Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Covington, LA and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,657 in Covington, LA, rent and utilities included – about $17,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Covington, LA
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Covington, LA Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Covington, LA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,657

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,657 in Covington, LA versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Covington, LA $2,657
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,774 in Covington, LA versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Covington, LA $3,774
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,890 in Covington, LA versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Covington, LA $4,890
Phuket $2,845

Living in Covington, LA is roughly 120% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Covington, LA is 96% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.71 $18.71

$4.40 ฿147

325.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.6 $55.6

$32.26 ฿1,078

72.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.85 $11.85

$8.76 ฿293

35.27%

Cappuccino

$3.10 $3.10

$2.83 ฿94.5

9.54%

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

$1.79 $1.79

$0.90 ฿30.14

98.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 $1.42

$0.47 ฿15.56

202.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.02 $4.02

$2.55 ฿85.2

57.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 $5.23

$3.83 ฿128

36.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.88 $0.88

$1.73 ฿57.7

-49.13%

White Bread (500g)

$3.47 $3.47

$1.47 ฿49.11

136.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.72 $2.72

$1.51 ฿50.6

80.13%

Eggs

$3.25 $3.25

$2.17 ฿72.7

49.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.07 $5.07

$19.70 ฿658

-74.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.27 $7.27

$3.34 ฿112

117.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.76 $13.76

$11.16 ฿373

23.30%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 $4.13

$2.85 ฿95.1

44.91%

Banana (1kg)

$0.80 $0.80

$1.70 ฿56.9

-52.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 $2.60

$2.19 ฿73.3

18.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.17 $4.17

$2.05 ฿68.4

103.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.64 $2.64

$1.45 ฿48.57

82.07%

Onion (1kg)

$2.69 $2.69

$1.38 ฿46.16

94.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.11 $2.11

$1.07 ฿35.69

97.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 $2.20

$0.51 ฿16.91

331.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.00 $9.00

$4.26 ฿142

111.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.12 $15.12

$18.58 ฿621

-18.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 $1.94

$1.78 ฿59.7

8.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 $3.91

$2.85 ฿95.2

37.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.55 $2.55

$3.01 ฿101

-15.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 $1.59

$1.06 ฿35.34

50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.85 $25.85

$3.86 ฿129

569.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 $1.00

$1.45 ฿48.45

-31.03%

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

$36.8K $36.8K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

39.96%

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

$26.0K $26.0K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-3.37%

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

$302 $302

$96.4 ฿3,221

213.61%

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

$50.3 $50.3

$11.04 ฿369

355.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.7 $70.7

$17.14 ฿573

312.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.8 $64.8

$52.2 ฿1,744

24.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$10.33 $10.33

$7.81 ฿261

32.27%

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

$613 $613

$556 ฿18.6K

10.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K $14.0K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

20.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.59 $46.59

$64.2 ฿2,146

-27.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.91 $39.91

$28.69 ฿959

39.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.6 $83.6

$95.4 ฿3,187

-12.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.7 $96.7

$88.0 ฿2,940

9.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,693 $1,693

$737 ฿24.6K

129.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,440 $1,440

$462 ฿15.5K

211.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,233 $3,233

$2,095 ฿70.0K

54.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,433 $2,433

$1,201 ฿40.1K

102.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,853 $6,853

$3,488 ฿116.6K

96.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,051 $4,051

$2,523 ฿84.3K

60.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,813 $4,813

$501 ฿16.7K

861.33%

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 Covington, LA: October 18, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Covington, LA

$1.4K 54.2%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 67.9% $977

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Covington, LA

$423 15.9%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 70.6% $299

Groceries & Markets

Covington, LA

$313 11.8%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 14.1% $44

Eating Out

Covington, LA

$266 10%

Phuket

$121 10% 54.4% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Covington, LA

$120 4.5%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 3.5% $4.3

Sport & Entertainment

Covington, LA

$85 3.2%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 20.6% $18

Getting Around

Covington, LA

$10 * 0.4%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 276% $29

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 $1,693 in Covington, LA and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Covington, LA pays 861% 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: $56.0 in Covington, LA vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $313 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Covington, LA

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

05:16 5:16 AM

17:16 5:16 PM

12 h ahead of Covington, LA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,870

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 22, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 22, 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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Covington, LA Phuket 15,650 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Covington, LA
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

Covington, LA vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 120% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 861% higher in Covington, LA, 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: $1,693 in Covington, LA versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Covington, LA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,657 per month in Covington, LA versus $1,208 in Phuket – a 120% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,657 in Covington, LA, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Covington, LA. 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 Covington, LA, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Covington, LA 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 120% less than in Covington, LA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.