Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Wigan

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,964 in Wigan, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
96

Cost of Living Index in Wigan
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Wigan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Wigan

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,964

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,964 in Wigan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Wigan $1,964

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,893 in Wigan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Wigan $2,893

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,823 in Wigan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Wigan $3,823

Playa del Carmen is about 38% cheaper than Wigan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while Wigan is 45% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$19.72 £14.80

-45.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$68.3 £51.2

-36.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$9.87 £7.40

19.45%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$3.39 £2.54

14.16%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$2.37 £1.77

-42.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.53 £1.15

-45.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$4.54 £3.40

-31.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$4.21 £3.16

20.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.27 £0.95

13.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.36 £1.02

63.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.29 £0.97

13.95%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$3.54 £2.66

-28.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$5.43 £4.08

34.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$5.56 £4.17

41.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$7.80 £5.85

63.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$1.51 £1.13

92.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.67 £1.25

-13.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$3.53 £2.65

-27.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$3.82 £2.87

-46.07%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.79 £1.34

11.73%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.71 £1.29

17.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.20 £0.90

-0.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$1.91 £1.43

-34.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$22.51 £16.89

-80.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$8.98 £6.74

6.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$4.39 £3.30

-63.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$3.26 £2.45

-13.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$2.70 £2.02

-78.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$4.33 £3.25

15.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$33.05 £24.79

-83.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.91 £1.44

-23.04%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$38.1K £28.6K

-44.96%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$40.5K £30.4K

-41.02%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$343 £258

-75.48%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$16.01 £12.01

49.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$38.96 £29.23

-25.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$59.0 £44.26

6.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$17.13 £12.85

-71.16%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$797 £598

-74.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$110 £82.4

-60.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$55.9 £41.97

-22.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$110 £82.8

-31.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$114 £85.3

-22.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$975 £732

3.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$760 £570

-50.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,593 £1,195

7.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,343 £1,008

-17.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$2,670 £2,003

-71.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.4

78.91%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Wigan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Wigan

$760 38.7% 103% $386

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Wigan

$247 12.6% 4.5% $12

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Wigan

$275 14% 35.8% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Wigan

$398 20.3% 190% $261

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Wigan

$175 8.9% 55.3% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Wigan

$93 4.8% 28% $20

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Wigan

$15 * 0.8% 71.2% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $975 in Wigan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 254% higher in Wigan, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $68.0 in Wigan. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $247 in Wigan – so Wigan wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇧 Wigan

🕒 Local time

01:10 1:10 AM

07:10 7:10 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

81,203

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Wigan 7,820 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
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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 Wigan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Wigan is pricier by about 62%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,946 in Wigan. 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 $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $1,964 in Wigan. That's a gap of about 62%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $797 in Wigan. 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 $1,210, than in Wigan at $1,964. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Wigan 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, Wigan makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.