Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fukuyama and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Fukuyama: $1,134 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $890 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

55

Cost of Living Index in Fukuyama
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Fukuyama Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Fukuyama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,134

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,134 in Fukuyama versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Fukuyama $1,134
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,805 in Fukuyama versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Fukuyama $1,805
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,476 in Fukuyama versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Fukuyama $2,476
Phuket $2,845

Living in Fukuyama costs roughly 6% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Fukuyama 16% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.51 ¥1,186

$4.40 ฿147

70.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.20 ¥4,929

$32.26 ฿1,078

-3.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.90 ¥775

$8.76 ฿293

-44.06%

Cappuccino

$3.27 ¥517

$2.83 ฿94.5

15.55%

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

$0.83 ¥132

$0.90 ฿30.14

-7.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.52 ¥82.7

$0.47 ฿15.56

10.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.91 ¥302

$2.55 ฿85.2

-25.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 ¥505

$3.83 ฿128

-16.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.98 ¥155

$1.73 ฿57.7

-43.35%

White Bread (500g)

$0.79 ¥125

$1.47 ฿49.11

-46.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.88 ¥929

$1.51 ฿50.6

289.40%

Eggs

$2.07 ¥326

$2.17 ฿72.7

-4.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.75 ¥1,382

$19.70 ฿658

-55.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.39 ¥535

$3.34 ฿112

1.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.76 ¥1,700

$11.16 ฿373

-3.58%

Apples (1kg)

$4.99 ¥788

$2.85 ฿95.1

75.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.33 ¥369

$1.70 ฿56.9

37.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.95 ¥782

$2.19 ฿73.3

126.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.66 ¥578

$2.05 ฿68.4

78.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 ¥296

$1.45 ฿48.57

28.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 ¥259

$1.38 ฿46.16

18.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 ¥157

$1.07 ฿35.69

-7.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 ¥62.4

$0.51 ฿16.91

-23.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.85 ¥608

$4.26 ฿142

-9.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.75 ¥1,224

$18.58 ฿621

-58.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 ¥259

$1.78 ฿59.7

-7.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 ¥503

$2.85 ฿95.2

11.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ¥229

$2.26 ฿75.6

-35.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ¥8,358

$22.10 ฿738

139.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.39 ¥535

$3.01 ฿101

12.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.82 ¥603

$1.06 ฿35.34

260.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.88 ¥4,563

$3.86 ฿129

648.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 ¥162

$1.45 ฿48.45

-29.66%

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

$12.4K ¥2.0M

$26.3K ฿879.9K

-52.88%

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

$15.5K ¥2.4M

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-42.58%

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

$103 ¥16.3K

$96.4 ฿3,221

7.08%

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

$18.57 ¥2,934

$11.04 ฿369

68.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.10 ¥4,755

$17.14 ฿573

75.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.1 ¥8,072

$52.2 ฿1,744

-2.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$1.92 ¥304

$11.16 ฿373

-82.80%

Cinema Ticket

$12.19 ¥1,926

$7.81 ฿261

56.08%

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

$651 ¥102.9K

$556 ฿18.6K

17.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,461 ¥1.0M

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-44.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.55 ¥5,933

$64.2 ฿2,146

-41.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.32 ¥4,949

$28.69 ฿959

9.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$63.5 ¥10.0K

$95.4 ฿3,187

-33.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 ¥16.1K

$88.0 ฿2,940

15.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$535 ¥84.6K

$737 ฿24.6K

-27.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$335 ¥53.0K

$462 ฿15.5K

-27.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,101 ¥174.0K

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-47.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$745 ¥117.7K

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-37.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,284 ¥676.8K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

22.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,742 ¥275.2K

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-30.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,387 ¥219.1K

$501 ฿16.7K

177.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-82.05%

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

Last update for Fukuyama: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Fukuyama

$335 29.6%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 37.8% $127

Groceries & Markets

Fukuyama

$250 22%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 7.6% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fukuyama

$152 13.4%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 18% $27

Eating Out

Fukuyama

$135 11.9%

Phuket

$121 10% 10.5% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Fukuyama

$105 9.3%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 17.9% $19

Getting Around

Fukuyama

$81 7.2%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 51.4% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Fukuyama

$75 6.7%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 10.2% $7.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $535 in Fukuyama and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fukuyama pays 177% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31.00 in Fukuyama vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $250 vs $269 per month, with Fukuyama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Fukuyama

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

12:18 12:18 PM

10:18 10:18 AM

2 h behind Fukuyama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

460,930

79,308

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Fukuyama Phuket 4,640 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Fukuyama
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

Fukuyama vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fukuyama wins on cost – living expenses run 7% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Fukuyama the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 177% higher in Fukuyama, 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: $535 in Fukuyama versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $651 in Fukuyama versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,134 in Fukuyama versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Fukuyama but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Fukuyama the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Fukuyama delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,134 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Fukuyama hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Fukuyama 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 Fukuyama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.