Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cayey and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $2,156 in Cayey, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Cayey
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Cayey Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Cayey

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$2,156

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,156 in Cayey versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Cayey $2,156
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,430 in Cayey versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Cayey $3,430
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,704 in Cayey versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Cayey $4,704
Phuket $3,115

Living in Cayey is roughly 67% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cayey is 59% above, Phuket is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.05 $19.05

$4.39 ฿148

333.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.6 $83.6

$32.31 ฿1,086

158.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.04 $9.04

$8.70 ฿293

3.91%

Cappuccino

$3.52 $3.52

$2.72 ฿91.6

29.41%

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

$1.83 $1.83

$0.93 ฿31.28

96.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 $1.49

$0.50 ฿16.79

198.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 $2.98

$2.53 ฿85.1

17.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.12 $5.12

$3.63 ฿122

41.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.19 $2.19

$1.74 ฿58.5

25.86%

White Bread (500g)

$3.61 $3.61

$1.45 ฿48.77

148.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 $2.35

$1.50 ฿50.5

56.67%

Eggs

$7.33 $7.33

$2.17 ฿73.0

237.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.51 $12.51

$19.09 ฿642

-34.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.59 $9.59

$3.40 ฿114

182.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.27 $13.27

$10.90 ฿366

21.74%

Apples (1kg)

$5.09 $5.09

$2.94 ฿98.9

73.13%

Banana (1kg)

$2.65 $2.65

$1.69 ฿56.9

56.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.79 $4.79

$2.19 ฿73.8

118.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.88 $4.88

$2.12 ฿71.4

130.19%

Potato (1kg)

$3.73 $3.73

$1.46 ฿49.03

155.48%

Onion (1kg)

$4.04 $4.04

$1.37 ฿45.99

194.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.37 $3.37

$1.08 ฿36.17

212.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.57 $1.57

$0.55 ฿18.34

185.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.22 $12.22

$4.43 ฿149

175.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.40 $15.40

$18.25 ฿614

-15.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.13 $3.13

$1.77 ฿59.6

76.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 $3.96

$2.88 ฿96.8

37.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.66

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,845

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.55 $2.55

$1.51 ฿50.9

68.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 $1.52

$0.78 ฿26.08

94.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.65 $41.65

$3.84 ฿129

984.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.49 ฿50.0

-31.54%

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

$35.0K $35.0K

$26.9K ฿903.7K

30.12%

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

$27.6K $27.6K

$26.3K ฿885.7K

4.70%

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

$318 $318

$97.8 ฿3,288

225.35%

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

$70.5 $70.5

$11.29 ฿380

524.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.7 $69.7

$17.19 ฿578

305.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.63 $40.63

$68.3 ฿2,297

-40.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

Cinema Ticket

$10.09 $10.09

$7.43 ฿250

35.80%

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

$812 $812

$530 ฿17.8K

53.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K $12.5K

$18.8K ฿631.4K

-33.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.0 $57.0

$61.7 ฿2,073

-7.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.8 $60.8

$28.25 ฿950

115.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 $108

$96.0 ฿3,228

12.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 $113

$86.8 ฿2,919

30.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,215 $1,215

$721 ฿24.2K

68.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$801 $801

$509 ฿17.1K

57.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,414 $2,414

$1,950 ฿65.6K

23.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,784 $1,784

$1,397 ฿47.0K

27.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,643 $3,643

$492 ฿16.5K

641.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

5.57

17.59%

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

Last update for Cayey: November 1, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cayey

$801 37.2%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 36.5% $292

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cayey

$458 21.3%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 72.4% $332

Groceries & Markets

Cayey

$413 19.2%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 35.4% $146

Eating Out

Cayey

$260 12.1%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 54.1% $141

Clothing & Footwear

Cayey

$153 7.1%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 19.5% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Cayey

$61 2.8%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 36.8% $22

Getting Around

Cayey

$10 * 0.5%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 552% $56

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 $1,215 in Cayey and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cayey pays about 7.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $84 in Cayey vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $413 vs $267 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇷 Cayey

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:30 4:30 PM

03:30 3:30 AM

11 h ahead of Cayey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,999

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.888 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 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 4, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.13 USD (1 USD = 0.888 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.85 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cayey Phuket 16,660 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Cayey
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

Cayey vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,156 in Cayey and $1,294 in Phuket, so Phuket is about 40% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Cayey is about 7.4 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: $1,215 in Cayey versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $812 in Cayey versus $530 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $84 in Cayey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $2,156 in Cayey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Cayey. 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, Cayey on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.