Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lazaro Cardenas and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Lazaro Cardenas: $1,141 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

55

Cost of Living Index in Lazaro Cardenas
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Lazaro Cardenas Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Lazaro Cardenas

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,141

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,141 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Lazaro Cardenas $1,141
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,839 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Lazaro Cardenas $1,839
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,537 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Lazaro Cardenas $2,537
Phuket $2,845

Living in Lazaro Cardenas costs roughly 6% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lazaro Cardenas 16% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 MX$203

$4.40 ฿148

146.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.66 MX$817

$32.26 ฿1,088

35.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 MX$163

$8.76 ฿296

-0.68%

Cappuccino

$3.61 MX$67.6

$2.83 ฿95.3

27.56%

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

$1.42 MX$26.59

$0.90 ฿30.42

57.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.24

$0.47 ฿15.71

119.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.51 MX$46.92

$2.55 ฿86.0

-1.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.99 MX$74.7

$3.83 ฿129

4.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 MX$31.06

$1.73 ฿58.2

-4.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 MX$47.41

$1.47 ฿49.56

72.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 MX$31.19

$1.51 ฿51.0

10.60%

Eggs

$2.43 MX$45.51

$2.17 ฿73.3

11.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 MX$153

$19.70 ฿664

-58.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.49 MX$159

$3.34 ฿113

154.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.33 MX$212

$11.16 ฿376

1.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.67 MX$49.98

$2.85 ฿96.0

-6.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 MX$29.74

$1.70 ฿57.5

-6.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.65

$2.19 ฿73.9

-13.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 MX$34.27

$2.05 ฿69.0

-10.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.05

$1.45 ฿49.02

33.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.61

$1.38 ฿46.59

30.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.75

$1.07 ฿36.02

38.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$20.23

$0.51 ฿17.07

111.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.32 MX$80.8

$4.26 ฿144

1.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.32 MX$193

$18.58 ฿627

-44.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 MX$32.88

$1.78 ฿60.2

-1.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 MX$59.8

$2.85 ฿96.0

12.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 MX$12.92

$2.26 ฿76.3

-69.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿745

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 MX$47.26

$3.01 ฿102

-15.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.92 MX$35.92

$1.06 ฿35.67

81.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.01 MX$206

$3.86 ฿130

185.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.62

$1.45 ฿48.90

2.07%

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

$21.1K MX$395.7K

$26.3K ฿888.1K

-19.70%

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

$23.8K MX$445.7K

$26.9K ฿908.8K

-11.62%

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

$58.7 MX$1,099

$96.4 ฿3,251

-39.07%

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

$22.31 MX$417

$11.04 ฿372

102.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.94 MX$560

$17.14 ฿578

74.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.30 MX$642

$52.2 ฿1,760

-34.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.49 MX$384

$11.16 ฿376

83.60%

Cinema Ticket

$5.11 MX$95.7

$7.81 ฿263

-34.57%

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

$221 MX$4,141

$556 ฿18.8K

-60.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,553 MX$85.2K

$11.6K ฿390.6K

-60.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.3 MX$1,035

$64.2 ฿2,166

-13.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.96 MX$748

$28.69 ฿968

39.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 MX$1,867

$95.4 ฿3,217

4.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.1 MX$1,687

$88.0 ฿2,968

2.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$602 MX$11.3K

$737 ฿24.9K

-18.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$393 MX$7,352

$462 ฿15.6K

-15.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 MX$19.8K

$2,095 ฿70.7K

-49.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 MX$14.6K

$1,201 ฿40.5K

-35.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,921 MX$36.0K

$3,488 ฿117.6K

-44.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,169 MX$21.9K

$2,523 ฿85.1K

-53.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$552 MX$10.3K

$501 ฿16.9K

10.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.57

102.87%

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

Last update for Lazaro Cardenas: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lazaro Cardenas

$393 34.4%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 17.7% $70

Groceries & Markets

Lazaro Cardenas

$263 23.1%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 2.1% $5.6

Eating Out

Lazaro Cardenas

$186 16.3%

Phuket

$121 10% 34.9% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Lazaro Cardenas

$128 11.3%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 3.1% $4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lazaro Cardenas

$111 9.7%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 12.2% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Lazaro Cardenas

$45 3.9%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 52.3% $23

Getting Around

Lazaro Cardenas

$15 * 1.3%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 165% $25

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 $602 in Lazaro Cardenas and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lazaro Cardenas pays 10% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44 in Lazaro Cardenas vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $263 vs $269, with Lazaro Cardenas cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Lazaro Cardenas

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:18 2:18 AM

15:18 3:18 PM

13 h ahead of Lazaro Cardenas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

83,637

79,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.72 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.84 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lazaro Cardenas Phuket 16,360 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Lazaro Cardenas
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

Lazaro Cardenas vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lazaro Cardenas wins on cost – living expenses run 6% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Lazaro Cardenas the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 10% higher in Lazaro Cardenas, 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: $602 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,141 per month in Lazaro Cardenas versus $1,208 in Phuket – a 6% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $44 in Lazaro Cardenas. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Lazaro Cardenas is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.