Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Celaya and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Celaya: $921 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Celaya
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Celaya Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Celaya

🇲🇽 Mexico

$921

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $921 in Celaya versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Celaya $921
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,452 in Celaya versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Celaya $1,452
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,982 in Celaya versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Celaya $1,982
Phuket $2,867

Living in Celaya costs roughly 24% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Celaya 32% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.49 MX$231

$4.58 ฿153

172.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.05 MX$814

$32.48 ฿1,086

35.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.21 MX$133

$8.55 ฿286

-15.67%

Cappuccino

$3.37 MX$62.3

$2.72 ฿91.0

23.90%

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

$1.23 MX$22.76

$0.94 ฿31.25

30.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$19.84

$0.49 ฿16.39

118.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.59 ฿86.6

-17.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.36 MX$62.1

$3.83 ฿128

-12.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.70

$1.74 ฿58.1

-17.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.26 MX$41.83

$1.43 ฿47.82

58.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.29

$1.53 ฿51.0

-3.27%

Eggs

$2.15 MX$39.71

$2.17 ฿72.7

-0.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.93 MX$147

$19.15 ฿640

-58.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.40 MX$155

$3.30 ฿110

154.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.30 MX$209

$11.14 ฿372

1.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 MX$42.37

$2.95 ฿98.5

-22.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.12 MX$20.63

$1.68 ฿56.1

-33.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 MX$28.53

$2.30 ฿76.8

-33.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.08 MX$19.91

$2.13 ฿71.3

-49.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.56 MX$28.74

$1.53 ฿51.1

1.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.39 MX$25.67

$1.36 ฿45.55

2.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.98 MX$18.12

$1.12 ฿37.44

-12.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 MX$14.87

$0.55 ฿18.24

45.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.33 MX$80.0

$4.26 ฿142

1.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.72 MX$161

$18.19 ฿608

-52.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 MX$33.89

$1.74 ฿58.2

5.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 MX$62.9

$2.79 ฿93.3

21.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 MX$11.61

$2.22 ฿74.1

-71.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.70 MX$512

$22.06 ฿737

25.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 MX$22.14

$2.91 ฿97.3

-58.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 MX$20.95

$1.01 ฿33.79

11.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.77 MX$199

$3.83 ฿128

181.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 MX$26.33

$1.49 ฿49.85

-4.03%

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

$21.5K MX$398.1K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

-19.24%

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

$24.0K MX$444.0K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-10.04%

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

$37.60 MX$695

$99.4 ฿3,321

-62.16%

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

$19.37 MX$358

$11.28 ฿377

71.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.55 MX$361

$17.36 ฿580

12.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.06 MX$611

$52.3 ฿1,747

-36.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.48 MX$508

$10.85 ฿362

153.27%

Cinema Ticket

$5.13 MX$94.7

$7.57 ฿253

-32.23%

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

$210 MX$3,873

$558 ฿18.7K

-62.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,882 MX$53.3K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-74.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 MX$1,019

$62.9 ฿2,102

-12.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.02 MX$703

$28.58 ฿955

33.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 MX$1,897

$96.1 ฿3,213

6.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.9 MX$1,310

$88.1 ฿2,943

-19.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$248 MX$4,588

$729 ฿24.4K

-65.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$220 MX$4,072

$460 ฿15.4K

-52.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$390 MX$7,208

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-81.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$283 MX$5,231

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-76.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$817 MX$15.1K

$493 ฿16.5K

65.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.2

5.57

101.08%

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

Last update for Celaya: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Celaya

$235 25.6%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 13.6% $32

Accommodation & Living

Celaya

$220 23.9%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 109% $240

Eating Out

Celaya

$189 20.5%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 35.7% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Celaya

$120 13%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 3.4% $4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Celaya

$77 8.3%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 67.3% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Celaya

$43 4.7%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 55.7% $24

Getting Around

Celaya

$37 4%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 4.9% $1.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $248 in Celaya and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Celaya pays 66% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44.00 in Celaya vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $235 vs $268, with Celaya cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Celaya

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

19:55 7:55 PM

08:55 8:55 AM

13 h ahead of Celaya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

378,143

79,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Celaya Phuket 16,220 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Celaya
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

Celaya vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Celaya and Phuket differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($921 vs $1,207 including rent). Celaya is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 66% higher in Celaya, 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: $248 in Celaya versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Celaya – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $921 per month in Celaya versus $1,207 in Phuket – a 31% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $921 in Celaya versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Celaya but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Celaya 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.

Safety-wise, Celaya and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Celaya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.