Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Calgary and St Thomas

For one person, living is cheaper in Calgary: $2,223 a month against $4,408 in St Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $26,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

109

Cost of Living Index in Calgary
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Calgary Living Index
213

Cost of Living Index in St Thomas
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St Thomas Living Index

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Calgary

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,223

/mo nomad

St Thomas

🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands

$4,408

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Calgary and in St Thomas

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 St Thomas actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Calgary versus $4,408 in St Thomas.

Calgary $2,223
St Thomas $4,408

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,301 in Calgary versus $7,220 in St Thomas.

Calgary $3,301
St Thomas $7,220

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,379 in Calgary versus $10.0K in St Thomas.

Calgary $4,379
St Thomas $10.0K

Living in Calgary costs roughly 50% less than in St Thomas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Calgary 65% above, St Thomas 227% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.22 CA$24.34

$22.30 $22.30

-22.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.1 CA$100

$170 $170

-58.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.53 CA$14.89

$13.55 $13.55

-22.29%

Cappuccino

$3.66 CA$5.18

$5.90 $5.90

-37.97%

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

$1.98 CA$2.80

$3.95 $3.95

-49.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 CA$2.74

$3.39 $3.39

-42.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.95 CA$7.00

$5.12 $5.12

-3.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.57 CA$7.87

$6.81 $6.81

-18.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 CA$2.65

$2.88 $2.88

-34.72%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 CA$3.78

$6.67 $6.67

-59.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.32 CA$7.52

$18.54 $18.54

-71.31%

Eggs

$3.79 CA$5.35

$8.87 $8.87

-57.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.09 CA$15.68

$11.12 $11.12

-0.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.36 CA$16.05

$28.44 $28.44

-60.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.40 CA$26.01

$39.72 $39.72

-53.68%

Apples (1kg)

$4.56 CA$6.45

$11.91 $11.91

-61.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 CA$2.04

$10.89 $10.89

-86.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.08 CA$5.76

$12.30 $12.30

-66.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.89 CA$5.50

$19.99 $19.99

-80.54%

Potato (1kg)

$2.64 CA$3.73

$1.95 $1.95

35.38%

Onion (1kg)

$2.64 CA$3.73

$8.76 $8.76

-69.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.50 CA$3.54

$8.18 $8.18

-69.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 CA$2.12

$5.39 $5.39

-72.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.05 CA$19.86

Wine (Bottle)

$15.70 CA$22.20

$24.57 $24.57

-36.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 CA$3.45

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 CA$4.37

$6.18 $6.18

-50.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.82 CA$3.99

$1.98 $1.98

42.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.6 CA$125

$60.7 $60.7

46.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 CA$4.41

$19.61 $19.61

-84.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.35 CA$1.91

$3.08 $3.08

-56.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.02 CA$38.20

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 CA$1.64

$1.39 $1.39

-16.55%

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

$27.9K CA$39.5K

$55.2K $55.2K

-49.43%

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

$20.3K CA$28.8K

$49.0K $49.0K

-58.46%

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

$161 CA$227

$451 $451

-64.33%

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

$38.13 CA$53.9

$100 $100

-62.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.0 CA$70.7

$151 $151

-66.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 CA$72.8

$164 $164

-68.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.14 CA$25.64

Cinema Ticket

$13.82 CA$19.54

$10.04 $10.04

37.65%

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

$786 CA$1,111

$1,487 $1,487

-47.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.5K CA$21.8K

$21.9K $21.9K

-29.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.3 CA$82.4

$113 $113

-48.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.27 CA$55.5

$148 $148

-73.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.8 CA$127

$202 $202

-55.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 CA$155

$151 $151

-27.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,229 CA$1,737

$1,586 $1,586

-22.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,001 CA$1,415

$1,827 $1,827

-45.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,921 CA$2,716

$3,187 $3,187

-39.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,621 CA$2,292

$4,229 $4,229

-61.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,549 CA$5,018

$4,896 $4,896

-27.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,335 CA$4,715

$10.9K $10.9K

-69.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,165 CA$4,474

$2,726 $2,726

16.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.51

9.45

-52.28%

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

Last update for Calgary: October 13, 2026

Last update for St Thomas: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Calgary

$1K 45%

St Thomas

$1.8K 41.5% 82.5% $826

Groceries & Markets

Calgary

$385 17.3%

St Thomas

$956 * 21.7% 148% $571

Eating Out

Calgary

$265 11.9%

St Thomas

$358 8.1% 35.3% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Calgary

$249 11.2%

St Thomas

$702 15.9% 182% $453

Clothing & Footwear

Calgary

$134 6%

St Thomas

$276 6.3% 107% $143

Getting Around

Calgary

$110 4.9%

St Thomas

$104 2.4% 5.7% $6.2

Sport & Entertainment

Calgary

$79 3.6%

St Thomas

$184 4.2% 133% $105

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 $1,229 in Calgary and $1,586 in St Thomas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Calgary pays 16% 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 $170 in St Thomas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $956 per month, with Calgary cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Calgary

🇻🇮 St Thomas

🕒 Local time

13:50 1:50 PM

15:50 3:50 PM

2 h ahead of Calgary

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,267,344

20,000

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Calgary St Thomas 5,620 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Calgary
St Thomas

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 St Thomas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Calgary is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 98% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 16% 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: $1,229 in Calgary versus $1,586 in St Thomas. 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 $170 in St Thomas. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,223 per month in Calgary versus $4,408 in St Thomas – a 98% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,223 in Calgary versus $4,408 in St Thomas, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Calgary but tight or insufficient in St Thomas. 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 98% less than in St Thomas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.