Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Saint Ann's Bay

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint Ann’s Bay: $1,006 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Saint Ann's Bay
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Saint Ann's Bay Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Saint Ann's Bay

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,006

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Saint Ann's Bay

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 Saint Ann's Bay actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,006 in Saint Ann’s Bay, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Saint Ann's Bay $1,006

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,600 in Saint Ann’s Bay, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Saint Ann's Bay $1,600

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,195 in Saint Ann’s Bay, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Saint Ann's Bay $2,195

Playa del Carmen costs about 20% more than Saint Ann’s Bay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Playa del Carmen and Saint Ann’s Bay are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Saint Ann’s Bay 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$13.35 JMD 2,105

-18.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$50.2 JMD 7,922

-13.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$8.31 JMD 1,311

41.76%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$5.46 JMD 862

-30.22%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.20 JMD 190

6.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.70 JMD 110

11.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.25 JMD 354

40.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$3.12 JMD 492

58.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$4.07 JMD 641

-65.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$3.74 JMD 589

-40.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.63 JMD 258

-12.88%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$3.47 JMD 547

-27.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$11.20 JMD 1,766

-35.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.20 JMD 978

24.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$10.09 JMD 1,591

25.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$6.00 JMD 946

-53.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$3.99 JMD 629

-65.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$7.53 JMD 1,187

-66.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$2.98 JMD 469

-28.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$3.28 JMD 518

-40.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$2.62 JMD 414

-27.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$3.15 JMD 497

-63.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.44 JMD 226

-18.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$9.30 JMD 1,467

-53.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$11.43 JMD 1,802

-12.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.95 JMD 464

-46.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$4.03 JMD 636

-33.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.30 JMD 204

282.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$3.17 JMD 501

5.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$6.44 JMD 1,016

-16.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.30 JMD 205

10.77%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$43.4K JMD 6.8M

-52.40%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$32.7K JMD 5.2M

-28.19%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$169 JMD 26.6K

-49.77%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$29.03 JMD 4,577

-19.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$52.9 JMD 8,346

-45.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$13.41 JMD 2,114

-61.67%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$366 JMD 57.7K

-43.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$8,305 JMD 1.3M

-52.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$23.59 JMD 3,719

83.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$31.44 JMD 4,957

31.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$78.3 JMD 12.4K

-5.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$101 JMD 16.0K

-11.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

9.45

21.16%

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 Saint Ann's Bay: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Saint Ann's Bay

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Saint Ann's Bay

$383 38.1% 50.3% $128

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Saint Ann's Bay

$222 22.1% 9.9% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Saint Ann's Bay

$251 24.9% 83.2% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Saint Ann's Bay

$106 10.5% 5.4% $6.1

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Saint Ann's Bay

$27 * 2.7% 60.2% $41

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Saint Ann's Bay

$17 * 1.7% 66% $33

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $50 in Saint Ann’s Bay. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $383 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇲 Saint Ann's Bay

🕒 Local time

18:15 6:15 PM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

13,671

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, 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).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Saint Ann's Bay 1,060 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Saint Ann's Bay

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 Saint Ann's Bay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 20%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,508 in Saint Ann’s Bay. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,006 in Saint Ann’s Bay. That makes Saint Ann’s Bay about 16% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $366 in Saint Ann’s Bay. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,006 in Saint Ann’s Bay. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,006 in Saint Ann’s Bay to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.