Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Jiangmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Jiangmen: $514 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 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
25

Cost of Living Index in Jiangmen
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Jiangmen Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Jiangmen

🇨🇳 China

$514

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Jiangmen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $514 in Jiangmen.

Phuket $1,278
Jiangmen $514

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,001 in Jiangmen.

Phuket $2,216
Jiangmen $1,001

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,489 in Jiangmen.

Phuket $3,154
Jiangmen $1,489

Living in Phuket is roughly 149% more expensive than in Jiangmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Jiangmen 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$3.39 ¥22.54

31.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$30.47 ¥203

6.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.23 ¥34.83

68.45%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$2.20 ¥14.62

28.64%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$0.43 ¥2.86

102.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.29 ¥1.90

68.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$0.88 ¥5.84

190.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$1.52 ¥10.13

142.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.61 ¥10.74

3.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.64 ¥10.91

-10.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.08 ¥7.20

38.89%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.78 ¥11.85

17.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$21.25 ¥141

-10.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$2.27 ¥15.13

45.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$13.68 ¥91.0

-20.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$2.14 ¥14.24

36.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$0.86 ¥5.73

96.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.19 ¥7.92

89.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.44 ¥9.57

44.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.69 ¥4.61

118.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.95 ¥6.33

45.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.31 ¥2.06

245.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.54 ¥3.58

-3.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.05 ¥20.30

37.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$11.94 ¥79.5

57.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$0.70 ¥4.65

160.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.81 ¥12.07

56.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.47 ¥3.10

208.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.44 ¥9.56

109.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.38 ¥2.53

168.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$7.33 ¥48.77

-49.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.35 ¥8.98

8.89%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$19.7K ¥131.3K

35.69%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$17.0K ¥113.3K

56.74%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$49.14 ¥327

96.07%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$8.37 ¥55.7

34.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$12.52 ¥83.3

34.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$30.39 ¥202

121.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$4.52 ¥30.08

137.39%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$6.40 ¥42.57

17.19%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$246 ¥1,637

93.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$7,413 ¥49.3K

51.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$30.30 ¥202

105.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$40.44 ¥269

-29.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$73.7 ¥491

27.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$45.73 ¥304

87.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$458 ¥3,045

321.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$274 ¥1,822

422.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$6,218 ¥41.4K

-32.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,273 ¥8,469

139.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$584 ¥3,886

-13.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.35

66.27%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Jiangmen: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Jiangmen

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Jiangmen

$231 44.9% 13.4% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Jiangmen

$70 13.6% 43.7% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Jiangmen

$86 16.7% 29.8% $36

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Jiangmen

$79 15.5% 34.7% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Jiangmen

$43 8.4% 47.5% $39

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Jiangmen

$5.2 * 1% 92.6% $65

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

Cost Breakdown

Jiangmen pays 16% 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 $30 in Jiangmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $231 per month, with Jiangmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇳 Jiangmen

🕒 Local time

11:25 11:25 AM

12:25 12:25 PM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

4,448,871

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Jiangmen 2,270 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Jiangmen

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 Jiangmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $514 in Jiangmen, so Jiangmen is about 60% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 14% 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.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $246 in Jiangmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Jiangmen – a meal for two runs $30 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $514 in Jiangmen versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Jiangmen but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Jiangmen 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.