Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Cape Girardeau, MO

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,120 in Cape Girardeau, MO, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
102

Cost of Living Index in Cape Girardeau, MO
Learn more

Cape Girardeau, MO Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Cape Girardeau, MO

🇺🇸 United States

$2,120

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Cape Girardeau, MO

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 Cape Girardeau, MO actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,120 in Cape Girardeau, MO.

Phuket $1,278
Cape Girardeau, MO $2,120

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,261 in Cape Girardeau, MO.

Phuket $2,216
Cape Girardeau, MO $3,261

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,401 in Cape Girardeau, MO.

Phuket $3,154
Cape Girardeau, MO $4,401

Living in Phuket costs roughly 40% less than in Cape Girardeau, MO, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Cape Girardeau, MO is 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$17.74 $17.74

-74.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$56.5 $56.5

-42.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$6.79 $6.79

29.75%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$6.11 $6.11

-53.68%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$2.62 $2.62

-66.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$1.80 $1.80

-72.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$3.01 $3.01

-14.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$7.40 $7.40

-50.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$0.98 $0.98

69.39%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$2.22 $2.22

-34.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$7.34 $7.34

-79.56%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.92 $2.92

-28.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$15.15 $15.15

25.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$18.68 $18.68

-82.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$24.75 $24.75

-55.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$3.26 $3.26

-10.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.95 $1.95

-13.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$11.47 $11.47

-80.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$8.96 $8.96

-76.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.16 $2.16

-30.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$6.20 $6.20

-77.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$2.91 $2.91

-63.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$2.57 $2.57

-79.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$7.68 $7.68

-45.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$12.22 $12.22

53.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.76 $1.76

3.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$7.93 $7.93

-64.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$0.86 $0.86

70.93%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$27.9K $27.9K

-4.18%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$25.0K $25.0K

6.88%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$196 $196

-50.96%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$42.68 $42.68

-73.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$82.4 $82.4

-79.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$20.14 $20.14

233.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$14.82 $14.82

-49.39%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$826 $826

-42.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$44.41 $44.41

40.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$40.67 $40.67

-30.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$86.2 $86.2

9.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$39.27 $39.27

118.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$798 $798

-10.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$856 $856

-42.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,578 $1,578

22.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,666 $1,666

-14.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$1,505 $1,505

177.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,520 $1,520

100.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$2,411 $2,411

-79.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.45

-13.64%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Cape Girardeau, MO: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Cape Girardeau, MO

$856 40.4% 74.3% $365

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Cape Girardeau, MO

$515 24.3% 93.6% $249

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Cape Girardeau, MO

$322 15.2% 158% $197

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Cape Girardeau, MO

$95 4.5% 22.3% $27

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Cape Girardeau, MO

$283 13.4% 133% $161

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Cape Girardeau, MO

$50 2.4% 39.5% $32

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Cape Girardeau, MO

- * 0% 100%

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 $716 in Phuket and $798 in Cape Girardeau, MO. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cape Girardeau, MO pays about 4.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $56 in Cape Girardeau, MO for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $515 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇺🇸 Cape Girardeau, MO

🕒 Local time

15:32 3:32 PM

02:32 2:32 AM

13 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

37,941

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 USD = 0.896 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Cape Girardeau, MO 14,920 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Cape Girardeau, MO

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 Cape Girardeau, MO: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 40% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 79% 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 $798 in Cape Girardeau, MO. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 94% higher in Cape Girardeau, MO. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $2,120 in Cape Girardeau, MO – Phuket is about 40% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,120 in Cape Girardeau, MO, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Cape Girardeau, MO. 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.

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