Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Uijeongbu

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,365 in Uijeongbu, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Uijeongbu
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Uijeongbu Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Uijeongbu

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,365

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,365 in Uijeongbu, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Uijeongbu $1,365

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,203 in Uijeongbu, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Uijeongbu $2,203

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,042 in Uijeongbu, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Uijeongbu $3,042

Playa del Carmen is about 12% cheaper than Uijeongbu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$6.55 ₩8,776

62.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$34.28 ₩46.0K

27.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$6.87 ₩9,209

71.62%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.58 ₩4,796

5.87%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.57 ₩2,107

-17.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.73 ₩981

13.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$3.56 ₩4,771

-11.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$4.38 ₩5,867

12.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.00 ₩2,675

-29.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$3.16 ₩4,231

-30.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$2.56 ₩3,438

-42.58%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$3.36 ₩4,501

-25.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$15.38 ₩20.6K

-52.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$10.34 ₩13.9K

-23.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$10.93 ₩14.7K

17.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$6.77 ₩9,070

-57.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$2.50 ₩3,350

-44.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$4.33 ₩5,809

-42.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$6.13 ₩8,222

-66.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$3.31 ₩4,434

-38.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$2.56 ₩3,431

-25.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$2.09 ₩2,801

-45.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$1.10 ₩1,481

12.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$3.42 ₩4,588

24.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$13.72 ₩18.4K

-28.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$2.33 ₩3,127

-31.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$3.28 ₩4,401

-16.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.14 ₩1,524

-55.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$3.51 ₩4,705

35.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.57 ₩769

470.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$9.11 ₩12.2K

-40.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.34 ₩1,791

14.18%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$29.6K ₩39.6M

-28.27%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$28.3K ₩37.9M

-17.78%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$210 ₩281.0K

-60.17%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$34.30 ₩46.0K

-32.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$20.38 ₩27.3K

35.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$50.5 ₩67.7K

11.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$13.68 ₩18.3K

106.07%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$11.30 ₩15.2K

-55.75%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$439 ₩588.7K

-52.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$17.7K ₩23.7M

-70.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$62.1 ₩83.2K

-30.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$33.73 ₩45.2K

26.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$68.8 ₩92.2K

5.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$80.5 ₩108.0K

9.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$492 ₩659.6K

102.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$369 ₩495.0K

3.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,273 ₩1.7M

31.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$955 ₩1.3M

13.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$7,028 ₩9.4M

-44.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$5,549 ₩7.4M

10.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

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: November 2, 2026

Last update for Uijeongbu: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Uijeongbu

$369 27.1% 3.4% $13

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Uijeongbu

$385 28.2% 49.6% $128

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Uijeongbu

$152 11.1% 24.3% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Uijeongbu

$264 19.4% 96.8% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Uijeongbu

$110 8.1% 0.8% $0.9

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Uijeongbu

$73 5.4% 10% $6.7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Uijeongbu

$11 * 0.8% 78.3% $40

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 $492 in Uijeongbu. 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 in Playa del Carmen versus $34 in Uijeongbu. Groceries tell a different story – $257 in Playa del Carmen vs $385 in Uijeongbu – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇷 Uijeongbu

🕒 Local time

03:44 3:44 AM

17:44 5:44 PM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

463,077

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1,341 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 1,506 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.64 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Uijeongbu 12,610 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Uijeongbu

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 Uijeongbu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Uijeongbu is pricier by about 13%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,047 in Uijeongbu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Uijeongbu, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $492 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,365 in Uijeongbu. That makes Playa del Carmen about 12% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $439 in Uijeongbu. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,365 in Uijeongbu. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.