Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Salta

For one person, living is cheaper in Salta: $1,149 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $640 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

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

Cost of Living Index in Salta
Learn more

Salta Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Salta

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,149

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,149 in Salta, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Salta $1,149

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,934 in Salta, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Salta $1,934

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,719 in Salta, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Salta $2,719

Playa del Carmen costs about 5% more than Salta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Playa del Carmen and Salta are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Salta 15% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$7.43 ARS 11.5K

43.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$57.3 ARS 88.6K

-23.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$13.17 ARS 20.4K

-10.48%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$2.58 ARS 3,986

46.90%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.54 ARS 2,377

-15.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$1.87 ARS 2,892

-55.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.61 ARS 2,482

95.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$3.17 ARS 4,899

55.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.37 ARS 2,110

2.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.70 ARS 2,627

29.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$2.02 ARS 3,126

-27.23%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$2.86 ARS 4,413

-12.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$11.79 ARS 18.2K

-38.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$7.76 ARS 12.0K

2.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$11.36 ARS 17.5K

13.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.47 ARS 3,821

17.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.68 ARS 2,597

-17.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.57 ARS 2,418

58.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$2.11 ARS 3,259

-3.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.10 ARS 1,702

83.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.96 ARS 1,483

97.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$1.53 ARS 2,370

-18.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$3.30 ARS 5,101

29.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$4.92 ARS 7,605

99.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.41 ARS 2,186

12.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$3.98 ARS 6,146

-30.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.96 ARS 1,489

-46.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.53 ARS 2,368

211.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.19 ARS 1,843

28.57%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$25.4K ARS 39.2M

-16.45%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$32.3K ARS 49.8M

-27.89%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$126 ARS 195.3K

-33.96%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$16.68 ARS 25.8K

39.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$23.88 ARS 36.9K

15.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$29.29 ARS 45.2K

92.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$20.39 ARS 31.5K

38.25%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$9.21 ARS 14.2K

-45.71%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$239 ARS 369.1K

-13.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$4,175 ARS 6.4M

25.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$112 ARS 173.3K

-61.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$81.4 ARS 125.7K

-47.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$112 ARS 173.8K

-35.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$117 ARS 181.3K

-24.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$513 ARS 792.3K

93.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$335 ARS 516.8K

14.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,053 ARS 1.6M

59.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$816 ARS 1.3M

32.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,976 ARS 3.1M

97.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,292 ARS 2.0M

374.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$861 ARS 1.3M

-3.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Salta: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Salta

$335 29.1% 12.5% $48

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Salta

$246 * 21.4% 4.4% $11

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Salta

$158 13.7% 21.2% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Salta

$167 14.5% 24.4% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Salta

$190 16.6% 71.3% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Salta

$48 4.2% 28.2% $19

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Salta

$5.4 * 0.5% 89.3% $45

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $513 in Salta. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 3% higher in Salta, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $57 in Salta. Groceries tell a different story – $257 in Playa del Carmen vs $246 in Salta – so Salta wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇷 Salta

🕒 Local time

18:22 6:22 PM

20:22 8:22 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

535,303

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.79 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1,545 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD). 1 EUR = 1,728 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.79 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Salta 5,570 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Salta

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 Salta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 5%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,724 in Salta. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Salta, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $513 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,149 in Salta. That makes Salta about 4% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $239 in Salta. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,149 in Salta, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Salta costs $1,149 versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.