Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Orange, NSW and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,758 in Orange, NSW, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Orange, NSW
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Orange, NSW Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Orange, NSW

🇦🇺 Australia

$1,758

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,758 in Orange, NSW versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Orange, NSW $1,758
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,957 in Orange, NSW versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Orange, NSW $2,957
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,156 in Orange, NSW versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Orange, NSW $4,156
Phuket $3,154

Living in Orange, NSW is roughly 38% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Orange, NSW is 29% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.12 A$20.08

$4.47 ฿151

215.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.9 A$111

$32.41 ฿1,094

140.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.49 A$14.93

$8.81 ฿297

19.07%

Cappuccino

$3.41 A$4.85

$2.83 ฿95.4

20.49%

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

$3.11 A$4.42

$0.87 ฿29.42

257.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 A$3.21

$0.49 ฿16.66

361.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.19 A$10.23

$2.56 ฿86.3

180.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.87 A$9.77

$3.68 ฿124

86.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 A$1.63

$1.66 ฿56.0

-31.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.86 A$4.06

$1.46 ฿49.32

95.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 A$2.91

$1.50 ฿50.5

36.67%

Eggs

$3.82 A$5.43

$2.09 ฿70.5

82.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.32 A$11.83

$19.07 ฿643

-56.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.62 A$12.26

$3.30 ฿111

161.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.17 A$20.16

$10.91 ฿368

29.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.32

$2.93 ฿98.9

3.41%

Banana (1kg)

$2.45 A$3.48

$1.69 ฿57.0

44.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.34 A$4.75

$2.25 ฿75.8

48.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.78 A$5.38

$2.08 ฿70.1

81.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.80 A$2.56

$1.51 ฿51.0

19.21%

Onion (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.51

$1.38 ฿46.54

78.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.98 A$2.81

$1.07 ฿35.97

85.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 A$2.51

$0.52 ฿17.51

238.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$34.92 A$49.66

$4.20 ฿142

731.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.42 A$16.24

$18.79 ฿634

-39.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.73 A$3.88

$1.82 ฿61.5

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.90 A$6.97

$2.84 ฿95.9

72.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.79 A$3.97

$1.45 ฿49.00

92.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.2 A$118

$56.7 ฿1,912

46.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.45 A$3.49

$3.02 ฿102

-18.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 A$2.26

$1.02 ฿34.34

55.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.72 A$50.8

$3.69 ฿125

868.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 A$1.90

$1.47 ฿49.78

-8.84%

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

$29.6K A$42.1K

$26.8K ฿903.7K

10.58%

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

$24.8K A$35.3K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

-7.07%

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

$162 A$231

$96.4 ฿3,252

68.61%

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

$17.88 A$25.42

$11.26 ฿380

58.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.0 A$72.5

$16.85 ฿569

202.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.0 A$74.0

$67.2 ฿2,269

-22.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.57 A$24.99

$10.73 ฿362

63.75%

Cinema Ticket

$13.23 A$18.81

$7.50 ฿253

76.40%

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

$2,148 A$3,056

$476 ฿16.1K

351.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.5K A$32.0K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

99.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.7 A$79.2

$62.4 ฿2,105

-10.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.4 A$87.3

$28.41 ฿959

116.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$148 A$210

$94.3 ฿3,182

56.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 A$158

$85.8 ฿2,896

29.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$825 A$1,173

$716 ฿24.2K

15.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$596 A$848

$491 ฿16.6K

21.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,437 A$2,044

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-25.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,510 A$2,147

$1,431 ฿48.3K

5.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,655 A$8,043

$4,175 ฿140.9K

35.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,344 A$7,601

$3,045 ฿102.8K

75.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,713 A$6,703

$502 ฿17.0K

838.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.23

5.57

-6.10%

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

Last update for Orange, NSW: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Orange, NSW

$596 33.9%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 17.7% $105

Groceries & Markets

Orange, NSW

$322 18.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 17.3% $56

Eating Out

Orange, NSW

$256 14.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 52.5% $135

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Orange, NSW

$231 13.2%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 46.2% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Orange, NSW

$169 9.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 27.9% $47

Getting Around

Orange, NSW

$105 6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 32.6% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Orange, NSW

$79 4.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 4.8% $3.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $825 in Orange, NSW and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Orange, NSW pays about 9.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $78 in Orange, NSW vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Orange, NSW

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

13:11 1:11 PM

09:11 9:11 AM

4 h behind Orange, NSW

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

40,127

79,308

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.703 USD

1 AUD = 0.63 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 AUD (1 AUD = 0.63 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Orange, NSW Phuket 7,040 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Orange, NSW
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

Orange, NSW vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,758 in Orange, NSW and $1,278 in Phuket, so Phuket is about 27% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Orange, NSW is about 9.4 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: $825 in Orange, NSW versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,148 in Orange, NSW versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Orange, NSW. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,758 in Orange, NSW, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Orange, NSW. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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, Orange, NSW and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Orange, NSW. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.