Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Basra and Rayong

For one person, living is cheaper in Basra: $664 a month against $940 in Rayong, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Basra
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Basra Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Rayong
Learn more

Rayong Living Index

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Basra

🇮🇶 Iraq

$664

/mo nomad

Rayong

🇹🇭 Thailand

$940

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Basra and in Rayong

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $664 in Basra versus $940 in Rayong.

Basra $664
Rayong $940

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,194 in Basra versus $1,192 in Rayong.

Basra $1,194
Rayong $1,192

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,725 in Basra versus $1,444 in Rayong.

Basra $1,725
Rayong $1,444

Living in Basra costs roughly 29% less than in Rayong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Basra 51% lower, Rayong 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.88 IQD 5,859

$2.99 ฿101

29.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.91 IQD 40.7K

$17.80 ฿601

51.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.70 IQD 10.1K

$7.53 ฿254

-11.02%

Cappuccino

$2.29 IQD 3,462

$1.68 ฿56.7

36.31%

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

$0.38 IQD 568

$0.52 ฿17.43

-26.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 IQD 458

$0.28 ฿9.49

7.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 IQD 4,951

$1.74 ฿58.9

88.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 IQD 5,541

$3.01 ฿102

21.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.99 IQD 1,502

$1.90 ฿64.3

-47.89%

White Bread (500g)

$0.61 IQD 920

$1.32 ฿44.47

-53.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 IQD 1,833

$1.40 ฿47.31

-13.57%

Eggs

$1.60 IQD 2,417

$2.48 ฿83.8

-35.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.32 IQD 9,552

$17.25 ฿582

-63.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.40 IQD 8,161

$2.86 ฿96.4

88.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.12 IQD 18.3K

$13.00 ฿439

-6.77%

Apples (1kg)

$0.84 IQD 1,265

$3.29 ฿111

-74.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 IQD 1,784

$1.73 ฿58.6

-31.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.85 IQD 1,285

$2.26 ฿76.5

-62.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.55 IQD 834

$1.88 ฿63.6

-70.74%

Potato (1kg)

$0.64 IQD 960

$1.69 ฿57.1

-62.13%

Onion (1kg)

$0.54 IQD 813

$1.48 ฿49.95

-63.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.80 IQD 1,211

$1.28 ฿43.09

-37.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.34 IQD 512

$0.48 ฿16.15

-29.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.80 IQD 2,725

$4.76 ฿161

-62.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.21 IQD 16.9K

$14.72 ฿497

-23.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 IQD 2,383

$1.77 ฿59.8

-10.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 IQD 2,755

$3.26 ฿110

-44.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 IQD 789

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.41 IQD 24.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.93 IQD 2,923

$1.06 ฿35.92

82.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.95 IQD 2,948

$1.20 ฿40.50

62.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.34 IQD 9,576

$6.09 ฿206

4.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.56 IQD 841

$1.40 ฿47.17

-60.00%

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

$11.4K IQD 17.3M

$30.6K ฿1.0M

-62.68%

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

$19.6K IQD 29.7M

$26.5K ฿893.2K

-25.75%

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

$43.92 IQD 66.4K

$44.92 ฿1,517

-2.23%

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

$22.28 IQD 33.7K

$14.62 ฿494

52.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.60 IQD 50.8K

$11.77 ฿397

185.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.84 IQD 48.1K

$67.2 ฿2,270

-52.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.99 IQD 18.1K

$17.41 ฿588

-31.13%

Cinema Ticket

$6.56 IQD 9,906

$6.63 ฿224

-1.06%

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

$109 IQD 165.2K

$788 ฿26.6K

-86.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,237 IQD 4.9M

$16.5K ฿556.9K

-80.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.57 IQD 65.8K

$69.4 ฿2,343

-37.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.35 IQD 26.2K

$43.09 ฿1,455

-59.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.7 IQD 103.8K

$98.1 ฿3,313

-29.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$35.89 IQD 54.2K

$103 ฿3,479

-65.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$405 IQD 611.7K

$421 ฿14.2K

-3.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$138 IQD 208.3K

$293 ฿9,911

-53.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$369 IQD 558.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$548 IQD 828.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,403 IQD 2.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$707 IQD 1.1M

$1,999 ฿67.5K

-64.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$667 IQD 1.0M

$460 ฿15.5K

45.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.12

5.25

-21.52%

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

Last update for Basra: October 24, 2026

Last update for Rayong: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Basra

$171 25.8%

Rayong

$262 27.9% 52.9% $91

Accommodation & Living

Basra

$138 20.8%

Rayong

$293 31.2% 113% $156

Eating Out

Basra

$105 15.8%

Rayong

$85 9% 19.5% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Basra

$100 15%

Rayong

$71 7.6% 28.5% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Basra

$74 11.2%

Rayong

$141 15% 89.5% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Basra

$45 6.8%

Rayong

$80 8.6% 79% $36

Getting Around

Basra

$30 4.6%

Rayong

$7.1 * 0.8% 76.6% $23

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 $405 in Basra and $421 in Rayong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Basra pays 45% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $27 in Basra vs $18 in Rayong. Groceries flip the comparison at $171 vs $262, with Basra cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Basra

🇹🇭 Rayong

🕒 Local time

15:36 3:36 PM

19:36 7:36 PM

4 h ahead of Basra

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,150,000

63,565

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to IQD – Iraqi Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇶 Iraqi Dinar (ع.د)

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,682 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to IQD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Basra Rayong 5,810 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Basra
Rayong

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

Basra vs Rayong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Basra and Rayong differ by about 42% in total monthly costs ($664 vs $940 including rent). Basra is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 45% higher in Basra, 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: $405 in Basra versus $421 in Rayong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $109 in Basra versus $788 in Rayong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Rayong – a meal for two runs $18 versus $27 in Basra. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Basra gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.