Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jining and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Jining: $675 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Jining
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Jining Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Jining

🇨🇳 China

$675

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $675 in Jining versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Jining $675
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,012 in Jining versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Jining $1,012
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,349 in Jining versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Jining $1,349
Phuket $2,867

Living in Jining costs roughly 44% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Jining 50% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.19 ¥14.62

$4.58 ฿153

-52.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.48 ¥110

$32.48 ฿1,086

-49.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.37 ¥29.21

$8.55 ฿286

-48.89%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ¥16.75

$2.72 ฿91.0

-7.72%

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

$0.51 ¥3.41

$0.94 ฿31.25

-45.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$0.49 ฿16.39

-36.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.93 ¥6.21

$2.59 ฿86.6

-64.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 ¥10.80

$3.83 ฿128

-57.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 ¥11.35

$1.74 ฿58.1

-2.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 ¥7.89

$1.43 ฿47.82

-17.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.94 ¥6.27

$1.53 ฿51.0

-38.56%

Eggs

$0.96 ¥6.43

$2.17 ฿72.7

-55.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.16 ¥54.5

$19.15 ฿640

-57.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.87 ¥19.17

$3.30 ฿110

-13.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.26 ¥68.6

$11.14 ฿372

-7.90%

Apples (1kg)

$1.45 ¥9.68

$2.95 ฿98.5

-50.85%

Banana (1kg)

$0.99 ¥6.61

$1.68 ฿56.1

-41.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.06 ¥7.06

$2.30 ฿76.8

-53.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.17 ¥7.84

$2.13 ฿71.3

-45.07%

Potato (1kg)

$0.61 ¥4.09

$1.53 ฿51.1

-60.13%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.89

$1.36 ฿45.55

-46.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.66 ¥4.42

$1.12 ฿37.44

-41.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ¥5.08

$0.55 ฿18.24

38.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.31 ¥35.50

$4.26 ฿142

24.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.86 ¥65.9

$18.19 ฿608

-45.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 ¥6.32

$1.74 ฿58.2

-45.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 ¥10.74

$2.79 ฿93.3

-42.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$2.22 ฿74.1

-86.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.21 ¥122

$22.06 ฿737

-17.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.04 ¥6.94

$2.91 ฿97.3

-64.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$1.01 ฿33.79

-71.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.60 ¥24.10

$3.83 ฿128

-6.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ¥8.77

$1.49 ฿49.85

-12.08%

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

$19.3K ¥129.0K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

-27.66%

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

$17.6K ¥117.7K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-34.12%

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

$60.8 ¥407

$99.4 ฿3,321

-38.79%

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

$6.92 ¥46.30

$11.28 ฿377

-38.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.47 ¥70.0

$17.36 ฿580

-39.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.31 ¥283

$52.3 ฿1,747

-19.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.20 ¥102

$10.85 ฿362

40.09%

Cinema Ticket

$4.43 ¥29.64

$7.57 ฿253

-41.48%

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

$386 ¥2,578

$558 ฿18.7K

-30.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,427 ¥49.7K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-35.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.12 ¥288

$62.9 ฿2,102

-31.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.56 ¥224

$28.58 ฿955

17.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.6 ¥485

$96.1 ฿3,213

-24.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.8 ¥466

$88.1 ฿2,943

-20.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$281 ¥1,880

$729 ฿24.4K

-61.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$182 ¥1,214

$460 ฿15.4K

-60.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$391 ¥2,615

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-81.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$269 ¥1,796

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-78.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,524 ¥23.6K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

1.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,958 ¥13.1K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-21.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$592 ¥3,957

$493 ฿16.5K

20.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.29

5.57

-40.93%

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

Last update for Jining: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Jining

$182 26.9%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 153% $278

Groceries & Markets

Jining

$172 25.5%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 55.6% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Jining

$99 14.6%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 25.9% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jining

$78 11.6%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 63.7% $50

Eating Out

Jining

$72 10.6%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 68.9% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Jining

$51 7.6%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 31.8% $16

Getting Around

Jining

$22 3.3%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 77.3% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $281 in Jining and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Jining pays 20% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $16.00 in Jining vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $172 vs $268 per month, with Jining cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Jining

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:41 4:41 PM

15:41 3:41 PM

1 h behind Jining

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,357,897

79,308

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Jining Phuket 3,580 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Jining
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

Jining vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jining is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 79% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 20% higher in Jining, 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: $281 in Jining versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Jining runs roughly 21% less than in Phuket. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $386 in Jining versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $675 in Jining versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Jining but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Jining the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Jining is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Jining 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 Jining gentler on the wallet – expenses run 79% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.