Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between College Station, TX and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,165 in College Station, TX, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

104

Cost of Living Index in College Station, TX
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College Station, TX Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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College Station, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,165

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,165 in College Station, TX versus $1,278 in Phuket.

College Station, TX $2,165
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,186 in College Station, TX versus $2,216 in Phuket.

College Station, TX $3,186
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,206 in College Station, TX versus $3,154 in Phuket.

College Station, TX $4,206
Phuket $3,154

Living in College Station, TX is roughly 69% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: College Station, TX is 59% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.78 $14.78

$4.47 ฿151

230.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.5 $78.5

$32.41 ฿1,094

142.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 $11.92

$8.81 ฿297

35.30%

Cappuccino

$5.61 $5.61

$2.83 ฿95.4

98.23%

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

$2.81 $2.81

$0.87 ฿29.42

222.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 $1.80

$0.49 ฿16.66

267.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.88 $4.88

$2.56 ฿86.3

90.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.72 $7.72

$3.68 ฿124

109.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.82 $0.82

$1.66 ฿56.0

-50.60%

White Bread (500g)

$3.31 $3.31

$1.46 ฿49.32

126.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.80 $3.80

$1.50 ฿50.5

153.33%

Eggs

$2.90 $2.90

$2.09 ฿70.5

38.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.18 $12.18

$19.07 ฿643

-36.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.34 $9.34

$3.30 ฿111

183.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.01 $13.01

$10.91 ฿368

19.25%

Apples (1kg)

$6.32 $6.32

$2.93 ฿98.9

115.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 $1.56

$1.69 ฿57.0

-7.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.46 $6.46

$2.25 ฿75.8

187.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.78 $4.78

$2.08 ฿70.1

129.81%

Potato (1kg)

$3.99 $3.99

$1.51 ฿51.0

164.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.97 $2.97

$1.38 ฿46.54

115.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.83 $1.83

$1.07 ฿35.97

71.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 $1.86

$0.52 ฿17.51

257.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.96 $9.96

$4.20 ฿142

137.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.17 $14.17

$18.79 ฿634

-24.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 $1.77

$1.82 ฿61.5

-2.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.90 $3.90

$2.84 ฿95.9

37.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.03 $1.03

$1.45 ฿49.00

-28.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.74 $45.74

$56.7 ฿1,912

-19.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.98 $9.98

$3.02 ฿102

230.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.82 $1.82

$1.02 ฿34.34

78.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$58.9 $58.9

$3.69 ฿125

1495.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.97 $0.97

$1.47 ฿49.78

-34.01%

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

$26.7K $26.7K

$26.8K ฿903.7K

-0.39%

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

$25.7K $25.7K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

-3.62%

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

$179 $179

$96.4 ฿3,252

85.39%

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

$39.26 $39.26

$11.26 ฿380

248.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 $55.7

$16.85 ฿569

230.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.49 $24.49

$67.2 ฿2,269

-63.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.46 $17.46

$10.73 ฿362

62.72%

Cinema Ticket

$10.97 $10.97

$7.50 ฿253

46.27%

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

$740 $740

$476 ฿16.1K

55.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.9K $17.9K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

58.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.9 $59.9

$62.4 ฿2,105

-3.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.65 $38.65

$28.41 ฿959

36.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.9 $84.9

$94.3 ฿3,182

-9.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 $121

$85.8 ฿2,896

41.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,267 $1,267

$716 ฿24.2K

76.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$986 $986

$491 ฿16.6K

100.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,848 $1,848

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-4.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,531 $1,531

$1,431 ฿48.3K

7.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,392 $2,392

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-42.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,994 $1,994

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-34.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,377 $4,377

$502 ฿17.0K

771.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.57

5.57

17.95%

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

Last update for College Station, TX: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

College Station, TX

$986 45.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 50.2% $495

Groceries & Markets

College Station, TX

$374 17.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 28.7% $107

Eating Out

College Station, TX

$280 12.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 56.5% $158

Monthly Utilities & Internet

College Station, TX

$274 12.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 54.5% $149

Clothing & Footwear

College Station, TX

$137 6.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 11.1% $15

Getting Around

College Station, TX

$69 3.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 2.4% $1.6

Sport & Entertainment

College Station, TX

$46 2.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 77.1% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,267 in College Station, TX and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

College Station, TX pays about 8.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $79 in College Station, TX vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $374 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 College Station, TX

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

20:38 8:38 PM

09:38 9:38 AM

13 h ahead of College Station, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

120,511

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 →

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Between locations

College Station, TX Phuket 15,450 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

College Station, TX
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

College Station, TX vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 41% lower than in College Station, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in College Station, TX is about 8.7 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: $1,267 in College Station, TX versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in College Station, TX runs roughly 19% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $740 in College Station, TX versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,165 in College Station, TX, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in College Station, TX. 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, College Station, TX on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.