Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Westminster and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,536 in New Westminster, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in New Westminster
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New Westminster Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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New Westminster

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,536

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,536 per month in New Westminster vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

New Westminster $2,536
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $3,772 per month in New Westminster vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

New Westminster $3,772
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $5,008 per month in New Westminster vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

New Westminster $5,008
Phuket $3,154

New Westminster costs about 98% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

New Westminster sits 86% above the global median, while Phuket is 6% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.53 CA$27.29

$4.47 ฿151

336.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.69 CA$69.4

$32.41 ฿1,093

53.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.26 CA$14.33

$8.81 ฿297

16.46%

Cappuccino

$3.55 CA$4.96

$2.83 ฿95.4

25.44%

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

$1.88 CA$2.63

$0.87 ฿29.41

116.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 CA$2.31

$0.49 ฿16.65

236.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.14 CA$8.58

$2.56 ฿86.3

139.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 CA$7.77

$3.68 ฿124

51.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 CA$2.50

$1.66 ฿55.9

7.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 CA$3.32

$1.46 ฿49.31

62.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.49 CA$4.88

$1.50 ฿50.5

132.67%

Eggs

$3.23 CA$4.51

$2.09 ฿70.5

54.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.95 CA$15.30

$19.07 ฿643

-42.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.61 CA$21.81

$3.30 ฿111

373.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$27.23 CA$38.05

$10.91 ฿368

149.59%

Apples (1kg)

$3.91 CA$5.46

$2.93 ฿98.9

33.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 CA$2.07

$1.69 ฿57.0

-12.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.78 CA$5.29

$2.25 ฿75.8

68.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.71 CA$5.18

$2.08 ฿70.0

78.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.46 CA$3.44

$1.51 ฿51.0

62.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.20 CA$3.07

$1.38 ฿46.52

59.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.29 CA$3.20

$1.07 ฿35.96

114.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 CA$2.59

$0.52 ฿17.51

255.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.50 CA$21.65

$4.20 ฿142

269.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.88 CA$15.21

$18.79 ฿634

-42.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 CA$2.85

$1.82 ฿61.5

12.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 CA$3.93

$2.84 ฿95.8

-1.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.46 CA$3.44

$1.45 ฿48.98

69.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$91.0 CA$127

$56.7 ฿1,912

60.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.17 CA$3.04

$3.02 ฿102

-28.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.81 CA$2.52

$1.02 ฿34.33

77.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.72 CA$31.75

$3.69 ฿125

515.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 CA$1.84

$1.47 ฿49.76

-10.20%

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

$24.4K CA$34.1K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

-8.97%

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

$20.9K CA$29.2K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-21.59%

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

$141 CA$196

$96.4 ฿3,251

45.92%

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

$43.47 CA$60.7

$11.26 ฿380

286.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.0 CA$90.9

$16.85 ฿568

285.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.49 CA$46.80

$67.2 ฿2,268

-50.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.69 CA$24.72

$10.73 ฿362

64.86%

Cinema Ticket

$11.52 CA$16.09

$7.50 ฿253

53.60%

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

$794 CA$1,109

$476 ฿16.1K

66.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,694 CA$12.1K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-22.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.4 CA$73.2

$62.4 ฿2,104

-15.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.09 CA$57.4

$28.41 ฿958

44.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.0 CA$112

$94.3 ฿3,181

-15.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 CA$138

$85.8 ฿2,895

15.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,624 CA$2,269

$716 ฿24.2K

126.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,306 CA$1,824

$491 ฿16.6K

165.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,668 CA$3,729

$1,927 ฿65.0K

38.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,310 CA$3,228

$1,431 ฿48.3K

61.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,751 CA$6,639

$4,175 ฿140.9K

13.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,037 CA$5,641

$3,045 ฿102.7K

32.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,171 CA$4,431

$502 ฿16.9K

531.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.72

5.57

-15.26%

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

Last update for New Westminster: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

New Westminster

$1.3K 51.5%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 62.4% $815

Groceries & Markets

New Westminster

$404 15.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 34.1% $138

Eating Out

New Westminster

$286 11.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 57.4% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Westminster

$249 9.8%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 50% $125

Clothing & Footwear

New Westminster

$122 4.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 0.5% $0.6

Getting Around

New Westminster

$112 4.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 37% $42

Sport & Entertainment

New Westminster

$57 2.2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 45.5% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,624 in New Westminster versus $716 in Phuket. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in New Westminster are about 6.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $50 in New Westminster versus $32 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $404 vs $266 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇦 New Westminster

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

08:45 8:45 AM

22:45 10:45 PM

14 h ahead of New Westminster

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.641 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

New Westminster Phuket 12,510 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

New Westminster
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

New Westminster vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

New Westminster costs about 98% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,803 per month in New Westminster and $1,917 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Phuket, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $716 there versus $1,624 in New Westminster.

Kindergarten costs $794 per month in New Westminster and $476 in Phuket. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 52% more in New Westminster, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,278, than in New Westminster at $2,536. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in New Westminster it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Phuket – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Phuket. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, New Westminster makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.