Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Okayama and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Okayama: $979 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

47

Cost of Living Index in Okayama
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Okayama Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Okayama

🇯🇵 Japan

$979

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $979 in Okayama versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Okayama $979
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,575 in Okayama versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Okayama $1,575
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,171 in Okayama versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Okayama $2,171
Phuket $3,154

Living in Okayama costs roughly 23% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Okayama 28% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.97 ¥941

$4.47 ฿151

33.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.17 ¥3,965

$32.41 ฿1,093

-22.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.04 ¥794

$8.81 ฿297

-42.79%

Cappuccino

$1.74 ¥274

$2.83 ฿95.4

-38.52%

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

$0.69 ¥109

$0.87 ฿29.41

-20.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 ¥109

$0.49 ฿16.65

40.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.94 ¥305

$2.56 ฿86.3

-24.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 ¥304

$3.68 ฿124

-47.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 ¥215

$1.66 ฿55.9

-18.07%

White Bread (500g)

$0.62 ¥97.4

$1.46 ฿49.31

-57.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.09 ¥644

$1.50 ฿50.5

172.67%

Eggs

$1.55 ¥244

$2.09 ฿70.5

-25.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.16 ¥2,387

$19.07 ฿643

-20.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.43 ¥1,012

$3.30 ฿111

94.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.03 ¥2,683

$10.91 ฿368

56.10%

Apples (1kg)

$5.05 ¥796

$2.93 ฿98.9

72.35%

Banana (1kg)

$3.10 ¥488

$1.69 ฿57.0

83.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.02 ¥790

$2.25 ฿75.8

123.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.38 ¥689

$2.08 ฿70.0

110.58%

Potato (1kg)

$2.17 ¥341

$1.51 ฿51.0

43.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 ¥304

$1.38 ฿46.52

39.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 ¥186

$1.07 ฿35.96

10.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ¥105

$0.52 ฿17.51

28.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 ¥595

$4.20 ฿142

-10.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.29 ¥1,463

$18.79 ฿634

-50.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 ¥297

$1.82 ฿61.5

3.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 ¥293

$2.84 ฿95.8

-34.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.42 ¥224

$1.45 ฿48.98

-2.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$57.3 ¥9,027

$56.7 ฿1,912

1.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 ¥504

$3.02 ฿102

5.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.60 ¥409

$1.02 ฿34.33

154.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.53 ¥3,391

$3.69 ฿125

483.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 ¥158

$1.47 ฿49.76

-31.97%

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

$21.9K ¥3.5M

$26.8K ฿903.4K

-18.16%

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

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-42.32%

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

$71.5 ¥11.3K

$96.4 ฿3,251

-25.76%

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

$13.73 ¥2,162

$11.26 ฿380

21.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.75 ¥4,056

$16.85 ฿568

52.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ¥8,225

$67.2 ฿2,268

-22.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$11.29 ¥1,779

$7.50 ฿253

50.53%

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

$708 ¥111.5K

$476 ฿16.1K

48.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.5K ¥2.3M

$11.3K ฿380.0K

28.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.2 ¥7,910

$62.4 ฿2,104

-19.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.57 ¥5,603

$28.41 ฿958

25.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.0 ¥9,610

$94.3 ฿3,181

-35.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.0 ¥15.3K

$85.8 ฿2,895

13.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$332 ¥52.2K

$716 ฿24.2K

-53.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$190 ¥29.9K

$491 ฿16.6K

-61.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$641 ¥100.9K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-66.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$430 ¥67.7K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-69.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,651 ¥575.1K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-12.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,539 ¥399.9K

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-16.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,366 ¥215.2K

$502 ฿16.9K

171.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.02

5.57

-63.73%

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

Last update for Okayama: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Okayama

$312 31.8%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 14.6% $45

Accommodation & Living

Okayama

$190 19.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 159% $301

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Okayama

$111 11.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 12.1% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Okayama

$110 11.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 11.1% $12

Eating Out

Okayama

$103 10.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 18.3% $19

Getting Around

Okayama

$79 8.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 10.8% $8.6

Sport & Entertainment

Okayama

$75 7.6%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 9.9% $7.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $332 in Okayama and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Okayama pays about 2.7 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $25 in Okayama vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $312 vs $266, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Okayama

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

03:19 3:19 AM

01:19 1:19 AM

2 h behind Okayama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

719,474

79,308

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 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 JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Okayama Phuket 4,690 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Okayama
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

Okayama vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $979 in Okayama and $1,278 in Phuket, so Okayama is about 23% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Okayama is about 2.7 times higher, 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: $332 in Okayama versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $708 in Okayama versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Okayama – a meal for two runs $25 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $979 in Okayama versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Okayama but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Okayama 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, Okayama and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.