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 25.4% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 26.6% cheaper with rent.
😐 Family of 3: St.James is 36.4% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 24% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.20 TTD 68.9
$11.85 MX$211
-13.92%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$88.6 TTD 599
$42.16 MX$750
110.13%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.32 TTD 49.50
$10.75 MX$191
-31.91%
Cappuccino
$3.76 TTD 25.39
$3.47 MX$61.8
8.36%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.10 TTD 7.41
$1.45 MX$25.85
-24.14%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.82 TTD 5.57
$0.90 MX$16.06
-8.89%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.82 TTD 12.33
$3.05 MX$54.3
-40.33%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.14 TTD 21.21
$4.42 MX$78.6
-28.96%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$2.69 TTD 18.17
$1.37 MX$24.36
96.35%
White Bread (500g)
$2.68 TTD 18.11
$1.87 MX$33.31
43.32%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.65 TTD 17.94
$1.54 MX$27.46
72.08%
Eggs
$4.92 TTD 33.27
$2.50 MX$44.53
96.80%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.04 TTD 54.3
$8.61 MX$153
-6.62%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.34 TTD 69.9
$8.63 MX$154
19.81%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$14.08 TTD 95.2
$11.02 MX$196
27.77%
Apples (1kg)
$5.69 TTD 38.45
$2.75 MX$48.91
106.91%
Banana (1kg)
$2.50 TTD 16.88
$1.43 MX$25.41
74.83%
Oranges (1kg)
$4.33 TTD 29.24
$1.87 MX$33.32
131.55%
Tomato (1kg)
$4.71 TTD 31.87
$2.17 MX$38.56
117.05%
Potato (1kg)
$1.45 TTD 9.78
$1.88 MX$33.50
-22.87%
Onion (1kg)
$1.66 TTD 11.22
$2.25 MX$39.96
-26.22%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.97 TTD 13.31
$1.07 MX$18.99
84.11%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.40 TTD 9.49
$1.07 MX$19.10
30.84%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.74 TTD 38.83
$4.15 MX$73.9
38.31%
Wine (Bottle)
$20.17 TTD 136
$10.34 MX$184
95.07%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.20 TTD 14.86
$1.68 MX$29.87
30.95%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.83 TTD 19.12
$2.48 MX$44.19
14.11%
🚌 Getting Around
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
-
$0.55 MX$9.87
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$26.53 MX$472
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.06 TTD 7.15
$3.22 MX$57.2
-67.08%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.23 TTD 8.32
$2.48 MX$44.15
-50.40%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$14.76 TTD 99.7
$3.11 MX$55.3
374.60%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.10 TTD 7.43
$1.26 MX$22.34
-12.70%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$33.7K TTD 227.5K
$30.7K MX$545.4K
9.77%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$38.2K TTD 258.4K
$24.0K MX$427.6K
59.03%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$81.4 TTD 550
$82.5 MX$1,467
-1.32%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$47.51 TTD 321
$22.29 MX$396
113.14%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$61.2 TTD 414
$30.02 MX$534
103.86%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
-
$51.4 MX$915
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$18.29 MX$325
-
Cinema Ticket
$9.82 TTD 66.4
$4.98 MX$88.7
97.19%
🧸 Childcare & Education
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$334 TTD 2,256
$200 MX$3,558
66.86%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$7,166 TTD 48.4K
$5,304 MX$94.4K
35.10%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$58.8 TTD 398
$35.71 MX$635
64.66%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$38.39 TTD 260
$39.56 MX$704
-2.96%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$144 TTD 972
$80.6 MX$1,433
78.52%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$129 TTD 871
$88.3 MX$1,571
45.84%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
-
$969 MX$17.2K
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$482 MX$8,579
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
-
$1,595 MX$28.4K
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$1,184 MX$21.1K
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$4,050 MX$72.1K
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$6,522 MX$116.0K
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
St.James
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$756 MX$13.5K
-
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: March 3, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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