Cost of Living Comparison Between St.James and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between St.James and Playa del Carmen

😐 Solo nomad: St.James is 19.3% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 25.5% cheaper with rent.
😐 Family of 3: St.James is 28% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 24.4% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.34 TTD 69.5
$11.73 MX$222
-11.85%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$88.1 TTD 592
$41.52 MX$785
112.09%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.27 TTD 48.84
$10.57 MX$200
-31.22%
Cappuccino
$3.77 TTD 25.31
$3.49 MX$65.9
8.02%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.06 TTD 7.1
$1.45 MX$27.33
-26.90%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.83 TTD 5.58
$0.97 MX$18.33
-14.43%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.88 TTD 12.62
$3.03 MX$57.2
-37.95%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.05 TTD 20.5
$4.59 MX$86.8
-33.55%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$2.67 TTD 17.93
$1.42 MX$26.87
88.03%
White Bread (500g)
$2.8 TTD 18.83
$1.87 MX$35.43
49.73%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.65 TTD 17.82
$1.54 MX$29.2
72.08%
Eggs
$4.9 TTD 32.93
$2.6 MX$49.21
88.46%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.71 TTD 51.8
$8.32 MX$157
-7.33%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.52 TTD 70.7
$8.54 MX$161
23.19%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$14.2 TTD 95.4
$10.67 MX$202
33.08%
Apples (1kg)
$5.71 TTD 38.39
$2.66 MX$50.2
114.66%
Banana (1kg)
$2.51 TTD 16.84
$1.51 MX$28.5
66.23%
Oranges (1kg)
$4.26 TTD 28.65
$1.9 MX$35.87
124.21%
Tomato (1kg)
$4.69 TTD 31.48
$2.19 MX$41.45
114.16%
Potato (1kg)
$1.43 TTD 9.6
$1.78 MX$33.7
-19.66%
Onion (1kg)
$1.65 TTD 11.12
$2.17 MX$41.05
-23.96%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.89 TTD 12.68
$1.07 MX$20.14
76.64%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.46 TTD 9.82
$1.09 MX$20.53
33.94%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.02 TTD 40.44
$4.17 MX$78.8
44.36%
Wine (Bottle)
$19.88 TTD 134
$8.75 MX$165
127.20%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.17 TTD 14.59
$1.69 MX$31.91
28.40%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.7 TTD 18.13
$2.53 MX$47.74
6.72%
🚌 Getting Around
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
-
$0.51 MX$9.59
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$26.97 MX$510
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.02 TTD 6.83
$3.25 MX$61.4
-68.62%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.21 TTD 8.16
$2.49 MX$47.01
-51.41%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$15.04 TTD 101
$3.22 MX$60.8
367.08%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.15 TTD 7.74
$1.26 MX$23.87
-8.73%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$34K TTD 228.2K
$29.8K MX$564.1K
13.79%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$37.6K TTD 252.8K
$23.4K MX$442.5K
60.74%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$80.4 TTD 540
$84.2 MX$1,592
-4.60%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$47.24 TTD 317
$22.8 MX$431
107.19%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$62.1 TTD 417
$30.04 MX$568
106.56%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
-
$51.4 MX$972
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$18.28 MX$346
-
Cinema Ticket
$10.16 TTD 68.2
$4.97 MX$94.1
104.43%
🧸 Childcare & Education
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$333 TTD 2,236
$197 MX$3,719
69.13%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$7,308 TTD 49.1K
$5,254 MX$99.3K
39.10%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$59 TTD 396
$35.81 MX$677
64.76%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$38.57 TTD 259
$39.43 MX$745
-2.18%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$144 TTD 968
$80.9 MX$1,529
78.04%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$128 TTD 861
$86.3 MX$1,631
48.52%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
-
$968 MX$18.3K
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$478 MX$9,037
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
-
$1,631 MX$30.8K
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$1,197 MX$22.6K
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$3,137 MX$59.3K
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$7,586 MX$143.4K
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$805 MX$15.2K
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.38
11.42
-52.89%

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

Last update for St.James: November 3, 2025

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2025

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