Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and St.James Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and St.James

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 16.2% cheaper than St.James without rent, and 34.1% more expensive with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 21.8% cheaper than St.James without rent, and 32.2% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
St.James
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.73 MX$222
$10.34 TTD 69.5
13.44%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$41.52 MX$785
$88.1 TTD 592
-52.85%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.57 MX$200
$7.27 TTD 48.84
45.39%
Cappuccino
$3.49 MX$65.9
$3.77 TTD 25.31
-7.43%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.45 MX$27.33
$1.06 TTD 7.1
36.79%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.97 MX$18.33
$0.83 TTD 5.58
16.87%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.03 MX$57.2
$1.88 TTD 12.62
61.17%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.59 MX$86.8
$3.05 TTD 20.5
50.49%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
St.James
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.42 MX$26.87
$2.67 TTD 17.93
-46.82%
White Bread (500g)
$1.87 MX$35.43
$2.8 TTD 18.83
-33.21%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.54 MX$29.2
$2.65 TTD 17.82
-41.89%
Eggs
$2.6 MX$49.21
$4.9 TTD 32.93
-46.94%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.32 MX$157
$7.71 TTD 51.8
7.91%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.54 MX$161
$10.52 TTD 70.7
-18.82%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.67 MX$202
$14.2 TTD 95.4
-24.86%
Apples (1kg)
$2.66 MX$50.2
$5.71 TTD 38.39
-53.42%
Banana (1kg)
$1.51 MX$28.5
$2.51 TTD 16.84
-39.84%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.9 MX$35.87
$4.26 TTD 28.65
-55.40%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.19 MX$41.45
$4.69 TTD 31.48
-53.30%
Potato (1kg)
$1.78 MX$33.7
$1.43 TTD 9.6
24.48%
Onion (1kg)
$2.17 MX$41.05
$1.65 TTD 11.12
31.52%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 MX$20.14
$1.89 TTD 12.68
-43.39%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.09 MX$20.53
$1.46 TTD 9.82
-25.34%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.17 MX$78.8
$6.02 TTD 40.44
-30.73%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.75 MX$165
$19.88 TTD 134
-55.99%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.69 MX$31.91
$2.17 TTD 14.59
-22.12%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.53 MX$47.74
$2.7 TTD 18.13
-6.30%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
St.James
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.51 MX$9.59
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.97 MX$510
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.25 MX$61.4
$1.02 TTD 6.83
218.63%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.49 MX$47.01
$1.21 TTD 8.16
105.79%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.22 MX$60.8
$15.04 TTD 101
-78.59%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.26 MX$23.87
$1.15 TTD 7.74
9.57%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$29.8K MX$564.1K
$34K TTD 228.2K
-12.12%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.4K MX$442.5K
$37.6K TTD 252.8K
-37.79%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
St.James
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.2 MX$1,592
$80.4 TTD 540
4.82%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.8 MX$431
$47.24 TTD 317
-51.74%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.04 MX$568
$62.1 TTD 417
-51.59%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
St.James
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$51.4 MX$972
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.28 MX$346
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$4.97 MX$94.1
$10.16 TTD 68.2
-51.08%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
St.James
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$197 MX$3,719
$333 TTD 2,236
-40.87%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,254 MX$99.3K
$7,308 TTD 49.1K
-28.11%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
St.James
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$35.81 MX$677
$59 TTD 396
-39.31%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.43 MX$745
$38.57 TTD 259
2.23%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$80.9 MX$1,529
$144 TTD 968
-43.83%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$86.3 MX$1,631
$128 TTD 861
-32.67%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
St.James
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$968 MX$18.3K
-
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$478 MX$9,037
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,631 MX$30.8K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,197 MX$22.6K
-
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,137 MX$59.3K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$7,586 MX$143.4K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
St.James
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$805 MX$15.2K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.42
5.38
112.27%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2025

Last update for St.James: November 3, 2025

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