Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pago Pago and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,477 in Pago Pago, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

71

Cost of Living Index in Pago Pago
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Pago Pago Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Pago Pago

🇦🇸 American Samoa

$1,477

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,477 in Pago Pago versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Pago Pago $1,477
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,274 in Pago Pago versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Pago Pago $2,274
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,071 in Pago Pago versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Pago Pago $3,071
Phuket $3,154

Living in Pago Pago is roughly 16% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Pago Pago is 9% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.62 $35.62

$32.41 ฿1,094

9.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.90 $9.90

$8.81 ฿297

12.37%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 $0.98

$0.49 ฿16.67

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.95 $3.95

$3.68 ฿124

7.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.53 $2.53

$1.66 ฿56.0

52.41%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 $2.85

$1.46 ฿49.35

95.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.19 $4.19

$1.50 ฿50.6

179.33%

Eggs

$4.63 $4.63

$2.09 ฿70.5

121.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.13 $10.13

$19.07 ฿644

-46.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.98 $9.98

$3.30 ฿111

202.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.55 $11.55

$10.91 ฿368

5.87%

Apples (1kg)

$5.89 $5.89

$2.93 ฿99.0

101.02%

Banana (1kg)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.69 ฿57.1

-42.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.94 $2.94

$2.25 ฿75.8

30.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.94 $3.94

$2.08 ฿70.1

89.42%

Potato (1kg)

$3.93 $3.93

$1.51 ฿51.0

160.26%

Onion (1kg)

$3.97 $3.97

$1.38 ฿46.56

187.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.04 $2.04

$1.07 ฿35.99

90.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 $1.97

$0.52 ฿17.52

278.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.66 $11.66

$4.20 ฿142

177.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.74 $14.74

$18.79 ฿634

-21.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.82 ฿61.5

-43.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 $2.87

$2.84 ฿95.9

1.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.05 $2.05

$1.45 ฿49.03

41.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$125 $125

$56.7 ฿1,913

120.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.13 $5.13

$3.02 ฿102

69.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 $2.04

$1.02 ฿34.36

100.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.67 $29.67

$3.69 ฿125

704.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 $1.29

$1.47 ฿49.81

-12.24%

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

$30.3K $30.3K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

13.14%

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

$20.0K $20.0K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-24.94%

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

$415 $415

$96.4 ฿3,254

330.74%

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

$29.55 $29.55

$11.26 ฿380

162.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$75.9 $75.9

$16.85 ฿569

350.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.77 $49.77

$67.2 ฿2,270

-25.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.03 $10.03

$10.73 ฿362

-6.52%

Cinema Ticket

$8.84 $8.84

$7.50 ฿253

17.87%

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

$984 $984

$476 ฿16.1K

106.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,831 $9,831

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-12.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 $70.8

$62.4 ฿2,106

13.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.70 $49.70

$28.41 ฿959

74.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.7 $78.7

$94.3 ฿3,184

-16.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 $98.7

$85.8 ฿2,898

15.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$327 $327

$716 ฿24.2K

-54.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$203 $203

$491 ฿16.6K

-58.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 $911

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-52.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 $691

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-51.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.2K $18.2K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

336.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.9K $10.9K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

257.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,183 $1,183

$502 ฿17.0K

135.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-46.14%

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

Last update for Pago Pago: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pago Pago

$520 35.2%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 76.1% $396

Groceries & Markets

Pago Pago

$363 24.6%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 26.6% $96

Accommodation & Living

Pago Pago

$203 13.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 142% $288

Getting Around

Pago Pago

$148 10%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 52.4% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Pago Pago

$134 9.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 9.1% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Pago Pago

$67 4.6%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 21.9% $15

Eating Out

Pago Pago

$42 * 2.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 193% $80

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $327 in Pago Pago and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pago Pago pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $36 in Pago Pago vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $363 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇸 Pago Pago

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

11:55 11:55 AM

05:55 5:55 AM

18 h ahead of Pago Pago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,500 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Pago Pago Phuket 10,320 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Pago Pago
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

Pago Pago vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 13% lower than in Pago Pago. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Pago Pago is about 2.4 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: $327 in Pago Pago versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 55% less than in Pago Pago. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $984 in Pago Pago versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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, Pago Pago and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Pago Pago on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.