Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hamilton, Canada and Philipsburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamilton: $2,379 a month against $3,094 in Philipsburg, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Philipsburg outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Hamilton, Canada
Philipsburg, Sint Maarten
Hamilton
🇨🇦 Canada
$2,379
/mo nomad
Philipsburg
🇸🇽 Sint Maarten
$3,094
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hamilton and in Philipsburg

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Hamilton and in Philipsburg actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,379 in Hamilton versus $3,094 in Philipsburg.

  • Hamilton $2,379
  • Philipsburg $3,094

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,409 in Hamilton versus $6,080 in Philipsburg.

  • Hamilton $3,409
  • Philipsburg $6,080

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,440 in Hamilton versus $9,066 in Philipsburg.

  • Hamilton $4,440
  • Philipsburg $9,066

Living in Hamilton costs roughly 23% less than in Philipsburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Hamilton 75% above, Philipsburg 127% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Hamilton
Philipsburg
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$17.79 CA$24.86
$15.29 ANG 27.37
16.35%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$68.9 CA$96.2
$68.7 ANG 123
0.19%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$12.21 CA$17.05
$8.01 ANG 14.34
52.43%
Cappuccino
$3.48 CA$4.87
$4.43 ANG 7.93
-21.44%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.18 CA$3.05
$2.86 ANG 5.13
-23.78%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.66 CA$2.32
$4.07 ANG 7.29
-59.21%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$5.06 CA$7.07
$2.94 ANG 5.26
72.11%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$6.21 CA$8.67
$6.65 ANG 11.90
-6.62%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Hamilton
Philipsburg
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.99 CA$2.77
$3.02 ANG 5.41
-34.11%
White Bread (500g)
$2.04 CA$2.85
$2.73 ANG 4.89
-25.27%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$3.15 CA$4.41
$2.46 ANG 4.40
28.05%
Eggs
$3.39 CA$4.73
$6.46 ANG 11.56
-47.52%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.90 CA$11.04
$18.14 ANG 32.47
-56.45%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$11.46 CA$16.01
$13.75 ANG 24.61
-16.65%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$14.97 CA$20.91
$15.14 ANG 27.10
-1.12%
Apples (1kg)
$4.06 CA$5.67
$5.09 ANG 9.11
-20.24%
Banana (1kg)
$1.31 CA$1.84
$5.07 ANG 9.07
-74.16%
Oranges (1kg)
$4.04 CA$5.64
$8.79 ANG 15.73
-54.04%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.76 CA$5.26
$7.70 ANG 13.78
-51.17%
Potato (1kg)
$2.66 CA$3.71
$3.94 ANG 7.04
-32.49%
Onion (1kg)
$1.93 CA$2.70
$4.06 ANG 7.27
-52.46%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.97 CA$2.76
$4.95 ANG 8.86
-60.20%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.34 CA$1.87
$1.36 ANG 2.44
-1.47%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$12.64 CA$17.66
$7.88 ANG 14.11
60.41%
Wine (Bottle)
$14.09 CA$19.68
$10.95 ANG 19.61
28.68%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.66 CA$3.71
$4.98 ANG 8.91
-46.59%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.04 CA$5.64
-
-
🚌 Getting Around
Hamilton
Philipsburg
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.64 CA$3.69
$2.32 ANG 4.15
13.79%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$91.2 CA$127
$1.53 ANG 2.74
5862.09%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.57 CA$4.99
$14.87 ANG 26.61
-75.99%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.24 CA$1.74
-
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$23.74 CA$33.16
-
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.21 CA$1.70
-
-
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.1K CA$36.4K
-
-
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$22.4K CA$31.3K
-
-
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Hamilton
Philipsburg
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$157 CA$219
$153 ANG 273
2.62%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$41.99 CA$58.7
$32.43 ANG 58.1
29.48%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$50.6 CA$70.7
$65.0 ANG 116
-22.23%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Hamilton
Philipsburg
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$34.23 CA$47.83
$63.6 ANG 114
-46.20%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$17.97 CA$25.10
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$10.44 CA$14.58
$11.02 ANG 19.72
-5.26%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Hamilton
Philipsburg
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$490 CA$684
$253 ANG 452
93.88%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$16.8K CA$23.4K
$12.2K ANG 21.9K
37.06%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Hamilton
Philipsburg
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$49.37 CA$69.0
-
-
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$31.10 CA$43.45
-
-
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$87.9 CA$123
-
-
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$118 CA$164
-
-
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Hamilton
Philipsburg
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,288 CA$1,799
$2,126 ANG 3,805
-39.42%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,220 CA$1,704
$1,983 ANG 3,550
-38.50%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,066 CA$2,887
$6,627 ANG 11.9K
-68.82%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,830 CA$2,556
$6,545 ANG 11.7K
-72.04%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,105 CA$4,338
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,705 CA$3,779
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Hamilton
Philipsburg
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,039 CA$4,246
$1,111 ANG 1,988
173.58%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.6
5
-8.00%

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

Last update for Hamilton: October 25, 2026

Last update for Philipsburg: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Hamilton
$1.2K
Philipsburg
–
Groceries & Markets
Hamilton
$341
Philipsburg
–
Eating Out
Hamilton
$274
Philipsburg
–
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Hamilton
$249
Philipsburg
–
Clothing & Footwear
Hamilton
$129
Philipsburg
–
Getting Around
Hamilton
$112
Philipsburg
–
Sport & Entertainment
Hamilton
$55
Philipsburg
–

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,288 in Hamilton and $2,126 in Philipsburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hamilton pays about 2.7 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $69 in Hamilton vs $69 in Philipsburg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $341 vs $494 per month, with Hamilton cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇨🇦 Hamilton
🇸🇽 Philipsburg
🕒 Local time
08:06 8:06 AM
09:06 9:06 AM
1 h ahead of Hamilton
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
519,949
1,900 Capital
Exchange rates and currency converter

ANG, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

Netherlands Antillean Guilder exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 ANG (1 ANG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2 ANG (1 ANG = 0.501 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Hamilton Philipsburg 3,220 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Hamilton
  • Philipsburg

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
Hamilton vs Philipsburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hamilton cheaper than Philipsburg?
Hamilton is about 23% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Hamilton or Philipsburg?
Average pay in Hamilton is about 2.7 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
What is the rent difference between Hamilton and Philipsburg?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,288 in Hamilton versus $2,126 in Philipsburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
How do food prices compare in Hamilton and in Philipsburg?
Supermarket bills run roughly 45% higher in Philipsburg. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
What are total monthly expenses in Hamilton and in Philipsburg?
All in, you’ll spend $2,379 per month in Hamilton versus $3,094 in Philipsburg – Hamilton is about 23% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Hamilton vs other spots: cost of living compared

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