Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Los Banos, CA and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,394 in Los Banos, CA, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Los Banos, CA
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Los Banos, CA Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Los Banos, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,394

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,394 in Los Banos, CA versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Los Banos, CA $2,394
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,580 in Los Banos, CA versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Los Banos, CA $3,580
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,767 in Los Banos, CA versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Los Banos, CA $4,767
Phuket $2,845

Living in Los Banos, CA is roughly 98% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Los Banos, CA is 77% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.86 $14.86

$4.40 ฿147

237.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 $101

$32.26 ฿1,078

213.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.83 $9.83

$8.76 ฿293

12.21%

Cappuccino

$5.11 $5.11

$2.83 ฿94.5

80.57%

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

$2.53 $2.53

$0.90 ฿30.14

181.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 $2.04

$0.47 ฿15.56

334.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.94 $7.94

$2.55 ฿85.2

211.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.24 $8.24

$3.83 ฿128

115.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 $1.03

$1.73 ฿57.7

-40.46%

White Bread (500g)

$3.21 $3.21

$1.47 ฿49.11

118.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.95 $2.95

$1.51 ฿50.6

95.36%

Eggs

$1.58 $1.58

$2.17 ฿72.7

-27.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.69 $8.69

$19.70 ฿658

-55.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.73 $7.73

$3.34 ฿112

131.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 $12.80

$11.16 ฿373

14.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.39 $3.39

$2.85 ฿95.1

18.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 $1.35

$1.70 ฿56.9

-20.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.79 $2.79

$2.19 ฿73.3

27.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.83 $2.83

$2.05 ฿68.4

38.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.92 $2.92

$1.45 ฿48.57

101.38%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 $2.44

$1.38 ฿46.16

76.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 $2.30

$1.07 ฿35.69

114.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.49 $2.49

$0.51 ฿16.91

388.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.10 $11.10

$4.26 ฿142

160.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.10 $14.10

$18.58 ฿621

-24.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 $1.87

$1.78 ฿59.7

5.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 $1.31

$2.85 ฿95.2

-54.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.04 $2.04

$2.26 ฿75.6

-9.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.71 $2.71

$3.01 ฿101

-9.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 $1.56

$1.06 ฿35.34

47.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.88 $32.88

$3.86 ฿129

751.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.45 ฿48.45

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

$30.4K $30.4K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

15.43%

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

$27.0K $27.0K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

0.21%

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

$217 $217

$96.4 ฿3,221

125.48%

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

$44.68 $44.68

$11.04 ฿369

304.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$88.7 $88.7

$17.14 ฿573

417.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.09 $39.09

$52.2 ฿1,744

-25.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$14.86 $14.86

$7.81 ฿261

90.27%

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

$2,509 $2,509

$556 ฿18.6K

351.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.5K $29.5K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

154.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.82 $23.82

$64.2 ฿2,146

-62.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.67 $21.67

$28.69 ฿959

-24.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$52.3 $52.3

$95.4 ฿3,187

-45.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.4 $59.4

$88.0 ฿2,940

-32.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,618 $1,618

$737 ฿24.6K

119.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,294 $1,294

$462 ฿15.5K

179.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,682 $2,682

$2,095 ฿70.0K

28.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,280 $2,280

$1,201 ฿40.1K

89.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 $2,713

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-22.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,408 $2,408

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-4.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,598 $6,598

$501 ฿16.7K

1217.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.47

5.57

16.16%

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

Last update for Los Banos, CA: 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

Los Banos, CA

$1.3K 54.1%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 64.3% $832

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Los Banos, CA

$351 14.7%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 64.5% $226

Groceries & Markets

Los Banos, CA

$307 12.8%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 12.5% $38

Eating Out

Los Banos, CA

$284 11.9%

Phuket

$121 10% 57.3% $163

Clothing & Footwear

Los Banos, CA

$71 3%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 75.8% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Los Banos, CA

$69 2.9%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 1.5% $1

Getting Around

Los Banos, CA

$19 * 0.8%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 111% $21

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 $1,618 in Los Banos, CA and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Los Banos, CA pays 1218% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $101 in Los Banos, CA vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Los Banos, CA

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:27 4:27 AM

18:27 6:27 PM

14 h ahead of Los Banos, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,972

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 22, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 22, 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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Between locations

Los Banos, CA Phuket 13,560 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Los Banos, CA
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

Los Banos, CA vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 98% lower than in Los Banos, CA. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1218% higher in Los Banos, CA, 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: $1,618 in Los Banos, CA versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Los Banos, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,394 per month in Los Banos, CA versus $1,208 in Phuket – a 98% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,394 in Los Banos, CA, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Los Banos, CA. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,208 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Los Banos, CA 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 98% less than in Los Banos, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.