Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Morelia and Phuket

For one person, living costs are similar in Morelia and in Phuket: $1,151 and $1,208 a month, rent and utilities included.

56

Cost of Living Index in Morelia
Learn more

Morelia Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Morelia

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,151

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,151 in Morelia versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Morelia $1,151
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,859 in Morelia versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Morelia $1,859
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,566 in Morelia versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Morelia $2,566
Phuket $2,845

Living in Morelia costs roughly 5% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Morelia 15% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.87 MX$127

$4.40 ฿147

56.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.64 MX$714

$32.26 ฿1,078

19.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.09 MX$112

$8.76 ฿293

-30.48%

Cappuccino

$3.51 MX$64.9

$2.83 ฿94.5

24.03%

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

$1.22 MX$22.60

$0.90 ฿30.14

35.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.14 MX$21.14

$0.47 ฿15.56

142.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.79 MX$51.6

$2.55 ฿85.2

9.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 MX$68.1

$3.83 ฿128

-3.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 MX$31.16

$1.73 ฿57.7

-2.31%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.2

$1.47 ฿49.11

106.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.95 MX$36.03

$1.51 ฿50.6

29.14%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.17 ฿72.7

25.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$19.70 ฿658

-40.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.71 MX$179

$3.34 ฿112

190.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.52 MX$268

$11.16 ฿373

30.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.00 MX$55.4

$2.85 ฿95.1

5.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 MX$29.73

$1.70 ฿56.9

-5.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 MX$36.49

$2.19 ฿73.3

-10.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.30 MX$42.59

$2.05 ฿68.4

12.20%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.46

$1.45 ฿48.57

40.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 MX$33.04

$1.38 ฿46.16

29.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$26.72

$1.07 ฿35.69

35.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 MX$24.37

$0.51 ฿16.91

158.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.78 MX$69.9

$4.26 ฿142

-11.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.74 MX$272

$18.58 ฿621

-20.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 MX$34.60

$1.78 ฿59.7

5.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.52 MX$65.1

$2.85 ฿95.2

23.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.59 MX$10.88

$2.26 ฿75.6

-73.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.29 MX$449

$22.10 ฿738

9.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.38 MX$25.45

$3.01 ฿101

-54.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.52

$1.06 ฿35.34

-50.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.55 MX$103

$3.86 ฿129

43.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.37

$1.45 ฿48.45

2.07%

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

$21.8K MX$403.5K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

-17.07%

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

$23.4K MX$433.1K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-13.02%

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

$60.0 MX$1,109

$96.4 ฿3,221

-37.74%

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

$28.39 MX$525

$11.04 ฿369

157.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.68 MX$622

$17.14 ฿573

96.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 MX$938

$52.2 ฿1,744

-2.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.11 MX$501

$11.16 ฿373

142.92%

Cinema Ticket

$4.42 MX$81.7

$7.81 ฿261

-43.41%

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

$213 MX$3,937

$556 ฿18.6K

-61.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,841 MX$52.5K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-75.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 MX$1,024

$64.2 ฿2,146

-13.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.34 MX$690

$28.69 ฿959

30.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,964

$95.4 ฿3,187

11.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 MX$1,722

$88.0 ฿2,940

5.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$337 MX$6,236

$737 ฿24.6K

-54.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$347 MX$6,406

$462 ฿15.5K

-25.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$928 MX$17.1K

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-55.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$714 MX$13.2K

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-40.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,654 MX$30.6K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-52.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$653 MX$12.1K

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-74.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$660 MX$12.2K

$501 ฿16.7K

31.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.53

5.57

89.05%

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

Last update for Morelia: 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

Morelia

$347 30.1%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 33.4% $116

Groceries & Markets

Morelia

$315 27.3%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 14.6% $46

Eating Out

Morelia

$146 12.7%

Phuket

$121 10% 17% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Morelia

$131 11.4%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 5.5% $7.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Morelia

$122 10.6%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 2% $2.5

Sport & Entertainment

Morelia

$60 5.2%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 13.7% $8.2

Getting Around

Morelia

$31 2.7%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 28.9% $8.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $337 in Morelia and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Morelia pays 32% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $39.00 in Morelia vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $315 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Morelia

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:16 4:16 AM

17:16 5:16 PM

13 h ahead of Morelia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

743,275

79,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 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).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Morelia Phuket 16,270 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Morelia
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

Morelia vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Morelia and Phuket differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($1,151 vs $1,208 including rent). Morelia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 32% higher in Morelia, 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: $337 in Morelia versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Morelia runs roughly 10% less than in Phuket. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $213 in Morelia versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,151 in Morelia versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Morelia but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Morelia 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, Morelia 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 Morelia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.