Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Aguascalientes

For one person, living is cheaper in Aguascalientes: $1,084 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Aguascalientes
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Aguascalientes Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Aguascalientes

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,084

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Aguascalientes

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Phuket and in Aguascalientes actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,084 in Aguascalientes.

Phuket $1,278
Aguascalientes $1,084

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,720 in Aguascalientes.

Phuket $2,216
Aguascalientes $1,720

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,355 in Aguascalientes.

Phuket $3,154
Aguascalientes $2,355

Living in Phuket is roughly 18% more expensive than in Aguascalientes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Aguascalientes 20% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$12.56 MX$236

-64.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$42.51 MX$799

-23.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$6.83 MX$128

28.99%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.70 MX$69.5

-23.51%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$1.66 MX$31.12

-47.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$1.21 MX$22.66

-59.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.21 MX$41.53

15.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.26 MX$61.3

12.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.46 MX$27.45

13.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$2.23 MX$41.91

-34.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.46 MX$27.44

2.74%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.37 MX$44.61

-11.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$7.74 MX$146

146.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$8.38 MX$157

-60.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$11.17 MX$210

-2.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.22 MX$41.74

31.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.31 MX$24.61

29.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.53 MX$28.81

47.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.69 MX$31.68

23.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.54 MX$28.88

-1.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$1.37 MX$25.72

0.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.02 MX$19.15

4.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.83 MX$15.55

-37.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$4.30 MX$80.8

-2.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$8.77 MX$165

114.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.78 MX$33.48

2.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$3.39 MX$63.7

-16.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$0.58 MX$10.82

150.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$29.38 MX$552

92.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.18 MX$22.16

155.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$1.13 MX$21.22

-9.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$10.94 MX$206

-66.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.49 MX$27.97

-1.34%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$24.5K MX$460.2K

9.34%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$23.6K MX$443.8K

13.03%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$55.2 MX$1,037

74.61%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$24.45 MX$459

-53.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$24.00 MX$451

-29.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$30.44 MX$572

120.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$21.61 MX$406

-50.35%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$5.10 MX$95.9

47.06%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$210 MX$3,949

126.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$2,885 MX$54.2K

290.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$54.1 MX$1,017

15.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$38.42 MX$722

-26.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$103 MX$1,932

-8.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$68.8 MX$1,292

24.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$496 MX$9,325

44.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$349 MX$6,568

40.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$772 MX$14.5K

149.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$622 MX$11.7K

129.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$1,149 MX$21.6K

263.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,155 MX$21.7K

163.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$864 MX$16.2K

-41.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.2

-50.27%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Aguascalientes: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Aguascalientes

$349 32.2% 28.8% $141

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Aguascalientes

$239 22% 10.3% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Aguascalientes

$104 9.6% 16.7% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Aguascalientes

$119 11% 2.5% $3.1

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Aguascalientes

$194 17.9% 59.7% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Aguascalientes

$41 3.8% 50.6% $42

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Aguascalientes

$39 3.6% 45.5% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $496 in Aguascalientes. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aguascalientes pays 72% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $43 in Aguascalientes. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $239, with Aguascalientes cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇽 Aguascalientes

🕒 Local time

10:02 10:02 AM

21:02 9:02 PM

13 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

863,893

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

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).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Aguascalientes 16,010 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Aguascalientes

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

Phuket vs Aguascalientes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aguascalientes is about 15% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 42% lower in Phuket. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $496 in Aguascalientes. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Aguascalientes runs roughly 48% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $210 in Aguascalientes. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Aguascalientes gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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