Cost of living comparison
compared to
Playa del Carmen vs. Durham Cost of Living Summary
Playa del Carmen is 28.8% cheaper than Durham.
- Restaurants
-
pay 22.0% less in Playa del Carmen
- Groceries
-
pay 49.2% less in Playa del Carmen
- Transportation
-
pay 20.5% more in Playa del Carmen
- Housing
-
pay 54.9% less in Playa del Carmen
- Childcare
-
pay 84.5% less in Playa del Carmen
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 30.1% less in Playa del Carmen
- Clothing
-
pay 18.5% more in Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen vs. Durham Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Playa del Carmen instead of Durham, you would:
pay 22.0% less for restaurants
|
Durham
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$11.90
MX$208.65
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$10.83
MX$189.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$1.62
MX$28.48
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.02
|
$1.34
MX$23.54
|
|
Durham vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of restaurants
pay 49.2% less for groceries
|
Durham
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.55
|
$1.98
MX$34.69
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.88
|
$4.33
MX$75.99
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.35
|
$5.50
MX$96.44
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.42
|
$2.27
MX$39.77
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.75
|
$3.76
MX$65.94
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.31
|
$1.30
MX$22.73
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.17
|
$0.64
MX$11.28
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.47
|
$0.90
MX$15.73
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.01
|
$0.94
MX$16.44
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$3.62
|
$0.85
MX$14.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.01
|
$1.02
MX$17.95
|
|
Durham vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of groceries
pay 20.5% more for transportation
|
Durham
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.05
|
$5.02
MX$88.13
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$25.00
|
$27.08
MX$474.95
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,000.00
|
$31,003.27
MX$544K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$25.93
MX$454.78
|
|
Durham vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of transportation
pay 54.9% less for housing
|
Durham
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$59.17
|
$30.51
MX$535.11
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,850.00
|
$1,072.23
MX$18,807.57
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,433.33
|
$484.68
MX$8,501.58
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$173.52
|
$64.40
MX$1,129.62
|
|
Durham vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of housing
pay 84.5% less for childcare
|
Durham
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,318.67
|
$204.43
MX$3,585.86
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$5,361.26
MX$94,039.78
|
|
Durham vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of childcare
pay 30.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Durham
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$3.12
MX$54.73
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.83
|
$3.46
MX$60.70
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.00
|
$4.17
MX$73.14
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.75
|
$60.49
MX$1,061.10
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$4.98
MX$87.43
|
|
Durham vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.5% more for clothing
|
Durham
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$36.66
|
$43.98
MX$771.42
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$22.33
|
$41.89
MX$734.72
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.50
|
$75.82
MX$1,329.86
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.67
|
$88.61
MX$1,554.36
|
|
Durham vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: July 2026
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