Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fort Collins, CO and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,816 in Fort Collins, CO, rent and utilities included – about $18,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

136

Cost of Living Index in Fort Collins, CO
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Fort Collins, CO Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Fort Collins, CO

🇺🇸 United States

$2,816

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,816 in Fort Collins, CO versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Fort Collins, CO $2,816
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,951 in Fort Collins, CO versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Fort Collins, CO $3,951
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,085 in Fort Collins, CO versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Fort Collins, CO $5,085
Phuket $3,154

Living in Fort Collins, CO 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: Fort Collins, CO is 107% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.88 $22.88

$4.47 ฿151

411.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.0 $79.0

$32.41 ฿1,093

143.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.24 $11.24

$8.81 ฿297

27.58%

Cappuccino

$6.22 $6.22

$2.83 ฿95.4

119.79%

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

$2.54 $2.54

$0.87 ฿29.41

191.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 $2.06

$0.49 ฿16.65

320.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.05 $7.05

$2.56 ฿86.3

175.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.89 $6.89

$3.68 ฿124

87.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 $1.03

$1.66 ฿55.9

-37.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.99 $2.99

$1.46 ฿49.31

104.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.79 $2.79

$1.50 ฿50.5

86.00%

Eggs

$4.13 $4.13

$2.09 ฿70.5

97.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.15 $11.15

$19.07 ฿643

-41.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.23 $9.23

$3.30 ฿111

179.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.48 $19.48

$10.91 ฿368

78.55%

Apples (1kg)

$4.98 $4.98

$2.93 ฿98.9

69.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 $1.52

$1.69 ฿57.0

-10.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.81 $4.81

$2.25 ฿75.8

113.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.35 $5.35

$2.08 ฿70.0

157.21%

Potato (1kg)

$3.58 $3.58

$1.51 ฿51.0

137.09%

Onion (1kg)

$4.66 $4.66

$1.38 ฿46.52

237.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.33 $2.33

$1.07 ฿35.96

117.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 $1.78

$0.52 ฿17.51

242.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.32 $10.32

$4.20 ฿142

145.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.64 $16.64

$18.79 ฿634

-11.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.47 $2.47

$1.82 ฿61.5

35.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 $2.71

$2.84 ฿95.8

-4.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.43 $2.43

$3.02 ฿102

-19.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.90 $1.90

$1.02 ฿34.33

86.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.61 $24.61

$3.69 ฿125

566.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.47 ฿49.76

-30.61%

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

$28.4K $28.4K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

5.90%

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

$26.2K $26.2K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-2.00%

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

$210 $210

$96.4 ฿3,251

118.09%

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

$56.6 $56.6

$11.26 ฿380

402.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.6 $70.6

$16.85 ฿568

318.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.8 $51.8

$67.2 ฿2,268

-22.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.76 $29.76

$10.73 ฿362

177.35%

Cinema Ticket

$11.96 $11.96

$7.50 ฿253

59.47%

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

$1,288 $1,288

$476 ฿16.1K

170.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K $12.6K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

11.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.1 $59.1

$62.4 ฿2,104

-5.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.5 $68.5

$28.41 ฿958

140.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.6 $81.6

$94.3 ฿3,181

-13.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 $114

$85.8 ฿2,895

32.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,817 $1,817

$716 ฿24.2K

153.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,499 $1,499

$491 ฿16.6K

205.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,837 $2,837

$1,927 ฿65.0K

47.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,143 $2,143

$1,431 ฿48.3K

49.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,076 $4,076

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-2.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,793 $2,793

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-8.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,503 $4,503

$502 ฿16.9K

796.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.77

5.57

21.54%

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

Last update for Fort Collins, CO: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Fort Collins, CO

$1.5K 53.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 67.3% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Fort Collins, CO

$388 13.8%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 31.3% $122

Eating Out

Fort Collins, CO

$359 12.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 66.1% $237

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fort Collins, CO

$337 12%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 63.1% $213

Clothing & Footwear

Fort Collins, CO

$145 5.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 16.2% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Fort Collins, CO

$76 2.7%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 8.6% $6.5

Getting Around

Fort Collins, CO

$12 * 0.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 492% $59

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 $1,817 in Fort Collins, CO and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fort Collins, CO pays about 9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $79 in Fort Collins, CO vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $388 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Fort Collins, CO

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

12:55 12:55 PM

02:55 2:55 AM

14 h ahead of Fort Collins, CO

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

148,612

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 1, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Fort Collins, CO Phuket 14,110 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Fort Collins, CO
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

Fort Collins, CO vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 55% lower than in Fort Collins, CO. 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 Fort Collins, CO is about 9 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: $1,817 in Fort Collins, CO versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 46% higher in Fort Collins, CO. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,816 per month in Fort Collins, CO versus $1,278 in Phuket – Phuket is about 55% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,816 in Fort Collins, CO, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Fort Collins, CO. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value at $1,278 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Fort Collins, CO and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Fort Collins, CO on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.