Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Clara de Valladares and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living costs are similar in Santa Clara de Valladares and in Playa del Carmen: $1,213 and $1,204 a month, rent and utilities included.

Santa Clara de Valladares
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,213
/mo nomad
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,204
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Clara de Valladares 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 Santa Clara de Valladares and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,213 per month in Santa Clara de Valladares vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Santa Clara de Valladares $1,213
  • Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,997 per month in Santa Clara de Valladares vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Santa Clara de Valladares $1,997
  • Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $2,781 per month in Santa Clara de Valladares vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Santa Clara de Valladares $2,781
  • Playa del Carmen $3,000

Santa Clara de Valladares costs about 1% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Santa Clara de Valladares and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Santa Clara de Valladares 10% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Santa Clara de Valladares
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.05 MX$204
$10.86 MX$201
1.75%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$63.0 MX$1,163
$44.21 MX$817
42.41%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.78 MX$181
$11.76 MX$217
-16.84%
Cappuccino
$3.75 MX$69.3
$3.68 MX$68.0
1.90%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.56 MX$28.90
$1.34 MX$24.79
16.42%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.10 MX$20.29
$0.82 MX$15.24
34.15%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.37 MX$62.3
$3.06 MX$56.6
10.13%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.53 MX$102
$4.94 MX$91.2
11.94%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Santa Clara de Valladares
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.92 MX$35.51
$1.47 MX$27.17
30.61%
White Bread (500g)
$2.73 MX$50.5
$2.22 MX$40.95
22.97%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.03 MX$37.49
$1.48 MX$27.32
37.16%
Eggs
$2.73 MX$50.4
$2.49 MX$45.99
9.64%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.85 MX$163
$7.52 MX$139
17.69%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.14 MX$169
$7.96 MX$147
14.82%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.69 MX$253
$12.57 MX$232
8.91%
Apples (1kg)
$3.40 MX$62.7
$2.78 MX$51.3
22.30%
Banana (1kg)
$1.65 MX$30.46
$1.43 MX$26.37
15.38%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.17 MX$40.11
$2.62 MX$48.37
-17.18%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.90 MX$35.07
$2.14 MX$39.49
-11.21%
Potato (1kg)
$1.77 MX$32.73
$2.02 MX$37.38
-12.38%
Onion (1kg)
$1.83 MX$33.87
$1.99 MX$36.74
-8.04%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.53 MX$28.25
$1.14 MX$21.01
34.21%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.19 MX$22.08
$1.20 MX$22.18
-0.83%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.67 MX$86.3
$4.26 MX$78.7
9.62%
Wine (Bottle)
$17.47 MX$323
$10.02 MX$185
74.35%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.16 MX$39.83
$1.54 MX$28.41
40.26%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.01 MX$74.1
$2.66 MX$49.17
50.75%
🚌 Getting Around
Santa Clara de Valladares
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.64 MX$11.85
$0.53 MX$9.73
20.75%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$27.51 MX$508
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.35 MX$61.9
$4.90 MX$90.6
-31.63%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.67 MX$49.33
$3.43 MX$63.5
-22.16%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$10.75 MX$199
$5.38 MX$99.4
99.81%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.50 MX$27.75
$1.45 MX$26.76
3.45%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.5K MX$396.6K
$21.2K MX$391.0K
1.44%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.6K MX$435.4K
$23.0K MX$425.3K
2.36%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Santa Clara de Valladares
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$59.0 MX$1,090
$85.4 MX$1,577
-30.92%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$27.10 MX$501
$23.46 MX$434
15.52%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$24.69 MX$456
$28.43 MX$525
-13.16%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Santa Clara de Valladares
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$33.84 MX$625
$62.2 MX$1,149
-45.59%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$20.11 MX$372
$28.68 MX$530
-29.88%
Cinema Ticket
$7.62 MX$141
$5.10 MX$94.3
49.41%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Santa Clara de Valladares
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$263 MX$4,855
$201 MX$3,715
30.66%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,062 MX$93.5K
$3,947 MX$72.9K
28.25%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Santa Clara de Valladares
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$53.2 MX$983
$44.39 MX$820
19.85%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$45.56 MX$842
$41.35 MX$764
10.18%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$101 MX$1,872
$72.7 MX$1,344
39.29%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$96.6 MX$1,785
$89.6 MX$1,656
7.77%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Santa Clara de Valladares
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$616 MX$11.4K
$979 MX$18.1K
-37.05%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$392 MX$7,251
$373 MX$6,887
5.28%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,044 MX$19.3K
$1,681 MX$31.1K
-37.91%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$776 MX$14.3K
$1,095 MX$20.2K
-29.14%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,899 MX$35.1K
$3,949 MX$73.0K
-51.92%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,163 MX$21.5K
$6,137 MX$113.4K
-81.06%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Santa Clara de Valladares
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$738 MX$13.6K
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.99
11.45
4.72%

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

Last update for Santa Clara de Valladares: October 17, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Santa Clara de Valladares
$392
Playa del Carmen
$373 5% $20
Groceries & Markets
Santa Clara de Valladares
$307
Playa del Carmen
$258 15.9% $49
Eating Out
Santa Clara de Valladares
$201
Playa del Carmen
$200 0.5% $1.1
Clothing & Footwear
Santa Clara de Valladares
$133
Playa del Carmen
$112 16.4% $22
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Santa Clara de Valladares
$111
Playa del Carmen
$137 23.9% $26
Sport & Entertainment
Santa Clara de Valladares
$49
Playa del Carmen
$72 47.5% $23
Getting Around
Santa Clara de Valladares
$19 *
Playa del Carmen
$52 168% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $616 in Santa Clara de Valladares versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. 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 $63.0 in Santa Clara de Valladares versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $307 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Santa Clara de Valladares
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🕒 Local time
04:22 4:22 AM
05:22 5:22 AM
1 h ahead of Santa Clara de Valladares
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
2,000
149,923
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Santa Clara de Valladares Playa del Carmen 1,610 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Santa Clara de Valladares
  • 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
Santa Clara de Valladares vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Playa del Carmen cheaper than Santa Clara de Valladares?
Yes – Santa Clara de Valladares is pricier by about 1%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,820 per month in Santa Clara de Valladares and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
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.
What are total monthly expenses in Santa Clara de Valladares and in Playa del Carmen?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,213 in Santa Clara de Valladares and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 1%.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Kindergarten costs $263 per month in Santa Clara de Valladares and $201 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Santa Clara de Valladares or in Playa del Carmen?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Santa Clara de Valladares at $1,213. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Santa Clara de Valladares it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Santa Clara de Valladares or Playa del Carmen more family-friendly?
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.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Santa Clara de Valladares makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

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