Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arlington, KY and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,653 in Arlington, KY, rent and utilities included – about $17,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Arlington, KY
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Arlington, KY Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Arlington, KY

🇺🇸 United States

$2,653

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Arlington, KY and in Phuket

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Arlington, KY and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,653 in Arlington, KY versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Arlington, KY $2,653
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,917 in Arlington, KY versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Arlington, KY $3,917
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,180 in Arlington, KY versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Arlington, KY $5,180
Phuket $2,845

Living in Arlington, KY is roughly 120% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Arlington, KY is 96% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.42 $18.42

$4.40 ฿147

318.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.1 $84.1

$32.26 ฿1,078

160.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.88 $11.88

$8.76 ฿293

35.62%

Cappuccino

$6.64 $6.64

$2.83 ฿94.5

134.63%

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

$2.83 $2.83

$0.90 ฿30.14

214.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 $2.39

$0.47 ฿15.56

408.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.89 $6.89

$2.55 ฿85.2

170.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.11 $8.11

$3.83 ฿128

111.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.77 $0.77

$1.73 ฿57.7

-55.49%

White Bread (500g)

$3.96 $3.96

$1.47 ฿49.11

169.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.05 $4.05

$1.51 ฿50.6

168.21%

Eggs

$4.29 $4.29

$2.17 ฿72.7

97.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 $12.87

$19.70 ฿658

-34.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.53 $14.53

$3.34 ฿112

335.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.27 $18.27

$11.16 ฿373

63.71%

Apples (1kg)

$5.82 $5.82

$2.85 ฿95.1

104.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 $1.53

$1.70 ฿56.9

-10.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.21 $4.21

$2.19 ฿73.3

92.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.87 $4.87

$2.05 ฿68.4

137.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 $1.99

$1.45 ฿48.57

37.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.24 $2.24

$1.38 ฿46.16

62.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.38 $2.38

$1.07 ฿35.69

122.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 $1.49

$0.51 ฿16.91

192.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.37 $9.37

$4.26 ฿142

119.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.88 $15.88

$18.58 ฿621

-14.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 $2.42

$1.78 ฿59.7

35.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.67 $4.67

$2.85 ฿95.2

63.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.99 $1.99

$2.26 ฿75.6

-11.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.89 $4.89

$3.01 ฿101

62.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.51 $1.51

$1.06 ฿35.34

42.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.90 $20.90

$3.86 ฿129

441.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 $1.05

$1.45 ฿48.45

-27.59%

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

$37.3K $37.3K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

41.77%

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

$26.9K $26.9K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-0.10%

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

$230 $230

$96.4 ฿3,221

138.69%

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

$74.5 $74.5

$11.04 ฿369

574.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$75.1 $75.1

$17.14 ฿573

338.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.90 $40.90

$52.2 ฿1,744

-21.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$15.19 $15.19

$7.81 ฿261

94.49%

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

$1,442 $1,442

$556 ฿18.6K

159.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.8K $30.8K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

166.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.3 $55.3

$64.2 ฿2,146

-13.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.53 $43.53

$28.69 ฿959

51.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.3 $92.3

$95.4 ฿3,187

-3.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 $139

$88.0 ฿2,940

58.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,617 $1,617

$737 ฿24.6K

119.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,282 $1,282

$462 ฿15.5K

177.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,513 $2,513

$2,095 ฿70.0K

19.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,161 $2,161

$1,201 ฿40.1K

79.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,807 $2,807

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-19.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,068 $2,068

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-18.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,051 $6,051

$501 ฿16.7K

1108.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

5.57

17.59%

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

Last update for Arlington, KY: October 20, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Arlington, KY

$1.3K 48.3%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 63.9% $820

Groceries & Markets

Arlington, KY

$417 15.7%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 35.6% $149

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arlington, KY

$380 14.3%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 67.2% $255

Eating Out

Arlington, KY

$334 12.6%

Phuket

$121 10% 63.7% $213

Clothing & Footwear

Arlington, KY

$149 5.6%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 16.3% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Arlington, KY

$71 2.7%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 4.9% $3.5

Getting Around

Arlington, KY

$20 * 0.8%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 93.1% $19

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,617 in Arlington, KY and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Arlington, KY pays 1109% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $84.0 in Arlington, KY vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $417 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Arlington, KY

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:22 12:22 AM

12:22 12:22 PM

12 h ahead of Arlington, KY

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

365,438

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Arlington, KY Phuket 14,990 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Arlington, KY
Phuket

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

Arlington, KY vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Arlington, KY and Phuket differ by about 120% in total monthly costs ($2,653 vs $1,208 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1109% higher in Arlington, KY, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,617 in Arlington, KY versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 55% higher in Arlington, KY. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,653 per month in Arlington, KY versus $1,208 in Phuket – a 120% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,653 in Arlington, KY, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Arlington, KY. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Arlington, KY and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 120% less than in Arlington, KY. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.