Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Union City, CA

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $4,061 in Union City, CA, rent and utilities included – about $34,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
197

Cost of Living Index in Union City, CA
Learn more

Union City, CA Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Union City, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$4,061

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Union City, CA

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 Union City, CA actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,061 in Union City, CA, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Union City, CA $4,061

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $6,023 in Union City, CA, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Union City, CA $6,023

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $7,984 in Union City, CA, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Union City, CA $7,984

Playa del Carmen is about 70% cheaper than Union City, CA, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Union City, CA is 200% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$22.36 $22.36

-52.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$98.5 $98.5

-55.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$13.26 $13.26

-11.09%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$5.49 $5.49

-30.97%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$3.05 $3.05

-57.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$2.35 $2.35

-64.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$8.21 $8.21

-61.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$10.12 $10.12

-51.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.26 $1.26

11.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$4.52 $4.52

-51.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$4.15 $4.15

-64.58%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$5.96 $5.96

-58.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$19.69 $19.69

-62.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$13.42 $13.42

-40.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$8.60 $8.60

49.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$5.08 $5.08

-42.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.93 $1.93

-28.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$2.82 $2.82

-11.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$4.39 $4.39

-53.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$2.25 $2.25

-10.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$3.03 $3.03

-37.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$2.41 $2.41

-52.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$2.48 $2.48

-50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$12.01 $12.01

-64.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$15.71 $15.71

-37.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$2.43 $2.43

-34.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$3.37 $3.37

-18.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$3.48 $3.48

36.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$1.90 $1.90

71.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$30.29 $30.29

-82.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$1.52 $1.52

0.66%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$27.4K $27.4K

-22.64%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$26.9K $26.9K

-13.39%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$274 $274

-69.49%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$48.70 $48.70

-52.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$81.0 $81.0

-65.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$42.57 $42.57

32.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$16.14 $16.14

-69.02%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$1,799 $1,799

-88.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$42.3K $42.3K

-87.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$40.31 $40.31

7.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$50.7 $50.7

-16.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$86.9 $86.9

-16.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$119 $119

-25.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$3,558 $3,558

-72.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$2,646 $2,646

-85.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$4,921 $4,921

-65.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$4,867 $4,867

-77.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

$7,265 $7,265

-88.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.82

67.89%

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 Union City, CA: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Union City, CA

$2.6K 65.2% 592% $2.3K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Union City, CA

$423 10.4% 64.3% $166

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Union City, CA

$368 9.1% 83.5% $167

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Union City, CA

$403 9.9% 200% $269

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Union City, CA

$134 3.3% 20.1% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Union City, CA

$75 1.8% 12.7% $8.4

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Union City, CA

$13 * 0.3% 74.3% $37

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 $3,558 in Union City, CA. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Union City, CA are about 8.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $98 in Union City, CA. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $423 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇺🇸 Union City, CA

🕒 Local time

04:17 4:17 AM

01:17 1:17 AM

3 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

63,930

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Union City, CA 3,850 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Union City, CA

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 Union City, CA: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Union City, CA is pricier by about 238%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $6,091 in Union City, CA. 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 $995 there versus $3,558 in Union City, CA.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $4,061 in Union City, CA. That makes Playa del Carmen about 70% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,799 in Union City, CA. 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 $1,202, than in Union City, CA at $4,061. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Union City, CA 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 or specific career opportunities are the priority, Union City, CA makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.