Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Santa Cruz, Jamaica

For one person, living costs are similar in Phuket and in Santa Cruz: $1,278 and $1,285 a month, rent and utilities included.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz
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Santa Cruz Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Santa Cruz

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,285

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Santa Cruz

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,285 in Santa Cruz.

Phuket $1,278
Santa Cruz $1,285

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,988 in Santa Cruz.

Phuket $2,216
Santa Cruz $1,988

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,690 in Santa Cruz.

Phuket $3,154
Santa Cruz $2,690

Living in Phuket costs roughly 1% less than in Santa Cruz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Santa Cruz 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$7.37 JMD 1,163

-39.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$63.6 JMD 10.0K

-49.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$6.45 JMD 1,016

36.59%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$5.34 JMD 842

-47.00%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.16 JMD 182

-25.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.75 JMD 119

-34.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$2.26 JMD 357

13.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.08 JMD 485

19.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$4.04 JMD 638

-58.91%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$2.58 JMD 406

-43.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.57 JMD 248

-4.46%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.47 JMD 548

-39.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$11.33 JMD 1,787

68.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.40 JMD 1,010

-48.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$10.41 JMD 1,641

4.80%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$5.97 JMD 941

-50.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$3.83 JMD 604

-55.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$7.43 JMD 1,171

-69.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$3.01 JMD 474

-30.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$3.32 JMD 523

-54.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$2.64 JMD 416

-47.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$3.01 JMD 475

-64.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.45 JMD 229

-64.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$9.47 JMD 1,494

-55.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$11.53 JMD 1,818

62.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.89 JMD 456

-37.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$4.01 JMD 632

-29.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.27 JMD 201

137.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$3.12 JMD 492

-67.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$6.12 JMD 966

-39.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.39 JMD 220

5.76%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$44.8K JMD 7.1M

-40.29%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$32.6K JMD 5.1M

-18.01%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$166 JMD 26.2K

-42.01%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$29.57 JMD 4,664

-61.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$51.8 JMD 8,165

-67.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$38.40 JMD 6,055

75.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$13.44 JMD 2,119

-44.20%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$359 JMD 56.6K

32.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$8,104 JMD 1.3M

38.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$23.66 JMD 3,731

163.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$31.85 JMD 5,022

-10.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$78.3 JMD 12.3K

20.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$101 JMD 15.9K

-14.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$311 JMD 49.0K

57.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$499 JMD 78.8K

186.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$408 JMD 64.3K

23.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

9.45

-41.06%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Santa Cruz

$311 24.2% 36.7% $180

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Santa Cruz

$371 28.9% 39.5% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Santa Cruz

$248 19.3% 98.9% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Santa Cruz

$106 8.2% 13.4% $16

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Santa Cruz

$168 13% 37.6% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Santa Cruz

$65 5.1% 20.6% $17

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Santa Cruz

$17 * 1.3% 76.1% $54

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

Cost Breakdown

Phuket pays 23% 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 $64 in Santa Cruz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $371 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇯🇲 Santa Cruz

🕒 Local time

23:08 11:08 PM

11:08 11:08 AM

12 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

8,217

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Santa Cruz 17,100 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Santa Cruz

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 Santa Cruz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and eating out. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 23% higher in Phuket, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $359 in Santa Cruz. 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 $64 in Santa Cruz. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Phuket gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.