Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bakersfield, CA and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,855 in Bakersfield, CA, rent and utilities included – about $18,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in Bakersfield, CA
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Bakersfield, CA Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Bakersfield, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,855

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bakersfield, CA 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 Bakersfield, CA and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,855 in Bakersfield, CA versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Bakersfield, CA $2,855
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,902 in Bakersfield, CA versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Bakersfield, CA $3,902
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,949 in Bakersfield, CA versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Bakersfield, CA $4,949
Phuket $3,154

Living in Bakersfield, CA is roughly 123% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bakersfield, CA is 110% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.64 $18.64

$4.47 ฿151

317.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.8 $64.8

$32.41 ฿1,094

99.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.10 $14.10

$8.81 ฿297

60.05%

Cappuccino

$5.74 $5.74

$2.83 ฿95.5

102.83%

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

$2.73 $2.73

$0.87 ฿29.43

213.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 $2.01

$0.49 ฿16.67

310.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.90 $5.90

$2.56 ฿86.4

130.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.81 $5.81

$3.68 ฿124

57.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.09 $1.09

$1.66 ฿56.0

-34.34%

White Bread (500g)

$4.16 $4.16

$1.46 ฿49.35

184.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.07 $5.07

$1.50 ฿50.6

238.00%

Eggs

$3.29 $3.29

$2.09 ฿70.5

57.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.75 $12.75

$19.07 ฿644

-33.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.34 $13.34

$3.30 ฿111

304.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.93 $15.93

$10.91 ฿368

46.01%

Apples (1kg)

$4.16 $4.16

$2.93 ฿99.0

41.98%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 $2.04

$1.69 ฿57.1

20.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.95 $3.95

$2.25 ฿75.8

75.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.79 $3.79

$2.08 ฿70.1

82.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.14 $2.14

$1.51 ฿51.0

41.72%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 $2.42

$1.38 ฿46.56

75.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.12 $2.12

$1.07 ฿35.99

98.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.48 $2.48

$0.52 ฿17.52

376.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.59 $11.59

$4.20 ฿142

175.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.80 $17.80

$18.79 ฿634

-5.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 $1.97

$1.82 ฿61.5

8.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.79 $4.79

$2.84 ฿95.9

68.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.62 $1.62

$1.45 ฿49.03

11.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$58.1 $58.1

$56.7 ฿1,913

2.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 $3.03

$3.02 ฿102

0.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 $2.07

$1.02 ฿34.36

102.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 $1.52

$1.47 ฿49.81

3.40%

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

$27.5K $27.5K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

2.69%

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

$27.2K $27.2K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

1.72%

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

$390 $390

$96.4 ฿3,254

305.19%

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

$59.4 $59.4

$11.26 ฿380

427.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$74.9 $74.9

$16.85 ฿569

344.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.71 $32.71

$67.2 ฿2,270

-51.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 $24.81

$10.73 ฿362

131.22%

Cinema Ticket

$15.11 $15.11

$7.50 ฿253

101.47%

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

$1,501 $1,501

$476 ฿16.1K

215.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.9 $59.9

$62.4 ฿2,106

-3.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.66 $47.66

$28.41 ฿959

67.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.9 $98.9

$94.3 ฿3,184

4.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 $120

$85.8 ฿2,898

40.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,536 $1,536

$716 ฿24.2K

114.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,311 $1,311

$491 ฿16.6K

167.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,828 $1,828

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-5.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,834 $1,834

$1,431 ฿48.3K

28.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,742 $2,742

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-34.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,430 $2,430

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-20.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,743 $3,743

$502 ฿17.0K

645.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

5.57

15.44%

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

Last update for Bakersfield, CA: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bakersfield, CA

$1.3K 45.9%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 62.6% $820

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bakersfield, CA

$525 18.4%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 76.3% $400

Groceries & Markets

Bakersfield, CA

$411 14.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 35.2% $145

Eating Out

Bakersfield, CA

$320 11.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 62% $199

Clothing & Footwear

Bakersfield, CA

$147 5.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 17.1% $25

Getting Around

Bakersfield, CA

$78 2.7%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 9.5% $7.4

Sport & Entertainment

Bakersfield, CA

$63 2.2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 30.7% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,536 in Bakersfield, CA and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bakersfield, CA pays about 7.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $65 in Bakersfield, CA vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $411 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Bakersfield, CA

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

11:03 11:03 AM

01:03 1:03 AM

14 h ahead of Bakersfield, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

373,640

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

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Bakersfield, CA Phuket 13,810 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Bakersfield, CA
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

Bakersfield, CA vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. The 123% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Bakersfield, CA is about 7.5 times higher, 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: $1,536 in Bakersfield, CA versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $65 in Bakersfield, CA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,855 per month in Bakersfield, CA versus $1,278 in Phuket – a 123% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,855 in Bakersfield, CA, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Bakersfield, CA. 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.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Bakersfield, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.