Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Okinawa and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,190 a month against $1,399 in Okinawa, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Okinawa
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Okinawa Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Okinawa

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,399

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,399 per month in Okinawa vs $1,190 in Phuket, rent included.

Okinawa $1,399
Phuket $1,190

A couple spends around $2,189 per month in Okinawa vs $2,006 in Phuket, rent included.

Okinawa $2,189
Phuket $2,006

A family of three spends $2,979 per month in Okinawa vs $2,822 in Phuket, rent included.

Okinawa $2,979
Phuket $2,822

Okinawa costs about 18% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Okinawa sits 4% above the global median, while Phuket is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.13 ¥1,603

$4.35 ฿146

132.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.78 ¥6,295

$32.45 ฿1,087

22.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.04 ¥1,114

$8.42 ฿282

-16.39%

Cappuccino

$4.26 ¥675

$2.81 ฿94.0

51.60%

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

$1.47 ¥233

$0.87 ฿29.29

68.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 ¥158

$0.46 ฿15.39

117.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.01 ¥318

$2.59 ฿86.6

-22.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.55 ¥720

$3.64 ฿122

25.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 ¥259

$1.71 ฿57.2

-4.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.15 ¥341

$1.45 ฿48.42

48.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.84 ¥607

$1.56 ฿52.3

146.15%

Eggs

$1.75 ¥277

$2.10 ฿70.3

-16.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.94 ¥2,839

$19.53 ฿654

-8.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.87 ¥771

$3.40 ฿114

43.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.16 ¥3,507

$11.14 ฿373

98.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.62 ¥573

$2.83 ฿94.8

27.92%

Banana (1kg)

$2.63 ¥417

$1.62 ฿54.3

62.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 ¥338

$2.22 ฿74.5

-3.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.18 ¥820

$2.15 ฿71.9

140.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.41 ¥381

$1.49 ฿49.95

61.74%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 ¥408

$1.33 ฿44.40

93.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 ¥208

$1.07 ฿35.72

22.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 ¥117

$0.51 ฿17.01

45.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 ¥631

$4.38 ฿147

-8.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.42 ¥1,016

$18.77 ฿629

-65.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 ¥295

$1.74 ฿58.3

7.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 ¥505

$2.78 ฿92.9

14.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.47 ¥233

$2.17 ฿72.6

-32.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.2 ¥10.6K

$22.28 ฿746

201.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.97 ¥628

$3.02 ฿101

31.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.56 ¥564

$1.06 ฿35.43

235.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.44 ¥1,810

$3.71 ฿124

208.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ¥173

$1.43 ฿47.88

-23.78%

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

$21.3K ¥3.4M

$26.3K ฿882.1K

-19.34%

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

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$26.2K ฿877.3K

-41.20%

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

$162 ¥25.6K

$96.7 ฿3,236

67.54%

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

$24.91 ¥3,943

$11.41 ฿382

118.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.8 ¥8,513

$17.11 ฿573

214.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.3 ¥11.3K

$52.8 ฿1,768

35.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$54.9 ¥8,689

$11.07 ฿371

396.03%

Cinema Ticket

$12.17 ¥1,927

$7.65 ฿256

59.08%

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

$329 ¥52.1K

$555 ฿18.6K

-40.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,538 ¥876.3K

$11.3K ฿377.7K

-50.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.1 ¥7,923

$63.4 ฿2,123

-21.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.29 ¥3,685

$28.61 ฿958

-18.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.8 ¥12.5K

$96.7 ฿3,238

-18.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.6 ¥15.0K

$88.6 ฿2,967

6.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$404 ¥63.9K

$735 ฿24.6K

-45.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$328 ¥51.9K

$458 ฿15.3K

-28.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$826 ¥130.6K

$2,102 ฿70.4K

-60.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$663 ¥105.0K

$1,187 ฿39.7K

-44.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,594 ¥1.4M

$3,493 ฿116.9K

146.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,206 ¥190.8K

$2,491 ฿83.4K

-51.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,849 ¥292.6K

$501 ฿16.8K

269.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.23

5.57

-59.96%

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

Last update for Okinawa: October 5, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Okinawa

$328 23.8%

Phuket

$268 22.3% 18.4% $60

Accommodation & Living

Okinawa

$328 23.8%

Phuket

$458 38.1% 39.6% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Okinawa

$241 17.4%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 48% $115

Eating Out

Okinawa

$182 13.2%

Phuket

$119 9.9% 34.6% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Okinawa

$111 8%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 12.4% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Okinawa

$96 6.9%

Phuket

$68 5.7% 28.8% $28

Getting Around

Okinawa

$95 6.9%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 58.6% $56

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $404 in Okinawa versus $735 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 run about 269% higher in Okinawa, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Okinawa versus $32.00 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $328 vs $268 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Okinawa

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:17 5:17 PM

15:17 3:17 PM

2 h behind Okinawa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

142,752

79,308

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.32 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.32 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Okinawa Phuket 3,740 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Okinawa
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

Okinawa vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Okinawa is pricier by about 18%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,098 per month in Okinawa and $1,785 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Okinawa and $32.00 in Phuket. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,399 in Okinawa and $1,190 in Phuket. That's a gap of about 18%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,190, than in Okinawa at $1,399. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Okinawa 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 have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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