Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Monterey Park, CA

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $2,949 in Monterey Park, CA, rent and utilities included – about $19,900 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
140

Cost of Living Index in Monterey Park, CA
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Monterey Park, CA Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monterey Park, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,949

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $2,949 in Monterey Park, CA.

Phuket $1,294
Monterey Park, CA $2,949

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $4,287 in Monterey Park, CA.

Phuket $2,204
Monterey Park, CA $4,287

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $5,625 in Monterey Park, CA.

Phuket $3,115
Monterey Park, CA $5,625

Living in Phuket costs roughly 56% less than in Monterey Park, CA, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Monterey Park, CA is 118% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$28.42 $28.42

-84.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,085

$82.7 $82.7

-60.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿292

$15.16 $15.16

-42.61%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.5

$5.92 $5.92

-54.05%

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

$0.93 ฿31.25

$3.04 $3.04

-69.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.78

$2.73 $2.73

-81.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.0

$8.55 $8.55

-70.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$9.86 $9.86

-63.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.4

$1.27 $1.27

37.01%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.73

$4.87 $4.87

-70.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$4.64 $4.64

-67.67%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.0

$5.42 $5.42

-59.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿641

$10.88 $10.88

75.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$8.59 $8.59

-60.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿366

$20.16 $20.16

-45.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.8

$4.67 $4.67

-37.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.8

$2.20 $2.20

-23.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.7

$4.09 $4.09

-46.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.4

$5.64 $5.64

-62.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.99

$3.41 $3.41

-57.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.95

$2.80 $2.80

-51.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.14

$1.95 $1.95

-44.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.32

$2.62 $2.62

-79.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$11.84 $11.84

-62.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿613

$14.73 $14.73

23.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.5

$2.52 $2.52

-29.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.8

$2.78 $2.78

3.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.62

$1.76 $1.76

-17.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,844

$56.7 $56.7

-3.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.8

$3.75 $3.75

-59.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.06

$2.22 $2.22

-64.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

$38.53 $38.53

-90.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.96

$1.50 $1.50

-0.67%

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

$26.9K ฿902.9K

$28.4K $28.4K

-5.21%

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

$26.3K ฿884.9K

$26.6K $26.6K

-1.05%

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

$97.8 ฿3,285

$269 $269

-63.58%

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

$11.29 ฿379

$85.7 $85.7

-86.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿577

$78.1 $78.1

-77.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,295

$44.33 $44.33

54.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿250

$18.34 $18.34

-59.49%

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

$530 ฿17.8K

$1,186 $1,186

-55.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿630.9K

$13.0K $13.0K

44.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,072

$63.2 $63.2

-2.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿949

$55.4 $55.4

-49.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,225

$121 $121

-20.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,916

$215 $215

-59.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.2K

$1,565 $1,565

-53.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.1K

$1,302 $1,302

-60.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.5K

$2,619 $2,619

-25.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.9K

$2,077 $2,077

-32.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.8K

$2,585 $2,585

62.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.8K

$2,343 $2,343

40.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

$1,626 $1,626

-69.77%

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 Monterey Park, CA: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Monterey Park, CA

$1.3K 44.1% 156% $793

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Monterey Park, CA

$421 14.3% 57.9% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Monterey Park, CA

$432 14.7% 242% $306

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Monterey Park, CA

$205 6.9% 66.7% $82

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Monterey Park, CA

$429 14.6% 259% $310

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Monterey Park, CA

$81 2.8% 2.6% $2.2

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Monterey Park, CA

$79 2.7% 19% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $1,565 in Monterey Park, CA. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterey Park, CA pays about 3.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $83 in Monterey Park, CA for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $421 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇺🇸 Monterey Park, CA

🕒 Local time

16:00 4:00 PM

01:00 1:00 AM

15 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

60,269

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.59 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.75 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Monterey Park, CA 13,970 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Monterey Park, 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 Monterey Park, CA: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 56% lower than in Monterey Park, 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 70% 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 $1,565 in Monterey Park, CA. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $83 in Monterey Park, CA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,294 per month in Phuket versus $2,949 in Monterey Park, CA – Phuket is about 56% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $2,949 in Monterey Park, CA, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Monterey Park, CA. 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.

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

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Monterey Park, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.