Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saint Ann's Bay and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint Ann’s Bay: $1,006 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

48

Cost of Living Index in Saint Ann's Bay
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Saint Ann's Bay Living Index
58

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

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Saint Ann's Bay

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,006

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Saint Ann's Bay and in Playa del Carmen

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Saint Ann's Bay and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,006 per month in Saint Ann’s Bay vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Saint Ann's Bay $1,006
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,600 per month in Saint Ann’s Bay vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Saint Ann's Bay $1,600
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,195 per month in Saint Ann’s Bay vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Saint Ann's Bay $2,195
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Saint Ann’s Bay is about 16% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Saint Ann’s Bay and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Saint Ann’s Bay 26% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.35 JMD 2,105

$10.92 MX$204

22.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.2 JMD 7,922

$43.37 MX$808

15.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.31 JMD 1,311

$11.78 MX$220

-29.46%

Cappuccino

$5.46 JMD 862

$3.81 MX$71.0

43.31%

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

$1.20 JMD 190

$1.28 MX$23.90

-6.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 JMD 110

$0.78 MX$14.59

-10.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 JMD 354

$3.17 MX$59.0

-29.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 JMD 492

$4.93 MX$92.0

-36.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.07 JMD 641

$1.41 MX$26.22

188.65%

White Bread (500g)

$3.74 JMD 589

$2.22 MX$41.33

68.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 JMD 258

$1.42 MX$26.42

14.79%

Eggs

$3.47 JMD 547

$2.52 MX$47.03

37.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.20 JMD 1,766

$7.26 MX$135

54.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.20 JMD 978

$7.70 MX$143

-19.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.09 JMD 1,591

$12.69 MX$237

-20.49%

Apples (1kg)

$6.00 JMD 946

$2.78 MX$51.9

115.83%

Banana (1kg)

$3.99 JMD 629

$1.37 MX$25.50

191.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.53 JMD 1,187

$2.55 MX$47.55

195.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.98 JMD 469

$2.12 MX$39.58

40.57%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 JMD 518

$1.94 MX$36.13

69.07%

Onion (1kg)

$2.62 JMD 414

$1.89 MX$35.16

38.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.15 JMD 497

$1.15 MX$21.37

173.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 JMD 226

$1.18 MX$21.98

22.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.30 JMD 1,467

$4.30 MX$80.1

116.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.43 JMD 1,802

$9.95 MX$185

14.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.95 JMD 464

$1.58 MX$29.52

86.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.03 JMD 636

$2.67 MX$49.79

50.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.30 JMD 204

$4.97 MX$92.6

-73.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.17 JMD 501

$3.33 MX$62.1

-4.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.44 JMD 1,016

$5.36 MX$99.8

20.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 JMD 205

$1.44 MX$26.92

-9.72%

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

$43.4K JMD 6.8M

$20.7K MX$385.2K

110.08%

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

$32.7K JMD 5.2M

$23.5K MX$437.4K

39.26%

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

$169 JMD 26.6K

$84.8 MX$1,581

99.09%

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

$29.03 JMD 4,577

$23.41 MX$436

24.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.9 JMD 8,346

$28.66 MX$534

84.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$13.41 JMD 2,114

$5.14 MX$95.8

160.89%

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

$366 JMD 57.7K

$207 MX$3,851

77.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,305 JMD 1.3M

$3,927 MX$73.2K

111.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.59 JMD 3,719

$43.35 MX$808

-45.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.44 JMD 4,957

$41.44 MX$772

-24.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 JMD 12.4K

$74.2 MX$1,383

5.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 JMD 16.0K

$89.3 MX$1,664

13.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

11.45

-17.47%

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

Last update for Saint Ann's Bay: October 26, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Saint Ann's Bay

$383 38.1%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 33.4% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saint Ann's Bay

$251 24.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 45.4% $114

Eating Out

Saint Ann's Bay

$222 22.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 9% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Saint Ann's Bay

$106 10.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 5.8% $6.1

Sport & Entertainment

Saint Ann's Bay

$27 * 2.7%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 151% $41

Getting Around

Saint Ann's Bay

$17 * 1.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 194% $33

Accommodation & Living

Saint Ann's Bay

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $50 in Saint Ann’s Bay versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $383 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Saint Ann's Bay

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

14:05 2:05 PM

Same time as Saint Ann's Bay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,671

149,923

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Saint Ann's Bay Playa del Carmen 1,060 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Saint Ann's Bay
Playa del Carmen

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

Saint Ann's Bay vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 20%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,508 per month in Saint Ann’s Bay and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,006 in Saint Ann’s Bay and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a gap of about 20%.

Kindergarten costs $366 per month in Saint Ann’s Bay and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,006 in Saint Ann’s Bay and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,006 in Saint Ann’s Bay to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.