Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in St.James: $917 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

44

Cost of Living Index in St.James
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St.James Living Index
58

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

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St.James

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$917

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in St.James 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 St.James and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $917 per month in St.James vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St.James $917
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,593 per month in St.James vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St.James $1,593
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,270 per month in St.James vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St.James $2,270
Playa del Carmen $2,959

St.James is about 24% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both St.James and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – St.James 33% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.13 TTD 68.0

$10.92 MX$205

-7.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.4 TTD 593

$43.37 MX$814

103.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.03 TTD 60.6

$11.78 MX$221

-23.34%

Cappuccino

$3.65 TTD 24.49

$3.81 MX$71.5

-4.20%

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

$0.99 TTD 6.67

$1.28 MX$24.07

-22.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 TTD 5.15

$0.78 MX$14.70

-1.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 TTD 15.06

$3.17 MX$59.5

-29.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 TTD 24.62

$4.93 MX$92.7

-25.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.51 TTD 16.85

$1.41 MX$26.40

78.01%

White Bread (500g)

$2.48 TTD 16.67

$2.22 MX$41.62

11.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 TTD 18.82

$1.42 MX$26.61

97.18%

Eggs

$4.43 TTD 29.73

$2.52 MX$47.36

75.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.57 TTD 44.06

$7.26 MX$136

-9.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.90 TTD 66.4

$7.70 MX$144

28.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.79 TTD 79.1

$12.69 MX$238

-7.09%

Apples (1kg)

$5.66 TTD 37.97

$2.78 MX$52.3

103.60%

Banana (1kg)

$2.97 TTD 19.90

$1.37 MX$25.68

116.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.75 TTD 25.19

$2.55 MX$47.89

47.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 TTD 28.70

$2.12 MX$39.86

101.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.21 TTD 14.84

$1.94 MX$36.39

13.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 TTD 12.54

$1.89 MX$35.41

-1.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.91 TTD 12.84

$1.15 MX$21.53

66.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 TTD 9.08

$1.18 MX$22.13

14.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.73 TTD 38.48

$4.30 MX$80.6

33.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.28 TTD 129

$9.95 MX$187

93.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.21 TTD 14.82

$1.58 MX$29.73

39.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 TTD 20.13

$2.67 MX$50.1

12.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.01 TTD 6.78

$4.97 MX$93.3

-79.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.23 TTD 8.26

$3.33 MX$62.5

-63.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.65 TTD 98.3

$5.36 MX$101

173.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 TTD 7.83

$1.44 MX$27.11

-18.75%

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

$37.2K TTD 249.9K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

80.24%

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

$40.7K TTD 273.4K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

73.66%

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

$90.2 TTD 605

$84.8 MX$1,592

6.42%

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

$50.9 TTD 341

$23.41 MX$439

117.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.0 TTD 376

$28.66 MX$538

95.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$9.06 TTD 60.8

$5.14 MX$96.5

76.26%

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

$398 TTD 2,669

$207 MX$3,878

92.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K TTD 73.1K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

177.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.3 TTD 364

$43.35 MX$814

25.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.3 TTD 344

$41.44 MX$778

23.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$148 TTD 996

$74.2 MX$1,393

99.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 TTD 693

$89.3 MX$1,676

15.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.75

11.45

-49.78%

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

Last update for St.James: October 24, 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

St.James

$356 38.8%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 28.4% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St.James

$197 21.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 30.6% $60

Eating Out

St.James

$178 19.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 14% $25

Clothing & Footwear

St.James

$161 17.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 30.5% $49

Sport & Entertainment

St.James

$18 * 2%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 272% $49

Getting Around

St.James

$7.2 * 0.8%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 605% $43

Accommodation & Living

St.James

- * 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 $88 in St.James versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $356 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇹 St.James

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:04 10:04 PM

21:04 9:04 PM

1 h behind St.James

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,342

149,923

💱 Currency

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.133 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to TTD – Trinidad and Tobago Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago Dollar ($)

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.71 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 TTD (1 TTD = 0.133 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to TTD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St.James Playa del Carmen 2,950 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

St.James
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

St.James vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 31%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,375 per month in St.James 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 $917 in St.James and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes St.James about 24% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $398 per month in St.James and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in St.James, where all-in costs run around $917, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In St.James it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $917 in St.James to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.