Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cuernavaca and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuernavaca: $1,208 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $840 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Cuernavaca
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Cuernavaca Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Cuernavaca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,208

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Cuernavaca versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Cuernavaca $1,208
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,788 in Cuernavaca versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Cuernavaca $1,788
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,368 in Cuernavaca versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Cuernavaca $2,368
Phuket $3,154

Living in Cuernavaca costs roughly 5% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cuernavaca 11% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.98 MX$149

$4.47 ฿151

78.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.14 MX$694

$32.41 ฿1,094

14.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.83 MX$128

$8.81 ฿297

-22.47%

Cappuccino

$2.48 MX$46.28

$2.83 ฿95.5

-12.37%

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

$1.31 MX$24.45

$0.87 ฿29.43

50.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.61 MX$11.42

$0.49 ฿16.67

24.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 MX$45.52

$2.56 ฿86.4

-4.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 MX$61.1

$3.68 ฿124

-11.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 MX$30.31

$1.66 ฿56.0

-2.41%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 MX$41.29

$1.46 ฿49.35

51.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.50

$1.50 ฿50.6

-5.33%

Eggs

$1.89 MX$35.23

$2.09 ฿70.5

-9.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.76 MX$145

$19.07 ฿644

-59.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.82 MX$90.0

$3.30 ฿111

46.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.55 MX$253

$10.91 ฿368

24.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.21 MX$41.26

$2.93 ฿99.0

-24.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 MX$24.73

$1.69 ฿57.1

-21.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.45

$2.25 ฿75.8

-1.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 MX$30.95

$2.08 ฿70.1

-20.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.94

$1.51 ฿51.0

16.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 MX$31.94

$1.38 ฿46.56

23.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 MX$27.89

$1.07 ฿35.99

39.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.50

$0.52 ฿17.52

59.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.23 MX$79.1

$4.20 ฿142

0.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.03 MX$150

$18.79 ฿634

-57.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.63

$1.82 ฿61.5

-33.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 MX$61.6

$2.84 ฿95.9

16.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 MX$13.31

$1.45 ฿49.03

-51.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.93 MX$653

$56.7 ฿1,913

-38.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 MX$35.62

$3.02 ฿102

-36.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.49 MX$46.60

$1.02 ฿34.36

144.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.64 MX$199

$3.69 ฿125

188.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 MX$24.94

$1.47 ฿49.81

-9.52%

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

$24.5K MX$456.9K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-8.68%

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

$23.4K MX$436.5K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-12.47%

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

$56.4 MX$1,054

$96.4 ฿3,254

-41.48%

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

$18.52 MX$346

$11.26 ฿380

64.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.73 MX$462

$16.85 ฿569

46.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.09 MX$543

$67.2 ฿2,270

-56.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$5.24 MX$97.9

$7.50 ฿253

-30.13%

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

$218 MX$4,072

$476 ฿16.1K

-54.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,055 MX$94.5K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-55.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.44 MX$756

$62.4 ฿2,106

-35.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.23 MX$602

$28.41 ฿959

13.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.5 MX$1,728

$94.3 ฿3,184

-1.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.7 MX$1,826

$85.8 ฿2,898

13.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$619 MX$11.6K

$716 ฿24.2K

-13.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 MX$9,882

$491 ฿16.6K

7.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$901 MX$16.8K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-53.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$803 MX$15.0K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-43.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$851 MX$15.9K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-79.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$594 MX$11.1K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-80.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$638 MX$11.9K

$502 ฿17.0K

26.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.4

5.57

104.67%

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

Last update for Cuernavaca: 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

Cuernavaca

$529 43.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 7.2% $38

Groceries & Markets

Cuernavaca

$229 19%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 16.3% $37

Eating Out

Cuernavaca

$140 11.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 13.3% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Cuernavaca

$118 9.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 3% $3.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cuernavaca

$100 8.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 24.9% $25

Getting Around

Cuernavaca

$52 4.3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 35.3% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Cuernavaca

$40 3.3%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 108% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $619 in Cuernavaca and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cuernavaca pays 27% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Cuernavaca vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $229 vs $266, with Cuernavaca cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Cuernavaca

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:05 4:05 AM

17:05 5:05 PM

13 h ahead of Cuernavaca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

341,029

79,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cuernavaca Phuket 16,460 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Cuernavaca
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

Cuernavaca vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cuernavaca is cheaper overall, especially in leisure, groceries, and transport. The 6% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 27% higher in Cuernavaca, 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: $619 in Cuernavaca versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $37 in Cuernavaca. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Cuernavaca gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Cuernavaca 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.