Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Queretaro and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,395 in Queretaro, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Queretaro
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Queretaro Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Queretaro

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,395

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Queretaro and in Phuket

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Queretaro and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,395 in Queretaro versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Queretaro $1,395
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,130 in Queretaro versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Queretaro $2,130
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,866 in Queretaro versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Queretaro $2,866
Phuket $3,154

Living in Queretaro is roughly 9% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Queretaro is 3% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.58 MX$197

$4.47 ฿151

136.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.4 MX$1,144

$32.41 ฿1,094

89.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.36 MX$174

$8.81 ฿297

6.24%

Cappuccino

$3.59 MX$66.9

$2.83 ฿95.5

26.86%

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

$1.57 MX$29.23

$0.87 ฿29.43

80.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.28

$0.49 ฿16.67

110.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.16 MX$58.8

$2.56 ฿86.4

23.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.28 MX$98.5

$3.68 ฿124

43.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.83

$1.66 ฿56.0

15.66%

White Bread (500g)

$2.60 MX$48.53

$1.46 ฿49.35

78.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.94

$1.50 ฿50.6

28.67%

Eggs

$2.61 MX$48.72

$2.09 ฿70.5

24.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.82 MX$164

$19.07 ฿644

-53.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.58 MX$160

$3.30 ฿111

160.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.65 MX$255

$10.91 ฿368

25.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.32 MX$61.9

$2.93 ฿99.0

13.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.20

$1.69 ฿57.1

-7.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.11 MX$39.41

$2.25 ฿75.8

-6.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.94

$2.08 ฿70.1

-7.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.81 MX$33.83

$1.51 ฿51.0

19.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 MX$33.39

$1.38 ฿46.56

29.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 MX$27.15

$1.07 ฿35.99

36.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.38

$0.52 ฿17.52

130.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.57 MX$85.3

$4.20 ฿142

8.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.26 MX$322

$18.79 ฿634

-8.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 MX$40.97

$1.82 ฿61.5

20.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.89 MX$72.5

$2.84 ฿95.9

36.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.62

$1.45 ฿49.03

-60.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.09 MX$449

$56.7 ฿1,913

-57.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 MX$61.2

$3.02 ฿102

8.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.59 MX$48.28

$1.02 ฿34.36

153.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.97 MX$204

$3.69 ฿125

197.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.44

$1.47 ฿49.81

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

$24.2K MX$450.4K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-9.77%

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

$22.8K MX$425.6K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-14.47%

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

$55.9 MX$1,043

$96.4 ฿3,254

-41.94%

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

$26.29 MX$490

$11.26 ฿380

133.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.64 MX$459

$16.85 ฿569

46.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.48 MX$885

$67.2 ฿2,270

-29.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.17 MX$450

$10.73 ฿362

125.26%

Cinema Ticket

$7.06 MX$132

$7.50 ฿253

-5.87%

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

$262 MX$4,888

$476 ฿16.1K

-44.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,028 MX$93.7K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-55.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.1 MX$972

$62.4 ฿2,106

-16.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.86 MX$836

$28.41 ฿959

57.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.9 MX$1,862

$94.3 ฿3,184

5.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.8 MX$1,768

$85.8 ฿2,898

10.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$842 MX$15.7K

$716 ฿24.2K

17.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$560 MX$10.4K

$491 ฿16.6K

14.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,447 MX$27.0K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-24.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$836 MX$15.6K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-41.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,019 MX$37.6K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-51.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,122 MX$20.9K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-63.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$951 MX$17.7K

$502 ฿17.0K

89.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.99

5.57

115.26%

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

Last update for Queretaro: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Queretaro

$560 40.1%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 12.3% $69

Groceries & Markets

Queretaro

$300 21.5%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 11.4% $34

Eating Out

Queretaro

$193 13.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 36.8% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Queretaro

$131 9.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 7.2% $9.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Queretaro

$107 7.7%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 16.5% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Queretaro

$62 4.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 33.5% $21

Getting Around

Queretaro

$43 3.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 65.6% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $842 in Queretaro and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Queretaro pays 89% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Queretaro vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $300 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Queretaro

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:12 4:12 PM

05:12 5:12 AM

13 h ahead of Queretaro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

804,663

79,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

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).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Queretaro Phuket 16,240 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Queretaro
Phuket

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

Queretaro vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 8% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 89% higher in Queretaro, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $842 in Queretaro versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $262 in Queretaro versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Queretaro. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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

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