Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jacksonville, NC and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,554 in Jacksonville, NC, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Jacksonville, NC
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Jacksonville, NC Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Jacksonville, NC

🇺🇸 United States

$2,554

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,554 in Jacksonville, NC versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Jacksonville, NC $2,554
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,595 in Jacksonville, NC versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Jacksonville, NC $3,595
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,637 in Jacksonville, NC versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Jacksonville, NC $4,637
Phuket $3,154

Living in Jacksonville, NC is roughly 100% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Jacksonville, NC is 88% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.57 $15.57

$4.47 ฿151

248.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.9 $58.9

$32.41 ฿1,094

81.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.89 $9.89

$8.81 ฿297

12.26%

Cappuccino

$4.81 $4.81

$2.83 ฿95.5

69.96%

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

$2.56 $2.56

$0.87 ฿29.43

194.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 $1.97

$0.49 ฿16.67

302.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.94 $4.94

$2.56 ฿86.4

92.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.06 $7.06

$3.68 ฿124

91.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 $1.17

$1.66 ฿56.0

-29.52%

White Bread (500g)

$4.21 $4.21

$1.46 ฿49.35

188.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$11.08 $11.08

$1.50 ฿50.6

638.67%

Eggs

$6.04 $6.04

$2.09 ฿70.5

189.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.50 $19.50

$19.07 ฿644

2.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.09 $17.09

$3.30 ฿111

417.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.53 $24.53

$10.91 ฿368

124.84%

Apples (1kg)

$5.87 $5.87

$2.93 ฿99.0

100.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 $1.86

$1.69 ฿57.1

10.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$8.23 $8.23

$2.25 ฿75.8

265.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.17 $6.17

$2.08 ฿70.1

196.63%

Potato (1kg)

$6.88 $6.88

$1.51 ฿51.0

355.63%

Onion (1kg)

$4.00 $4.00

$1.38 ฿46.56

189.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.77 $2.77

$1.07 ฿35.99

158.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 $2.04

$0.52 ฿17.52

292.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.96 $8.96

$4.20 ฿142

113.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.02 $15.02

$18.79 ฿634

-20.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 $1.76

$1.82 ฿61.5

-3.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 $3.96

$2.84 ฿95.9

39.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 $1.53

$1.45 ฿49.03

5.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$90.4 $90.4

$56.7 ฿1,913

59.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 $2.54

$3.02 ฿102

-15.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.91 $0.91

$1.47 ฿49.81

-38.10%

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

$27.4K $27.4K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

2.24%

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

$25.7K $25.7K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-3.71%

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

$174 $174

$96.4 ฿3,254

80.57%

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

$76.0 $76.0

$11.26 ฿380

575.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.2 $71.2

$16.85 ฿569

322.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.20 $31.20

$67.2 ฿2,270

-53.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$1.71 $1.71

$10.73 ฿362

-84.06%

Cinema Ticket

$15.59 $15.59

$7.50 ฿253

107.87%

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

$796 $796

$476 ฿16.1K

67.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.9 $60.9

$62.4 ฿2,106

-2.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.56 $39.56

$28.41 ฿959

39.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 $103

$94.3 ฿3,184

9.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 $138

$85.8 ฿2,898

61.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,384 $1,384

$716 ฿24.2K

93.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,094 $1,094

$491 ฿16.6K

122.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,809 $1,809

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-6.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,451 $1,451

$1,431 ฿48.3K

1.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,049 $2,049

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-50.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,833 $1,833

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-39.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,208 $2,208

$502 ฿17.0K

339.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.37

5.57

14.36%

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

Last update for Jacksonville, NC: 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

Jacksonville, NC

$1.1K 42.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 55.1% $603

Groceries & Markets

Jacksonville, NC

$555 21.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 52% $289

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jacksonville, NC

$321 12.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 61.3% $197

Eating Out

Jacksonville, NC

$269 10.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 54.7% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Jacksonville, NC

$154 6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 20.7% $32

Getting Around

Jacksonville, NC

$99 * 3.9%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 28.8% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Jacksonville, NC

$62 2.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 31.8% $20

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 $1,384 in Jacksonville, NC and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Jacksonville, NC pays about 4.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $59 in Jacksonville, NC vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $555 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Jacksonville, NC

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:07 6:07 PM

05:07 5:07 AM

11 h ahead of Jacksonville, NC

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

949,611

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

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Jacksonville, NC Phuket 15,250 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Jacksonville, NC vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,554 in Jacksonville, NC and $1,278 in Phuket, so Phuket is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Jacksonville, NC is about 4.4 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: $1,384 in Jacksonville, NC versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 37% less than in Jacksonville, NC. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $796 in Jacksonville, NC versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,554 in Jacksonville, NC, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Jacksonville, NC. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Jacksonville, NC. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.