Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Brea, CA

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $3,746 in Brea, CA, rent and utilities included – about $29,400 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
178

Cost of Living Index in Brea, CA
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Brea, CA Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Brea, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$3,746

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Brea, CA

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 Brea, CA actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $3,746 in Brea, CA.

Phuket $1,294
Brea, CA $3,746

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $5,108 in Brea, CA.

Phuket $2,204
Brea, CA $5,108

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $6,470 in Brea, CA.

Phuket $3,115
Brea, CA $6,470

Living in Phuket costs roughly 65% less than in Brea, CA, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Brea, CA is 177% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿148

$24.77 $24.77

-82.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,086

$76.4 $76.4

-57.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿293

$12.18 $12.18

-28.57%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.6

$5.79 $5.79

-53.02%

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

$0.93 ฿31.28

$2.79 $2.79

-66.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.79

$1.95 $1.95

-74.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.1

$7.20 $7.20

-64.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$9.95 $9.95

-63.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.5

$1.19 $1.19

46.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.77

$5.20 $5.20

-72.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$4.28 $4.28

-64.95%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.0

$5.09 $5.09

-57.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿642

$15.61 $15.61

22.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$8.92 $8.92

-61.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿366

$13.79 $13.79

-20.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.9

$4.64 $4.64

-36.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.9

$1.76 $1.76

-3.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.8

$4.19 $4.19

-47.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.4

$5.72 $5.72

-62.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿49.03

$3.62 $3.62

-59.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.99

$3.14 $3.14

-56.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.17

$2.06 $2.06

-47.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.34

$2.23 $2.23

-75.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$11.62 $11.62

-61.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿614

$15.03 $15.03

21.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.6

$1.77 $1.77

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.8

$3.84 $3.84

-25.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.66

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,845

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.9

$4.42 $4.42

-65.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.08

$1.91 $1.91

-59.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

$35.52 $35.52

-89.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿50.0

$1.64 $1.64

-9.15%

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

$26.9K ฿903.7K

$27.6K $27.6K

-2.54%

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

$26.3K ฿885.7K

$26.8K $26.8K

-1.73%

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

$97.8 ฿3,288

$213 $213

-54.14%

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

$11.29 ฿380

$70.7 $70.7

-84.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿578

$69.2 $69.2

-75.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,297

$29.63 $29.63

130.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

$19.82 $19.82

-44.90%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿250

$19.74 $19.74

-62.36%

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

$530 ฿17.8K

$1,159 $1,159

-54.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿631.4K

$12.9K $12.9K

45.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,073

$61.7 $61.7

-0.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿950

$41.43 $41.43

-31.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,228

$79.8 $79.8

20.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,919

$105 $105

-16.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.2K

$2,208 $2,208

-67.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.1K

$2,390 $2,390

-78.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.6K

$3,108 $3,108

-37.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿47.0K

$3,476 $3,476

-59.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.9K

$5,864 $5,864

-28.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.9K

$6,180 $6,180

-46.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

$10.0K $10.0K

-95.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.31

-11.73%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Brea, CA: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Brea, CA

$2.4K 63.8% 370% $1.9K

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Brea, CA

$412 11% 54.4% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Brea, CA

$353 9.4% 180% $227

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Brea, CA

$129 3.5% 5.4% $6.6

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Brea, CA

$379 10.1% 217% $259

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Brea, CA

$69 1.8% 16.9% $14

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Brea, CA

$14 * 0.4% 78.8% $52

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 $721 in Phuket and $2,208 in Brea, CA. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brea, CA pays about 20 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $76 in Brea, CA for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $412 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇺🇸 Brea, CA

🕒 Local time

21:15 9:15 PM

06:15 6:15 AM

15 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

38,585

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.69 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Brea, CA 14,000 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Brea, CA

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 Brea, CA: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 65% lower than in Brea, CA. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 95% 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: $721 in Phuket versus $2,208 in Brea, CA. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $1,159 in Brea, CA. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $76 in Brea, CA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $3,746 in Brea, CA, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Brea, CA. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value at $1,294 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Brea, CA are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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