Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Calgary and Philipsburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Calgary: $2,232 a month against $3,149 in Philipsburg, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Philipsburg outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

109

Cost of Living Index in Calgary
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Calgary Living Index
148

Cost of Living Index in Philipsburg
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Philipsburg Living Index

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Calgary

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,232

/mo nomad

Philipsburg

🇸🇽 Sint Maarten

$3,149

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Calgary and in Philipsburg

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,232 in Calgary versus $3,149 in Philipsburg.

Calgary $2,232
Philipsburg $3,149

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,363 in Calgary versus $6,004 in Philipsburg.

Calgary $3,363
Philipsburg $6,004

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,493 in Calgary versus $8,859 in Philipsburg.

Calgary $4,493
Philipsburg $8,859

Living in Calgary costs roughly 29% less than in Philipsburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Calgary 67% above, Philipsburg 135% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.22 CA$24.54

$15.49 ANG 27.73

11.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.2 CA$101

$70.8 ANG 127

0.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.56 CA$15.06

$8.04 ANG 14.39

31.34%

Cappuccino

$3.77 CA$5.38

$4.38 ANG 7.83

-13.93%

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

$1.91 CA$2.73

$2.90 ANG 5.19

-34.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 CA$2.63

$4.11 ANG 7.35

-55.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.86 CA$6.93

$2.97 ANG 5.31

63.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.55 CA$7.91

$6.55 ANG 11.72

-15.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 CA$2.68

$3.06 ANG 5.48

-38.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.73 CA$3.89

$2.64 ANG 4.72

3.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.34 CA$7.61

$2.53 ANG 4.53

111.07%

Eggs

$3.77 CA$5.37

$6.54 ANG 11.70

-42.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.29 CA$16.09

$18.69 ANG 33.46

-39.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.46 CA$16.34

$13.75 ANG 24.61

-16.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.26 CA$26.03

$14.89 ANG 26.66

22.63%

Apples (1kg)

$4.64 CA$6.62

$5.07 ANG 9.07

-8.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 CA$2.05

$5.07 ANG 9.08

-71.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.22 CA$6.02

$9.20 ANG 16.46

-54.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.86 CA$5.50

$7.58 ANG 13.57

-49.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.62 CA$3.74

$4.06 ANG 7.27

-35.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.66 CA$3.79

$4.04 ANG 7.22

-34.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.59 CA$3.69

$4.88 ANG 8.74

-46.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 CA$2.19

$1.34 ANG 2.40

14.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.26 CA$20.32

$8.16 ANG 14.61

74.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.27 CA$21.76

$10.82 ANG 19.37

41.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.41 CA$3.44

$5.13 ANG 9.19

-53.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 CA$4.41

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.88 CA$4.11

$2.26 ANG 4.05

27.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.7 CA$126

$1.47 ANG 2.63

5934.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.23 CA$4.61

$15.04 ANG 26.92

-78.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.38 CA$1.97

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.49 CA$37.75

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 CA$1.68

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

$28.3K CA$40.3K

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

$20.7K CA$29.5K

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

$159 CA$227

$152 ANG 271

5.12%

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

$37.61 CA$53.6

$32.40 ANG 58.0

16.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.68 CA$70.8

$65.8 ANG 118

-24.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 CA$75.9

$62.7 ANG 112

-15.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.31 CA$26.10

Cinema Ticket

$14.08 CA$20.06

$10.92 ANG 19.54

28.94%

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

$809 CA$1,154

$248 ANG 443

226.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.9K CA$22.6K

$12.0K ANG 21.4K

32.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.8 CA$83.8

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.84 CA$55.4

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.4 CA$130

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 CA$155

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,237 CA$1,764

$2,145 ANG 3,840

-42.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$996 CA$1,420

$1,994 ANG 3,570

-50.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,908 CA$2,720

$6,614 ANG 11.8K

-71.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 CA$2,382

$6,466 ANG 11.6K

-74.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,530 CA$5,032

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,336 CA$4,755

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,130 CA$4,461

$1,132 ANG 2,026

176.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.51

-9.80%

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

Last update for Calgary: October 3, 2026

Last update for Philipsburg: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Calgary

$996 44.8%

Philipsburg

$2K 64.2% 100% $998

Groceries & Markets

Calgary

$387 17.4%

Philipsburg

$496 * 16% 28.2% $109

Eating Out

Calgary

$265 11.9%

Philipsburg

$256 8.3% 3.3% $8.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Calgary

$247 11.1%

Philipsburg

$250 8% 1.3% $3.2

Clothing & Footwear

Calgary

$134 6%

Philipsburg

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

Calgary

$110 5%

Philipsburg

$26 * 0.8% 76.9% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Calgary

$81 3.7%

Philipsburg

$85 2.7% 3.9% $3.1

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 $1,237 in Calgary and $2,145 in Philipsburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Calgary pays 177% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $71.0 in Calgary vs $71.0 in Philipsburg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $387 vs $496 per month, with Calgary cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Calgary

🇸🇽 Philipsburg

🕒 Local time

05:15 5:15 AM

07:15 7:15 AM

2 h ahead of Calgary

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,267,344

1,900 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Netherlands Antillean Guilder ANG ƒ

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

1 ANG = 0.559 USD

1 ANG = 0.499 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ANG, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 EUR).

Netherlands Antillean Guilder exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 ANG (1 ANG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2.01 ANG (1 ANG = 0.499 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Calgary Philipsburg 5,770 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Calgary
Philipsburg

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

Calgary vs Philipsburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Calgary is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and leisure. The 41% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 177% higher in Calgary, 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: $1,237 in Calgary versus $2,145 in Philipsburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Calgary – a meal for two runs $71.0 versus $71.0 in Philipsburg. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,232 per month in Calgary versus $3,149 in Philipsburg – a 41% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,232 in Calgary versus $3,149 in Philipsburg, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Calgary but tight or insufficient in Philipsburg. The gap between the two cities makes Calgary 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 Calgary gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Philipsburg. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.