Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Pago Pago

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $1,479 in Pago Pago, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Pago Pago
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Pago Pago Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Pago Pago

🇦🇸 American Samoa

$1,479

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Pago Pago

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,479 in Pago Pago.

Phuket $1,294
Pago Pago $1,479

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $2,291 in Pago Pago.

Phuket $2,204
Pago Pago $2,291

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $3,102 in Pago Pago.

Phuket $3,115
Pago Pago $3,102

Living in Phuket costs roughly 13% less than in Pago Pago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Pago Pago is 9% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,080

$36.28 $36.28

-10.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿291

$10.05 $10.05

-13.43%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.1

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

$0.93 ฿31.11

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.70

$0.98 $0.98

-48.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿121

$3.97 $3.97

-8.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$2.62 $2.62

-33.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.51

$2.92 $2.92

-50.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.2

$4.41 $4.41

-65.99%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.6

$4.61 $4.61

-52.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿638

$10.08 $10.08

89.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$10.08 $10.08

-66.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿364

$11.57 $11.57

-5.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.3

$6.03 $6.03

-51.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.6

$1.03 $1.03

64.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.4

$3.06 $3.06

-28.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.0

$3.97 $3.97

-46.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.77

$4.09 $4.09

-64.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.74

$3.95 $3.95

-65.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿35.98

$1.99 $1.99

-45.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$2.03 $2.03

-72.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿148

$11.37 $11.37

-61.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿610

$14.86 $14.86

22.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.3

$0.99 $0.99

78.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.3

$2.93 $2.93

-1.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.40

$2.02 $2.02

-28.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,835

$126 $126

-56.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$4.95 $4.95

-69.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿25.94

$1.95 $1.95

-60.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿128

$29.48 $29.48

-86.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.74

$1.36 $1.36

9.56%

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

$26.9K ฿898.9K

$30.2K $30.2K

-10.93%

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

$26.3K ฿881.0K

$19.7K $19.7K

34.04%

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

$97.8 ฿3,271

$411 $411

-76.18%

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

$11.29 ฿378

$29.94 $29.94

-62.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿575

$73.9 $73.9

-76.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,285

$50.9 $50.9

34.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

$10.12 $10.12

7.91%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿248

$8.75 $8.75

-15.09%

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

$530 ฿17.7K

$994 $994

-46.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿628.1K

$10.1K $10.1K

85.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,062

$69.9 $69.9

-11.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿945

$50.2 $50.2

-43.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,210

$79.9 $79.9

20.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,903

$99.1 $99.1

-12.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.1K

$326 $326

121.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.0K

$202 $202

151.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.2K

$901 $901

116.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.7K

$706 $706

97.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.2K

$17.5K $17.5K

-76.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.3K

$10.7K $10.7K

-69.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.4K

$1,194 $1,194

-58.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

85.67%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Pago Pago: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Pago Pago

$202 13.7% 60.2% $306

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Pago Pago

$368 24.9% 37.9% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Pago Pago

$515 34.8% 307% $388

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Pago Pago

$135 9.1% 9.6% $12

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Pago Pago

$42 * 2.8% 64.9% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Pago Pago

$68 4.6% 17.7% $15

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Pago Pago

$149 10.1% 125% $83

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 $326 in Pago Pago. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pago Pago pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $36 in Pago Pago for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $368 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇦🇸 Pago Pago

🕒 Local time

11:05 11:05 AM

17:05 5:05 PM

18 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

11,500 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 USD = 0.891 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 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.44 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.54 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.891 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Pago Pago 10,320 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Pago Pago

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 Pago Pago: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 13% lower than in Pago Pago. 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 59% 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 $326 in Pago Pago. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 56% less than in Pago Pago. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $994 in Pago Pago. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

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