Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Texas City, TX

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,976 in Texas City, TX, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 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
94

Cost of Living Index in Texas City, TX
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Texas City, TX Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Texas City, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$1,976

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Texas City, TX

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 Texas City, TX actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,976 in Texas City, TX.

Phuket $1,278
Texas City, TX $1,976

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,884 in Texas City, TX.

Phuket $2,216
Texas City, TX $2,884

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,793 in Texas City, TX.

Phuket $3,154
Texas City, TX $3,793

Living in Phuket costs roughly 35% less than in Texas City, TX, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Texas City, TX is 45% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$18.02 $18.02

-75.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$73.9 $73.9

-56.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$10.13 $10.13

-13.03%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$4.07 $4.07

-30.47%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.27 $1.27

-31.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$1.89 $1.89

-74.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$6.15 $6.15

-58.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.94 $6.94

-46.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$0.77 $0.77

115.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$2.67 $2.67

-45.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$3.27 $3.27

-54.13%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$4.08 $4.08

-48.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$6.49 $6.49

193.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$14.35 $14.35

-77.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$10.27 $10.27

6.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$4.75 $4.75

-38.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.52 $1.52

11.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$4.43 $4.43

-49.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.33 $4.33

-51.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$3.04 $3.04

-50.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$2.39 $2.39

-42.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.79 $1.79

-40.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$2.21 $2.21

-76.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$8.09 $8.09

-48.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$9.86 $9.86

90.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.85 $2.85

-36.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$3.33 $3.33

-14.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.99 $0.99

46.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$40.58 $40.58

39.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.80 $2.80

7.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$1.61 $1.61

-36.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$20.37 $20.37

-81.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$0.82 $0.82

79.27%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$34.6K $34.6K

-22.65%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$26.7K $26.7K

-0.21%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$227 $227

-57.50%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$25.02 $25.02

-55.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$71.0 $71.0

-76.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$15.04 $15.04

347.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$13.94 $13.94

-46.20%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$1,192 $1,192

-60.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$21.2K $21.2K

-46.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$52.6 $52.6

18.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$42.94 $42.94

-33.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$65.5 $65.5

43.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$106 $106

-19.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,069 $1,069

-33.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$808 $808

-39.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$1,706 $1,706

12.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,250 $1,250

14.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$9,121 $9,121

-54.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$7,895 $7,895

-61.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$4,610 $4,610

-89.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.53

-14.70%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Texas City, TX: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Texas City, TX

$808 40.9% 64.7% $317

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Texas City, TX

$346 17.5% 30% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Texas City, TX

$323 16.3% 159% $198

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Texas City, TX

$120 6.1% 1.4% $1.7

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Texas City, TX

$281 14.2% 131% $159

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Texas City, TX

$43 2.2% 47.8% $39

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Texas City, TX

$55 2.8% 21.5% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,069 in Texas City, TX. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Texas City, TX pays about 9.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $74 in Texas City, TX for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $346 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇺🇸 Texas City, TX

🕒 Local time

03:49 3:49 AM

15:49 3:49 PM

12 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

45,099

💱 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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Between locations

Phuket Texas City, TX 15,630 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Texas City, TX

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 Texas City, TX: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 35% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference 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 $1,069 in Texas City, TX. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $1,192 in Texas City, TX. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Texas City, TX. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,976 in Texas City, TX, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Texas City, TX. 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.

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