Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lexington, MA and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,672 in Lexington, MA, rent and utilities included – about $17,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Lexington, MA
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Lexington, MA Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Lexington, MA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,672

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,672 in Lexington, MA versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Lexington, MA $2,672
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,542 in Lexington, MA versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Lexington, MA $4,542
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,412 in Lexington, MA versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Lexington, MA $6,412
Phuket $2,845

Living in Lexington, MA is roughly 121% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lexington, MA is 97% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.23 $20.23

$4.40 ฿147

359.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.1 $74.1

$32.26 ฿1,078

129.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.84 $15.84

$8.76 ฿293

80.82%

Cappuccino

$4.89 $4.89

$2.83 ฿94.5

72.79%

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

$2.86 $2.86

$0.90 ฿30.14

217.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 $2.05

$0.47 ฿15.56

336.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.81 $6.81

$2.55 ฿85.2

167.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.98 $7.98

$3.83 ฿128

108.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 $1.17

$1.73 ฿57.7

-32.37%

White Bread (500g)

$3.93 $3.93

$1.47 ฿49.11

167.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.72 $4.72

$1.51 ฿50.6

212.58%

Eggs

$4.18 $4.18

$2.17 ฿72.7

92.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.65 $12.65

$19.70 ฿658

-35.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.65 $12.65

$3.34 ฿112

278.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.08 $17.08

$11.16 ฿373

53.05%

Apples (1kg)

$4.32 $4.32

$2.85 ฿95.1

51.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 $1.83

$1.70 ฿56.9

7.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.53 $4.53

$2.19 ฿73.3

106.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.17 $5.17

$2.05 ฿68.4

152.20%

Potato (1kg)

$2.39 $2.39

$1.45 ฿48.57

64.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.93 $2.93

$1.38 ฿46.16

112.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.99 $1.99

$1.07 ฿35.69

85.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.21 $2.21

$0.51 ฿16.91

333.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.55 $8.55

$4.26 ฿142

100.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.74 $16.74

$18.58 ฿621

-9.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 $1.82

$1.78 ฿59.7

2.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 $3.42

$2.85 ฿95.2

20.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.20 $2.20

$2.26 ฿75.6

-2.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.73 $2.73

$3.01 ฿101

-9.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.74 $1.74

$1.06 ฿35.34

64.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.81 $28.81

$3.86 ฿129

646.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.45 ฿48.45

-28.28%

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

$27.7K $27.7K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

5.37%

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

$28.1K $28.1K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

4.29%

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

$189 $189

$96.4 ฿3,221

96.28%

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

$59.2 $59.2

$11.04 ฿369

436.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.5 $70.5

$17.14 ฿573

311.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.12 $42.12

$52.2 ฿1,744

-19.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$13.93 $13.93

$7.81 ฿261

78.36%

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

$1,400 $1,400

$556 ฿18.6K

151.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.6K $23.6K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

103.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.6 $58.6

$64.2 ฿2,146

-8.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.47 $36.47

$28.69 ฿959

27.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.4 $88.4

$95.4 ฿3,187

-7.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 $111

$88.0 ฿2,940

26.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 $1,530

$737 ฿24.6K

107.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,380 $1,380

$462 ฿15.5K

198.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,878 $2,878

$2,095 ฿70.0K

37.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,564 $3,564

$1,201 ฿40.1K

196.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,775 $2,775

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-20.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,356 $2,356

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-6.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

5.57

21.90%

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

Last update for Lexington, MA: October 18, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lexington, MA

$1.4K 51.6%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 66.5% $917

Groceries & Markets

Lexington, MA

$413 15.4%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 34.9% $144

Eating Out

Lexington, MA

$338 12.6%

Phuket

$121 10% 64.1% $217

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lexington, MA

$319 11.9%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 60.9% $194

Clothing & Footwear

Lexington, MA

$133 5%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 6.3% $8.3

Sport & Entertainment

Lexington, MA

$70 2.6%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 3.1% $2.2

Getting Around

Lexington, MA

$20 * 0.8%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 95.1% $19

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 $1,530 in Lexington, MA and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $74.0 in Lexington, MA vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $413 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Lexington, MA

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

10:29 10:29 AM

21:29 9:29 PM

11 h ahead of Lexington, MA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

322,570

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 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 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 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).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Lexington, MA Phuket 14,320 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Lexington, MA
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

Lexington, MA vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lexington, MA and Phuket differ by about 121% in total monthly costs ($2,672 vs $1,208 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,007 in Lexington, MA and $1,813 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,530 in Lexington, MA versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Lexington, MA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,672 per month in Lexington, MA versus $1,208 in Phuket – a 121% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,672 in Lexington, MA, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Lexington, MA. 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.

Safety-wise, Lexington, MA 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 121% less than in Lexington, MA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.