Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Columbia, MO and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,049 in Columbia, MO, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Columbia, MO
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Columbia, MO Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Columbia, MO

🇺🇸 United States

$2,049

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,049 in Columbia, MO versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Columbia, MO $2,049
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,865 in Columbia, MO versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Columbia, MO $2,865
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,682 in Columbia, MO versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Columbia, MO $3,682
Phuket $2,867

Living in Columbia, MO is roughly 70% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Columbia, MO is 51% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.12 $16.12

$4.40 ฿147

266.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.2 $73.2

$32.26 ฿1,078

126.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.84 $11.84

$8.76 ฿293

35.16%

Cappuccino

$4.72 $4.72

$2.83 ฿94.5

66.78%

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

$2.47 $2.47

$0.90 ฿30.14

174.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 $2.16

$0.47 ฿15.56

359.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.07 $5.07

$2.55 ฿85.2

98.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 $5.56

$3.83 ฿128

45.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.09 $1.09

$1.73 ฿57.7

-36.99%

White Bread (500g)

$2.80 $2.80

$1.47 ฿49.11

90.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.33 $4.33

$1.51 ฿50.6

186.75%

Eggs

$3.40 $3.40

$2.17 ฿72.7

56.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.34 $11.34

$19.70 ฿658

-42.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.01 $12.01

$3.34 ฿112

259.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.16 $14.16

$11.16 ฿373

26.88%

Apples (1kg)

$4.06 $4.06

$2.85 ฿95.1

42.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 $1.91

$1.70 ฿56.9

12.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.47 $4.47

$2.19 ฿73.3

104.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.57 $4.57

$2.05 ฿68.4

122.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.85 $2.85

$1.45 ฿48.57

96.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.59 $2.59

$1.38 ฿46.16

87.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.66 $1.66

$1.07 ฿35.69

55.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 $2.04

$0.51 ฿16.91

300.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.01 $8.01

$4.26 ฿142

88.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.74 $16.74

$18.58 ฿621

-9.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 $1.96

$1.78 ฿59.7

10.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 $2.36

$2.85 ฿95.2

-17.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 $4.76

$3.01 ฿101

58.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 $1.01

$1.06 ฿35.34

-4.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.83 $22.83

$3.86 ฿129

491.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 $1.05

$1.45 ฿48.45

-27.59%

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

$35.7K $35.7K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

35.68%

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

$26.0K $26.0K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-3.36%

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

$179 $179

$96.4 ฿3,221

85.81%

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

$46.85 $46.85

$11.04 ฿369

324.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.6 $57.6

$17.14 ฿573

235.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.12 $30.12

$52.2 ฿1,744

-42.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.35 $23.35

$11.16 ฿373

109.23%

Cinema Ticket

$12.91 $12.91

$7.81 ฿261

65.30%

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

$1,185 $1,185

$556 ฿18.6K

113.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K $12.9K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

11.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.26 $48.26

$64.2 ฿2,146

-24.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.10 $33.10

$28.69 ฿959

15.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.2 $94.2

$95.4 ฿3,187

-1.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.3 $86.3

$88.0 ฿2,940

-1.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,221 $1,221

$737 ฿24.6K

65.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$934 $934

$462 ฿15.5K

101.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,814 $1,814

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-13.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 $1,170

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-2.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,061 $2,061

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-40.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,877 $1,877

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-25.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,084 $4,084

$501 ฿16.7K

715.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.54

5.57

17.41%

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

Last update for Columbia, MO: October 20, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Columbia, MO

$934 45.6%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 50.5% $471

Groceries & Markets

Columbia, MO

$372 18.1%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 27.7% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Columbia, MO

$284 13.8%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 56.1% $159

Eating Out

Columbia, MO

$276 13.5%

Phuket

$121 10% 56.1% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Columbia, MO

$118 5.8%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 5.5% $6.5

Sport & Entertainment

Columbia, MO

$56 2.7%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 21.2% $12

Getting Around

Columbia, MO

$9.8 * 0.5%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 303% $30

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 $1,221 in Columbia, MO and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Columbia, MO pays 728% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $73.0 in Columbia, MO vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $372 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Columbia, MO

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:59 4:59 AM

16:59 4:59 PM

12 h ahead of Columbia, MO

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

139,698

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

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Columbia, MO Phuket 14,690 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Columbia, 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

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

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 70% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 728% higher in Columbia, MO, 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: $1,221 in Columbia, MO versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,185 in Columbia, MO versus $558 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 $32.00 versus $73.0 in Columbia, MO. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,049 in Columbia, MO, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Columbia, MO. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Columbia, MO, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Columbia, MO 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Columbia, MO. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.