Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kurume and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Kurume: $986 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Kurume
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Kurume Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Kurume

🇯🇵 Japan

$986

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $986 in Kurume versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Kurume $986
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,555 in Kurume versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Kurume $1,555
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,124 in Kurume versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Kurume $2,124
Phuket $3,154

Living in Kurume costs roughly 23% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kurume 28% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.30 ¥679

$4.47 ฿151

-3.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.56 ¥6,720

$32.41 ฿1,094

31.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.85 ¥607

$8.81 ฿297

-56.30%

Cappuccino

$1.88 ¥298

$2.83 ฿95.5

-33.57%

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

$0.69 ¥108

$0.87 ฿29.43

-20.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ¥84.3

$0.49 ฿16.67

8.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 ¥494

$2.56 ฿86.4

22.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 ¥257

$3.68 ฿124

-55.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 ¥206

$1.66 ฿56.0

-21.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.29 ¥203

$1.46 ฿49.35

-11.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.01 ¥791

$1.50 ฿50.6

234.00%

Eggs

$1.87 ¥296

$2.09 ฿70.5

-10.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.95 ¥2,834

$19.07 ฿644

-5.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.52 ¥872

$3.30 ฿111

67.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.22 ¥3,034

$10.91 ฿368

76.17%

Apples (1kg)

$3.54 ¥559

$2.93 ฿99.0

20.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 ¥294

$1.69 ฿57.1

10.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.92 ¥461

$2.25 ฿75.8

29.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.25 ¥514

$2.08 ฿70.1

56.25%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 ¥348

$1.51 ฿51.0

45.70%

Onion (1kg)

$2.62 ¥413

$1.38 ฿46.56

89.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.04 ¥165

$1.07 ฿35.99

-2.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ¥152

$0.52 ฿17.52

84.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ¥564

$4.20 ฿142

-15.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.52 ¥1,030

$18.79 ฿634

-65.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 ¥265

$1.82 ฿61.5

-7.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.10 ¥174

$2.84 ฿95.9

-61.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.47 ¥233

$1.45 ฿49.03

1.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$58.0 ¥9,163

$56.7 ฿1,913

2.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.15 ¥655

$3.02 ฿102

37.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.31 ¥365

$1.02 ฿34.36

126.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.66 ¥2,788

$3.69 ฿125

378.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.65 ¥103

$1.47 ฿49.81

-55.78%

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

$22.6K ¥3.6M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-15.71%

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

$15.2K ¥2.4M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-42.87%

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

$215 ¥34.0K

$96.4 ฿3,254

123.47%

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

$24.93 ¥3,937

$11.26 ฿380

121.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.65 ¥3,576

$16.85 ฿569

34.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.8 ¥8,806

$67.2 ฿2,270

-17.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 ¥1,091

$7.50 ฿253

-7.87%

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

$695 ¥109.7K

$476 ฿16.1K

45.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K ¥2.0M

$11.3K ฿380.4K

11.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.99 ¥7,735

$62.4 ฿2,106

-21.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$12.62 ¥1,992

$28.41 ฿959

-55.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$25.10 ¥3,962

$94.3 ฿3,184

-73.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$31.59 ¥4,987

$85.8 ฿2,898

-63.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$549 ¥86.7K

$716 ฿24.2K

-23.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$127 ¥20.1K

$491 ฿16.6K

-74.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$485 ¥76.6K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-74.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$318 ¥50.2K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-77.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,977 ¥627.8K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-4.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,146 ¥338.9K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-29.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,510 ¥238.4K

$502 ฿17.0K

200.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.97

5.57

-64.63%

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

Last update for Kurume: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kurume

$301 30.5%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 11.4% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kurume

$263 26.7%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 52.7% $138

Accommodation & Living

Kurume

$127 12.9%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 286% $364

Eating Out

Kurume

$92 9.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 31.8% $29

Getting Around

Kurume

$80 8.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 11.4% $9.1

Sport & Entertainment

Kurume

$70 7.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 18.2% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Kurume

$53 5.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 129% $69

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $549 in Kurume and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kurume pays about 3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Kurume vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $301 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Kurume

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:41 2:41 AM

00:41 12:41 AM

2 h behind Kurume

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

303,316

79,308

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 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).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kurume Phuket 4,340 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Kurume
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

Kurume vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kurume and Phuket differ by about 30% in total monthly costs ($986 vs $1,278 including rent). Kurume is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Kurume is about 3 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: $549 in Kurume versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $695 in Kurume versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $43 in Kurume. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $986 in Kurume versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kurume but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Kurume 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.