Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Huntington Beach, CA and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $3,747 in Huntington Beach, CA, rent and utilities included – about $29,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

177

Cost of Living Index in Huntington Beach, CA
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Huntington Beach, CA Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Huntington Beach, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$3,747

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,747 in Huntington Beach, CA versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Huntington Beach, CA $3,747
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,302 in Huntington Beach, CA versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Huntington Beach, CA $5,302
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,858 in Huntington Beach, CA versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Huntington Beach, CA $6,858
Phuket $3,115

Living in Huntington Beach, CA is roughly 190% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Huntington Beach, CA is 177% above, Phuket is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.06 $25.06

$4.39 ฿148

470.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.6 $81.6

$32.31 ฿1,090

152.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.20 $15.20

$8.70 ฿294

74.71%

Cappuccino

$5.89 $5.89

$2.72 ฿91.9

116.54%

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

$3.06 $3.06

$0.93 ฿31.38

229.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 $2.30

$0.50 ฿16.85

360.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.35 $7.35

$2.53 ฿85.4

190.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 $7.84

$3.63 ฿122

115.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 $1.19

$1.74 ฿58.7

-31.61%

White Bread (500g)

$5.13 $5.13

$1.45 ฿48.93

253.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.88 $4.88

$1.50 ฿50.7

225.33%

Eggs

$5.07 $5.07

$2.17 ฿73.3

133.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.46 $12.46

$19.09 ฿644

-34.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.14 $19.14

$3.40 ฿115

462.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.45 $15.45

$10.90 ฿368

41.74%

Apples (1kg)

$4.79 $4.79

$2.94 ฿99.2

62.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 $1.70

$1.69 ฿57.1

0.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.30 $4.30

$2.19 ฿74.0

96.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.76 $5.76

$2.12 ฿71.6

171.70%

Potato (1kg)

$4.29 $4.29

$1.46 ฿49.19

193.84%

Onion (1kg)

$3.07 $3.07

$1.37 ฿46.14

124.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.06 $2.06

$1.08 ฿36.29

90.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.47 $2.47

$0.55 ฿18.40

349.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.83 $11.83

$4.43 ฿149

167.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.85 $14.85

$18.25 ฿616

-18.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 $1.95

$1.77 ฿59.8

10.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 $3.77

$2.88 ฿97.2

30.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.98 $1.98

$1.45 ฿48.82

36.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$69.2 $69.2

$54.9 ฿1,851

25.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.59 $3.59

$1.51 ฿51.0

137.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.67 $1.67

$0.78 ฿26.17

114.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.89 $31.89

$3.84 ฿129

730.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 $1.51

$1.49 ฿50.2

1.34%

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

$27.9K $27.9K

$26.9K ฿906.7K

3.97%

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

$26.2K $26.2K

$26.3K ฿888.6K

-0.39%

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

$214 $214

$97.8 ฿3,299

119.02%

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

$60.7 $60.7

$11.29 ฿381

437.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$80.4 $80.4

$17.19 ฿580

367.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.03 $37.03

$68.3 ฿2,305

-45.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿368

Cinema Ticket

$14.72 $14.72

$7.43 ฿251

98.12%

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

$1,170 $1,170

$530 ฿17.9K

120.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.8K $19.8K

$18.8K ฿633.5K

5.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.1 $65.1

$61.7 ฿2,080

5.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.71 $40.71

$28.25 ฿953

44.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 $101

$96.0 ฿3,238

5.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 $115

$86.8 ฿2,928

32.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,358 $2,358

$721 ฿24.3K

226.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,234 $2,234

$509 ฿17.2K

338.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,065 $4,065

$1,950 ฿65.8K

108.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,534 $3,534

$1,397 ฿47.1K

153.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.7K $11.7K

$4,192 ฿141.4K

178.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,423 $7,423

$3,298 ฿111.3K

125.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,600 $5,600

$492 ฿16.6K

1039.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.56

5.57

17.77%

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

Last update for Huntington Beach, CA: October 31, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Huntington Beach, CA

$2.2K 59.6%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 77.2% $1.7K

Groceries & Markets

Huntington Beach, CA

$466 12.5%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 42.8% $200

Eating Out

Huntington Beach, CA

$391 10.4%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 69.4% $271

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Huntington Beach, CA

$355 9.5%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 64.5% $229

Clothing & Footwear

Huntington Beach, CA

$145 3.9%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 15.4% $22

Getting Around

Huntington Beach, CA

$89 2.4%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 25.8% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Huntington Beach, CA

$66 1.8%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 25.1% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,358 in Huntington Beach, CA and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Huntington Beach, CA pays about 11 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $82 in Huntington Beach, CA vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $466 vs $267 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Huntington Beach, CA

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

03:25 3:25 AM

18:25 6:25 PM

15 h ahead of Huntington Beach, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

193,366

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.64 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 4, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Huntington Beach, CA Phuket 14,010 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Huntington Beach, CA
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

Huntington Beach, CA vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 65% lower than in Huntington Beach, CA. 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 Huntington Beach, CA is about 11 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: $2,358 in Huntington Beach, CA versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 75% higher in Huntington Beach, CA. 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 $82 in Huntington Beach, CA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $3,747 in Huntington Beach, CA, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Huntington Beach, CA. 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 $1,294 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Huntington Beach, CA and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 65% less than in Huntington Beach, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.