Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Santa Rosa, CA

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $3,442 in Santa Rosa, CA, rent and utilities included – about $26,000 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
166

Cost of Living Index in Santa Rosa, CA
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Santa Rosa, CA Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Santa Rosa, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$3,442

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $3,442 in Santa Rosa, CA.

Phuket $1,278
Santa Rosa, CA $3,442

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $5,030 in Santa Rosa, CA.

Phuket $2,216
Santa Rosa, CA $5,030

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $6,617 in Santa Rosa, CA.

Phuket $3,154
Santa Rosa, CA $6,617

Living in Phuket costs roughly 63% less than in Santa Rosa, CA, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Santa Rosa, CA is 153% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$27.06 $27.06

-83.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$90.5 $90.5

-64.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$12.15 $12.15

-27.49%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$6.60 $6.60

-57.12%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$3.22 $3.22

-72.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$3.15 $3.15

-84.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$7.88 $7.88

-67.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$8.92 $8.92

-58.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.37 $1.37

21.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$4.59 $4.59

-68.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$4.75 $4.75

-68.42%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$5.44 $5.44

-61.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$22.62 $22.62

-15.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$15.25 $15.25

-78.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$20.99 $20.99

-48.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$6.10 $6.10

-51.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$2.50 $2.50

-32.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$6.76 $6.76

-66.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$6.84 $6.84

-69.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$3.94 $3.94

-61.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$3.48 $3.48

-60.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$3.06 $3.06

-65.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.97 $1.97

-73.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$11.74 $11.74

-64.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$11.85 $11.85

58.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.16 $2.16

-15.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.07 $2.07

37.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$1.53 $1.53

-5.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$50.2 $50.2

12.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.93 $3.93

-23.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$1.95 $1.95

-47.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$29.43 $29.43

-87.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.49 $1.49

-1.34%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$27.5K $27.5K

-2.64%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$26.7K $26.7K

-0.09%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$196 $196

-50.81%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$49.40 $49.40

-77.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$71.5 $71.5

-76.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$68.2 $68.2

-1.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$13.99 $13.99

-23.30%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$14.27 $14.27

-47.44%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$1,255 $1,255

-62.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$40.0K $40.0K

-71.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$50.5 $50.5

23.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$36.55 $36.55

-22.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$105 $105

-10.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$127 $127

-32.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$2,336 $2,336

-69.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$1,893 $1,893

-74.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$3,569 $3,569

-46.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$3,100 $3,100

-53.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$5,019 $5,019

-16.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$4,908 $4,908

-37.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$4,740 $4,740

-89.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.46

-13.78%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Santa Rosa, CA: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Santa Rosa, CA

$1.9K 55% 286% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Santa Rosa, CA

$507 14.7% 90.6% $241

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Santa Rosa, CA

$317 9.2% 155% $192

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Santa Rosa, CA

$143 4.2% 17.7% $22

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Santa Rosa, CA

$415 12.1% 241% $293

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Santa Rosa, CA

$97 2.8% 17.6% $15

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Santa Rosa, CA

$70 2% 0.8% $0.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $2,336 in Santa Rosa, CA. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Rosa, CA pays about 9.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $91 in Santa Rosa, CA for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $507 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇺🇸 Santa Rosa, CA

🕒 Local time

01:48 1:48 AM

11:48 11:48 AM

14 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

174,972

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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 = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Santa Rosa, CA 13,340 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Santa Rosa, 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 Santa Rosa, CA: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. The 169% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 89% 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 $2,336 in Santa Rosa, CA. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $1,255 in Santa Rosa, CA. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 91% higher in Santa Rosa, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $3,442 in Santa Rosa, CA, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Santa Rosa, CA. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Santa Rosa, CA, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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