Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Urbana, IL and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,871 in Urbana, IL, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

90

Cost of Living Index in Urbana, IL
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Urbana, IL Living Index
58

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

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Urbana, IL

🇺🇸 United States

$1,871

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,871 per month in Urbana, IL vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Urbana, IL $1,871
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,130 per month in Urbana, IL vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Urbana, IL $2,130
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,389 per month in Urbana, IL vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Urbana, IL $2,389
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Urbana, IL costs about 55% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Urbana, IL sits 37% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.75 $14.75

$10.92 MX$204

35.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 $60.9

$43.37 MX$808

40.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.04 $10.04

$11.78 MX$220

-14.77%

Cappuccino

$4.85 $4.85

$3.81 MX$71.0

27.30%

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

$2.23 $2.23

$1.28 MX$23.90

74.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 $1.77

$0.78 MX$14.59

126.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.59 $5.59

$3.17 MX$59.0

76.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.62 $5.62

$4.93 MX$92.0

14.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.79 $0.79

$1.41 MX$26.22

-43.97%

White Bread (500g)

$3.11 $3.11

$2.22 MX$41.33

40.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.99 $2.99

$1.42 MX$26.42

110.56%

Eggs

$3.98 $3.98

$2.52 MX$47.03

57.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.11 $12.11

$7.26 MX$135

66.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.64 $8.64

$7.70 MX$143

12.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.18 $14.18

$12.69 MX$237

11.74%

Apples (1kg)

$4.01 $4.01

$2.78 MX$51.9

44.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 $1.62

$1.37 MX$25.50

18.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.12 $3.12

$2.55 MX$47.55

22.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.39 $4.39

$2.12 MX$39.58

107.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.19 $2.19

$1.94 MX$36.13

12.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.62 $2.62

$1.89 MX$35.16

38.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.28 $2.28

$1.15 MX$21.37

98.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 $1.38

$1.18 MX$21.98

16.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.47 $12.47

$4.30 MX$80.1

190.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.11 $15.11

$9.95 MX$185

51.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 $2.07

$1.58 MX$29.52

31.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.38 $3.38

$2.67 MX$49.79

26.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 $0.98

$0.55 MX$10.31

78.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.07 $3.07

$4.97 MX$92.6

-38.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 $0.64

$3.33 MX$62.1

-80.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.53 $24.53

$5.36 MX$99.8

357.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 $1.17

$1.44 MX$26.92

-18.75%

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

$27.7K $27.7K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

34.27%

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

$26.8K $26.8K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

14.21%

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

$240 $240

$84.8 MX$1,581

182.59%

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

$45.26 $45.26

$23.41 MX$436

93.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.2 $62.2

$28.66 MX$534

117.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$13.25 $13.25

$5.14 MX$95.8

157.78%

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

$1,009 $1,009

$207 MX$3,851

388.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K $20.0K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

410.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.71 $47.71

$43.35 MX$808

10.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.5 $52.5

$41.44 MX$772

26.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.8 $99.8

$74.2 MX$1,383

34.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 $122

$89.3 MX$1,664

36.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$862 $862

$980 MX$18.3K

-11.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 $743

$381 MX$7,099

95.00%

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)

$1,728 $1,728

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-56.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,749 $1,749

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-71.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,557 $6,557

$735 MX$13.7K

792.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.82

11.45

-40.44%

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

Last update for Urbana, IL: 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.

Accommodation & Living

Urbana, IL

$743 39.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 48.7% $362

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Urbana, IL

$347 18.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 60.6% $210

Groceries & Markets

Urbana, IL

$338 18.1%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 24.6% $83

Eating Out

Urbana, IL

$262 14%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 22.6% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Urbana, IL

$145 7.8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 23% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Urbana, IL

$26 * 1.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 154% $41

Getting Around

Urbana, IL

$10 * 0.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 395% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $862 in Urbana, IL versus $980 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.

Salaries in Urbana, IL are about 8.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Urbana, IL versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $338 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Urbana, IL

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

18:18 6:18 PM

Same time as Urbana, IL

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

41,250

149,923

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 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).

MXN to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Urbana, IL Playa del Carmen 2,170 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Urbana, IL
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

Urbana, IL vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Urbana, IL is pricier by about 55%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,806 per month in Urbana, IL and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Urbana, IL, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $862 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,871 in Urbana, IL and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 36% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $1,009 per month in Urbana, IL 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 $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Urbana, IL at $1,871. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Urbana, IL 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,871 in Urbana, IL. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Urbana, IL makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.