Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and St Lawrence

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,179 in St Lawrence, rent and utilities included – about $23,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
153

Cost of Living Index in St Lawrence
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St Lawrence Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

St Lawrence

🇯🇪 Jersey

$3,179

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in St Lawrence

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,179 in St Lawrence, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
St Lawrence $3,179

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,207 in St Lawrence, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
St Lawrence $5,207

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $7,234 in St Lawrence, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
St Lawrence $7,234

Playa del Carmen is about 62% cheaper than St Lawrence, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while St Lawrence is 134% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$40.12 JEP 29.97

-72.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$118 JEP 88.2

-63.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$10.70 JEP 7.99

10.09%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$4.92 JEP 3.67

-22.56%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$3.38 JEP 2.52

-62.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$2.45 JEP 1.83

-68.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$8.24 JEP 6.16

-61.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$6.42 JEP 4.79

-23.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$2.24 JEP 1.68

-37.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$2.77 JEP 2.07

-19.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$2.62 JEP 1.96

-45.80%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$5.60 JEP 4.18

-55.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$7.09 JEP 5.30

2.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$12.12 JEP 9.06

-36.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$18.43 JEP 13.77

-31.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$4.19 JEP 3.13

-33.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$3.51 JEP 2.62

-60.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$4.24 JEP 3.17

-39.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$4.46 JEP 3.33

-52.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$3.29 JEP 2.45

-41.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$3.13 JEP 2.34

-39.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.88 JEP 1.40

-38.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$2.53 JEP 1.89

-53.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$19.95 JEP 14.90

-78.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$10.51 JEP 7.85

-5.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$4.78 JEP 3.57

-66.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$7.55 JEP 5.64

-64.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$5.37 JEP 4.01

-7.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$2.44 JEP 1.82

36.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$52.7 JEP 39.36

-89.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$2.13 JEP 1.59

-32.39%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$26.7K JEP 19.9K

-22.58%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$37.2K JEP 27.8K

-36.96%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$319 JEP 238

-73.41%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$34.29 JEP 25.62

-31.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$74.0 JEP 55.3

-61.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$93.3 JEP 69.7

-38.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$20.22 JEP 15.10

-74.58%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$838 JEP 626

-75.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$11.8K JEP 8,827

-66.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$105 JEP 78.5

-58.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$74.4 JEP 55.6

-44.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$122 JEP 90.8

-38.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$210 JEP 157

-57.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,765 JEP 1,319

-44.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$1,466 JEP 1,095

-74.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$3,932 JEP 2,937

-56.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$3,393 JEP 2,535

-68.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.08

180.64%

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 St Lawrence: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

St Lawrence

$1.5K 46.1% 285% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

St Lawrence

$416 13.1% 63.1% $161

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

St Lawrence

$489 15.4% 142% $287

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

St Lawrence

$427 13.4% 212% $290

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

St Lawrence

$230 7.2% 106% $118

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

St Lawrence

$134 4.2% 98.6% $66

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

St Lawrence

$18 * 0.6% 65.2% $33

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 $1,765 in St Lawrence. 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 $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $118 in St Lawrence. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $416 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇪 St Lawrence

🕒 Local time

23:08 11:08 PM

04:08 4:08 AM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

5,500

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Jersey Pound JEP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 JEP = 1.34 USD

1 JEP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JEP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Jersey Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 JEP (1 JEP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 JEP (1 JEP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen St Lawrence 7,930 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
St Lawrence

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 St Lawrence: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – St Lawrence is pricier by about 164%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $4,768 in St Lawrence. 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,765 in St Lawrence.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $3,179 in St Lawrence. That makes Playa del Carmen about 62% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $838 in St Lawrence. 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 St Lawrence at $3,179. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in St Lawrence 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.