 Port St Lucie, FL: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$381
Port St Lucie, FL
$1.6K 316% $1.2K
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$255
Port St Lucie, FL
$368 44.4% $113
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$202
Port St Lucie, FL
$324 59.9% $121
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$137
Port St Lucie, FL
$344 151% $207
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$112
Port St Lucie, FL
$122 8.8% $9.8
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$67
Port St Lucie, FL
$71 6.1% $4.1
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$50
Port St Lucie, FL
$58 * 15.7% $7.9

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,824 in Port St Lucie, FL. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Port St Lucie, FL are about 5.2 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 $79 in Port St Lucie, FL. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $368 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇺🇸 Port St Lucie, FL
🕒 Local time
13:40 1:40 PM
13:40 1:40 PM
Same time as Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
164,603
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Port St Lucie, FL 1,010 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Port St Lucie, FL

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 Port St Lucie, FL: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Playa del Carmen cheaper than Port St Lucie, FL?
Yes – Port St Lucie, FL is pricier by about 138%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $4,305 in Port St Lucie, FL. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,824 in Port St Lucie, FL.
What are total monthly expenses in Playa del Carmen and in Port St Lucie, FL?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $2,870 in Port St Lucie, FL. That makes Playa del Carmen about 58% cheaper.
Which city has cheaper public transport?
Public transport costs about 42% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Playa del Carmen or in Port St Lucie, FL?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Port St Lucie, FL at $2,870. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Port St Lucie, FL it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Playa del Carmen or Port St Lucie, FL more family-friendly?
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.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Port St Lucie, FL makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

Playa del Carmen vs other spots: cost of living compared

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