Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Austin, TX and Phnom Penh

For one person, living is cheaper in Phnom Penh: $1,037 a month against $2,704 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Phnom Penh
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Phnom Penh Living Index

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Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,704

/mo nomad

Phnom Penh

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$1,037

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Austin, TX and in Phnom Penh

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,704 in Austin, TX versus $1,037 in Phnom Penh.

Austin, TX $2,704
Phnom Penh $1,037

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,133 in Austin, TX versus $1,654 in Phnom Penh.

Austin, TX $4,133
Phnom Penh $1,654

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,562 in Austin, TX versus $2,271 in Phnom Penh.

Austin, TX $5,562
Phnom Penh $2,271

Living in Austin, TX is roughly 161% more expensive than in Phnom Penh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Austin, TX is 102% above, Phnom Penh is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.22 $20.22

$4.08 ៛16.5K

395.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.0 $85.0

$39.62 ៛160.5K

114.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.35 $12.35

$6.91 ៛28.0K

78.73%

Cappuccino

$5.47 $5.47

$3.02 ៛12.2K

81.13%

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

$3.82 $3.82

$1.87 ៛7,572

104.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 $2.50

$0.61 ៛2,484

309.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.06 $8.06

$0.98 ៛3,964

722.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.99 $8.99

$2.94 ៛11.9K

205.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 $1.13

$2.17 ៛8,802

-47.93%

White Bread (500g)

$3.78 $3.78

$1.61 ៛6,506

134.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.25 $3.25

$1.07 ៛4,316

203.74%

Eggs

$4.14 $4.14

$1.73 ៛7,023

139.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.08 $13.08

$14.96 ៛60.6K

-12.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.31 $14.31

$4.07 ៛16.5K

251.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.96 $15.96

$9.25 ៛37.5K

72.54%

Apples (1kg)

$4.38 $4.38

$3.87 ៛15.7K

13.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.70 ៛6,879

-14.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.54 $4.54

$4.30 ៛17.4K

5.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.19 $4.19

$2.13 ៛8,646

96.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.63 $2.63

$1.62 ៛6,549

62.35%

Onion (1kg)

$2.36 $2.36

$1.28 ៛5,172

84.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.76 $1.76

$1.15 ៛4,656

53.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.16 $2.16

$0.77 ៛3,099

180.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.81 $9.81

$1.95 ៛7,883

403.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.72 $14.72

$11.20 ៛45.4K

31.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 $2.78

$1.03 ៛4,165

169.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 $3.48

$1.79 ៛7,263

94.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 $1.49

$0.47 ៛1,900

217.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.51 $40.51

$9.74 ៛39.4K

315.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.67 $2.67

$1.10 ៛4,455

142.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.58 $1.58

$0.98 ៛3,954

61.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.29 $35.29

$5.15 ៛20.9K

585.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 $0.99

$1.35 ៛5,484

-26.67%

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

$35.8K $35.8K

$35.5K ៛143.9M

0.75%

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

$27.2K $27.2K

$43.9K ៛177.6M

-38.03%

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

$219 $219

$106 ៛431.3K

105.91%

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

$58.0 $58.0

$7.39 ៛29.9K

684.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.4 $68.4

$25.24 ៛102.2K

170.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.9 $57.9

$40.80 ៛165.2K

41.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.82 $14.82

$10.94 ៛44.3K

35.47%

Cinema Ticket

$14.13 $14.13

$4.97 ៛20.1K

184.31%

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

$1,509 $1,509

$665 ៛2.7M

126.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.5K $21.5K

$11.0K ៛44.5M

95.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.7 $51.7

$27.67 ៛112.1K

86.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.05 $44.05

$24.26 ៛98.2K

81.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.1 $85.1

$89.8 ៛363.6K

-5.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 $105

$59.1 ៛239.3K

78.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,932 $1,932

$639 ៛2.6M

202.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,272 $1,272

$370 ៛1.5M

244.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,670 $3,670

$1,148 ៛4.7M

219.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 $2,525

$803 ៛3.3M

214.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,617 $7,617

$2,883 ៛11.7M

164.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,199 $3,199

$1,488 ៛6.0M

115.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,105 $5,105

$330 ៛1.3M

1445.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

8.07

-15.86%

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

Last update for Austin, TX: October 5, 2026

Last update for Phnom Penh: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Austin, TX

$1.3K 48.2%

Phnom Penh

$370 35.9% 71% $903

Groceries & Markets

Austin, TX

$403 15.3%

Phnom Penh

$252 24.5% 37.5% $151

Eating Out

Austin, TX

$348 13.2%

Phnom Penh

$110 10.7% 68.3% $238

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Austin, TX

$346 13.1%

Phnom Penh

$139 13.5% 59.7% $207

Clothing & Footwear

Austin, TX

$129 4.9%

Phnom Penh

$90 8.8% 29.8% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Austin, TX

$86 3.3%

Phnom Penh

$51 4.9% 41.1% $35

Getting Around

Austin, TX

$57 2.2%

Phnom Penh

$18 1.7% 69.1% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,932 in Austin, TX and $639 in Phnom Penh. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Austin, TX pays 1445% 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: $85.0 in Austin, TX vs $40.00 in Phnom Penh for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $403 vs $252 per month, with Phnom Penh cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🇰🇭 Phnom Penh

🕒 Local time

04:05 4:05 AM

16:05 4:05 PM

12 h ahead of Austin, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

974,447

2,009,264 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇰🇭 Cambodian Riel (៛)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4,050 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD). 1 EUR = 4,542 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

KHR to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Austin, TX Phnom Penh 14,770 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Austin, TX
Phnom Penh

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

Austin, TX vs Phnom Penh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phnom Penh wins on cost – living expenses run 161% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phnom Penh the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1445% higher in Austin, TX, 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: $1,932 in Austin, TX versus $639 in Phnom Penh. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,704 per month in Austin, TX versus $1,037 in Phnom Penh – a 161% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Phnom Penh runs roughly 316% less than in Austin, TX. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,037 in Phnom Penh versus $2,704 in Austin, TX, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phnom Penh but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Phnom Penh the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phnom Penh delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,037 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phnom Penh hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Austin, TX and Phnom Penh 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 Phnom Penh gentler on the wallet – expenses run 161% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.