Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Santa Clara de Valladares

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Santa Clara de Valladares: $1,204 and $1,213 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Santa Clara de Valladares
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Santa Clara de Valladares Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Santa Clara de Valladares

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,213

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Santa Clara de Valladares

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 Santa Clara de Valladares actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,213 in Santa Clara de Valladares, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Santa Clara de Valladares $1,213

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,997 in Santa Clara de Valladares, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Santa Clara de Valladares $1,997

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,781 in Santa Clara de Valladares, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Santa Clara de Valladares $2,781

Playa del Carmen is about 1% cheaper than Santa Clara de Valladares, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Santa Clara de Valladares are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Santa Clara de Valladares 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$11.05 MX$204

-1.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$63.0 MX$1,163

-29.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$9.78 MX$181

20.25%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$3.75 MX$69.3

-1.87%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.56 MX$28.90

-14.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.10 MX$20.29

-25.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$3.37 MX$62.3

-9.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$5.53 MX$102

-10.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.92 MX$35.51

-23.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$2.73 MX$50.5

-18.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$2.03 MX$37.49

-27.09%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.73 MX$50.4

-8.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$8.85 MX$163

-15.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$9.14 MX$169

-12.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$13.69 MX$253

-8.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$3.40 MX$62.7

-18.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.65 MX$30.46

-13.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.17 MX$40.11

20.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.90 MX$35.07

12.63%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.77 MX$32.73

14.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.83 MX$33.87

8.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.53 MX$28.25

-25.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.19 MX$22.08

0.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$4.67 MX$86.3

-8.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$17.47 MX$323

-42.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$2.16 MX$39.83

-28.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$4.01 MX$74.1

-33.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.64 MX$11.85

-17.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$3.35 MX$61.9

46.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$2.67 MX$49.33

28.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$10.75 MX$199

-49.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.50 MX$27.75

-3.33%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$21.5K MX$396.6K

-1.42%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$23.6K MX$435.4K

-2.31%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$59.0 MX$1,090

44.75%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$27.10 MX$501

-13.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$24.69 MX$456

15.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$33.84 MX$625

83.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$20.11 MX$372

42.62%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$7.62 MX$141

-33.07%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$263 MX$4,855

-23.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$5,062 MX$93.5K

-22.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$53.2 MX$983

-16.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$45.56 MX$842

-9.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$101 MX$1,872

-28.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$96.6 MX$1,785

-7.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$616 MX$11.4K

58.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$392 MX$7,251

-5.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,044 MX$19.3K

61.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$776 MX$14.3K

41.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,899 MX$35.1K

107.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,163 MX$21.5K

427.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.99

-4.50%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Santa Clara de Valladares: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Santa Clara de Valladares

$392 32.3% 5.3% $20

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Santa Clara de Valladares

$307 25.3% 18.8% $49

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Santa Clara de Valladares

$201 16.6% 0.5% $1.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Santa Clara de Valladares

$111 9.1% 19.3% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Santa Clara de Valladares

$133 11% 19.6% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Santa Clara de Valladares

$49 4.1% 32.2% $23

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Santa Clara de Valladares

$19 * 1.6% 62.7% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $616 in Santa Clara de Valladares. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $63.0 in Santa Clara de Valladares. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $307 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Santa Clara de Valladares

🕒 Local time

08:17 8:17 AM

07:17 7:17 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

2,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Santa Clara de Valladares 1,610 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Santa Clara de Valladares

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 Santa Clara de Valladares: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Santa Clara de Valladares is pricier by about 1%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,820 in Santa Clara de Valladares. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,213 in Santa Clara de Valladares. That's a gap of about 1%.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $263 in Santa Clara de Valladares. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Santa Clara de Valladares at $1,213. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Santa Clara de Valladares it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Santa Clara de Valladares makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.