Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Burlington, VT and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,975 in Burlington, VT, rent and utilities included – about $20,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

144

Cost of Living Index in Burlington, VT
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Burlington, VT Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Burlington, VT

🇺🇸 United States

$2,975

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,975 in Burlington, VT versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Burlington, VT $2,975
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,040 in Burlington, VT versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Burlington, VT $4,040
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,106 in Burlington, VT versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Burlington, VT $5,106
Phuket $3,154

Living in Burlington, VT is roughly 133% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Burlington, VT is 119% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.16 $22.16

$4.47 ฿151

395.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.6 $79.6

$32.41 ฿1,094

145.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.86 $11.86

$8.81 ฿297

34.62%

Cappuccino

$5.28 $5.28

$2.83 ฿95.5

86.57%

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

$3.04 $3.04

$0.87 ฿29.43

249.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 $2.22

$0.49 ฿16.67

353.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.23 $8.23

$2.56 ฿86.4

221.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.63 $8.63

$3.68 ฿124

134.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 $1.26

$1.66 ฿56.0

-24.10%

White Bread (500g)

$4.60 $4.60

$1.46 ฿49.35

215.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.53 $5.53

$1.50 ฿50.6

268.67%

Eggs

$4.46 $4.46

$2.09 ฿70.5

113.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.00 $14.00

$19.07 ฿644

-26.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.08 $12.08

$3.30 ฿111

266.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.26 $13.26

$10.91 ฿368

21.54%

Apples (1kg)

$4.47 $4.47

$2.93 ฿99.0

52.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 $1.84

$1.69 ฿57.1

8.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.24 $2.24

$2.25 ฿75.8

-0.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.56 $6.56

$2.08 ฿70.1

215.38%

Potato (1kg)

$4.34 $4.34

$1.51 ฿51.0

187.42%

Onion (1kg)

$4.04 $4.04

$1.38 ฿46.56

192.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.91 $2.91

$1.07 ฿35.99

171.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 $1.03

$0.52 ฿17.52

98.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.49 $12.49

$4.20 ฿142

197.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.71 $12.71

$18.79 ฿634

-32.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 $1.71

$1.82 ฿61.5

-6.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 $2.06

$2.84 ฿95.9

-27.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.05 $2.05

$1.45 ฿49.03

41.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$51.0 $51.0

$56.7 ฿1,913

-10.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.65 $2.65

$3.02 ฿102

-12.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.77 $1.77

$1.02 ฿34.36

73.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.36 $28.36

$3.69 ฿125

668.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 $1.13

$1.47 ฿49.81

-23.13%

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

$27.8K $27.8K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

3.81%

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

$26.2K $26.2K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-1.96%

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

$194 $194

$96.4 ฿3,254

101.59%

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

$55.0 $55.0

$11.26 ฿380

388.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.5 $63.5

$16.85 ฿569

276.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.9 $71.9

$67.2 ฿2,270

6.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.77 $27.77

$10.73 ฿362

158.81%

Cinema Ticket

$11.89 $11.89

$7.50 ฿253

58.53%

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

$1,260 $1,260

$476 ฿16.1K

164.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K $12.2K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

8.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.2 $52.2

$62.4 ฿2,106

-16.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.54 $30.54

$28.41 ฿959

7.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.5 $54.5

$94.3 ฿3,184

-42.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 $91.4

$85.8 ฿2,898

6.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,158 $2,158

$716 ฿24.2K

201.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,638 $1,638

$491 ฿16.6K

233.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 $2,570

$1,927 ฿65.1K

33.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,110 $2,110

$1,431 ฿48.3K

47.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,948 $3,948

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-5.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,156 $3,156

$3,045 ฿102.8K

3.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,619 $4,619

$502 ฿17.0K

819.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.66

5.57

19.57%

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

Last update for Burlington, VT: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Burlington, VT

$1.6K 55.1%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 70% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Burlington, VT

$399 13.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 33.3% $133

Eating Out

Burlington, VT

$356 12%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 65.8% $234

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Burlington, VT

$313 10.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 60.2% $188

Clothing & Footwear

Burlington, VT

$103 3.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 18.5% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Burlington, VT

$96 3.2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 14% $13

Getting Around

Burlington, VT

$71 2.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 0.1% $0.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,158 in Burlington, VT and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Burlington, VT pays about 9.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $80 in Burlington, VT vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $399 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Burlington, VT

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

21:02 9:02 PM

08:02 8:02 AM

11 h ahead of Burlington, VT

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

44,743

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 29, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 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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Burlington, VT Phuket 14,130 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Burlington, VT
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

Burlington, VT vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 57% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Burlington, VT is about 9.2 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: $2,158 in Burlington, VT versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Burlington, VT runs roughly 10% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $1,260 in Burlington, VT versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,975 in Burlington, VT, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Burlington, VT. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Burlington, VT, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Burlington, VT on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.