Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Girardeau, MO and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,120 in Cape Girardeau, MO, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Cape Girardeau, MO
Learn more

Cape Girardeau, MO Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Girardeau, MO

🇺🇸 United States

$2,120

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,120 in Cape Girardeau, MO versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Cape Girardeau, MO $2,120
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,261 in Cape Girardeau, MO versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Cape Girardeau, MO $3,261
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,401 in Cape Girardeau, MO versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Cape Girardeau, MO $4,401
Phuket $3,154

Living in Cape Girardeau, MO is roughly 66% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Girardeau, MO is 56% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.74 $17.74

$4.47 ฿151

296.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.5 $56.5

$32.41 ฿1,094

74.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.79 $6.79

$8.81 ฿297

-22.93%

Cappuccino

$6.11 $6.11

$2.83 ฿95.4

115.90%

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

$2.62 $2.62

$0.87 ฿29.42

201.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 $1.80

$0.49 ฿16.66

267.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 $3.01

$2.56 ฿86.3

17.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.40 $7.40

$3.68 ฿124

101.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.66 ฿56.0

-40.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 $2.22

$1.46 ฿49.32

52.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$7.34 $7.34

$1.50 ฿50.5

389.33%

Eggs

$2.92 $2.92

$2.09 ฿70.5

39.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.15 $15.15

$19.07 ฿643

-20.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$18.68 $18.68

$3.30 ฿111

466.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.75 $24.75

$10.91 ฿368

126.86%

Apples (1kg)

$3.26 $3.26

$2.93 ฿98.9

11.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 $1.95

$1.69 ฿57.0

15.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$11.47 $11.47

$2.25 ฿75.8

409.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$8.96 $8.96

$2.08 ฿70.1

330.77%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 $2.16

$1.51 ฿51.0

43.05%

Onion (1kg)

$6.20 $6.20

$1.38 ฿46.54

349.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.91 $2.91

$1.07 ฿35.97

171.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.57 $2.57

$0.52 ฿17.51

394.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.68 $7.68

$4.20 ฿142

82.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.22 $12.22

$18.79 ฿634

-34.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 $1.76

$1.82 ฿61.5

-3.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.93 $7.93

$2.84 ฿95.9

179.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 $0.86

$1.47 ฿49.78

-41.50%

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

$27.9K $27.9K

$26.8K ฿903.7K

4.36%

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

$25.0K $25.0K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

-6.43%

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

$196 $196

$96.4 ฿3,252

103.92%

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

$42.68 $42.68

$11.26 ฿380

279.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$82.4 $82.4

$16.85 ฿569

388.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.14 $20.14

$67.2 ฿2,269

-70.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$14.82 $14.82

$7.50 ฿253

97.60%

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

$826 $826

$476 ฿16.1K

73.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.41 $44.41

$62.4 ฿2,105

-28.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.67 $40.67

$28.41 ฿959

43.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.2 $86.2

$94.3 ฿3,182

-8.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$39.27 $39.27

$85.8 ฿2,896

-54.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$798 $798

$716 ฿24.2K

11.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$856 $856

$491 ฿16.6K

74.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,578 $1,578

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-18.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,666 $1,666

$1,431 ฿48.3K

16.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,505 $1,505

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-63.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,520 $1,520

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-50.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,411 $2,411

$502 ฿17.0K

379.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

5.57

15.80%

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

Last update for Cape Girardeau, MO: 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

Cape Girardeau, MO

$856 40.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 42.6% $365

Groceries & Markets

Cape Girardeau, MO

$515 24.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 48.3% $249

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Girardeau, MO

$322 15.2%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 61.3% $197

Eating Out

Cape Girardeau, MO

$283 13.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 57% $161

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Girardeau, MO

$95 4.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 28.6% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Girardeau, MO

$50 2.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 65.2% $32

Getting Around

Cape Girardeau, MO

- * 0%

Phuket

$71 5.5%

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 $798 in Cape Girardeau, MO and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cape Girardeau, MO pays about 4.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $56 in Cape Girardeau, MO vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $515 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Cape Girardeau, MO

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

23:48 11:48 PM

12:48 12:48 PM

13 h ahead of Cape Girardeau, MO

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

37,941

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Girardeau, MO Phuket 14,920 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Girardeau, MO
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

Cape Girardeau, MO vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 40% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Cape Girardeau, MO is about 4.8 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: $798 in Cape Girardeau, MO versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 94% higher in Cape Girardeau, MO. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,120 per month in Cape Girardeau, MO versus $1,278 in Phuket – Phuket is about 40% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,120 in Cape Girardeau, MO, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Cape Girardeau, MO. 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.

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